The 3 second rule saved me this morning

[JohnP]

This past August I attended an advanced driving training school with my two kids. In Control Advanced Driver Training. My daughter is a brand new driver and my son has been driving a couple of years. During the course the kids get to beat the hell out of some late model Toyota Camry's. The cars need new tires every 7 days and new brake pads every 3 months just to give you an idea how intense the course is.

There was lot of emphasis on the 3 second rule (stay 3 seconds behind the car in front of you) as a way to avoid rear end collisions which are the #1 type of collision for teens. All of the students failed to brake adequately during the tailgating exercise, sending most to the hospital and a couple to the morgue (virtually of course). During the day my daughter mentioned how often I fail to follow the 3 second rule. This was a surprise to me, because I think of myself as a good driver especially with family in the car. Upon self examination I found that when in a hurry or pre-occupied with other thoughts I often follow 1 second behind the car in front of me. When I'm thinking about my driving I follow 3 seconds or more behind. My perception was that I always follow the 3 second rule. So I've been making a concerted effort to concentrate more on my driving and specifically avoiding tailgating.

This morning on my routine commute to work (at a FROSTLY 30 degrees on the FZ6) I'm following a silver Chrysler Concord at around 60 MPH on a 2 lane country highway, leaving plenty of space between us. An approaching car turns left directly into the path of the Concord! The Concord locks the brakes up and the approaching driver see's her mistake and stops dead in our lane. I thought sure I was going to see a hell of an accident. The driver of the Concord skillfully steered around the idiot stopped in front of him. I'm guessing if they had collided it would have been a 50mph T-bone, not pretty.

Now when this happened I came to an easy stop and watched everything unfold in front me. Even if the collision had occurred I was far enough away to avoid get hit by hurling car debris. For me it was a complete non-event. Had I been following at 1 second behind, I'd most definitely be in the hospital instead of typing this post.

Be safe out there...and follow the 3 second rule!

-John

[Nelly]

Originally Posted by JohnP

This past August I attended an advanced driving training school with my two kids. In Control Advanced Driver Training. My daughter is a brand new driver and my son has been driving a couple of years. During the course the kids get to beat the hell out of some late model Toyota Camry's. The cars need new tires every 7 days and new brake pads every 3 months just to give you an idea how intense the course is.

There was lot of emphasis on the 3 second rule (stay 3 seconds behind the car in front of you) as a way to avoid rear end collisions which are the #1 type of collision for teens. All of the students failed to brake adequately during the tailgating exercise, sending most to the hospital and a couple to the morgue (virtually of course). During the day my daughter mentioned how often I fail to follow the 3 second rule. This was a surprise to me, because I think of myself as a good driver especially with family in the car. Upon self examination I found that when in a hurry or pre-occupied with other thoughts I often follow 1 second behind the car in front of me. When I'm thinking about my driving I follow 3 seconds or more behind. My perception was that I always follow the 3 second rule. So I've been making a concerted effort to concentrate more on my driving and specifically avoiding tailgating.

This morning on my routine commute to work (at a FROSTLY 30 degrees on the FZ6) I'm following a silver Chrysler Concord at around 60 MPH on a 2 lane country highway, leaving plenty of space between us. An approaching car turns left directly into the path of the Concord! The Concord locks the brakes up and the approaching driver see's her mistake and stops dead in our lane. I thought sure I was going to see a hell of an accident. The driver of the Concord skillfully steered around the idiot stopped in front of him. I'm guessing if they had collided it would have been a 50mph T-bone, not pretty.

Now when this happened I came to an easy stop and watched everything unfold in front me. Even if the collision had occurred I was far enough away to avoid get hit by hurling car debris. For me it was a complete non-event. Had I been following at 1 second behind, I'd most definitely be in the hospital instead of typing this post.

Be safe out there...and follow the 3 second rule!

-John

We must be better in the UK as we got the 2 second rule lol.
Sorry all joking aside, you are a top fella for a number of reasons.
1. You are trying to keep your children safe through education.
2. Instead of just brushing your daughters comments off you reflected on them and change accordingly.

Fair play to ya,
Thanks for sharing.

Nelly

[necrotimus]

Glad to hear you are ok and that nothing happened.

Just be sure to look behind you to as you are stopping/stopped. Too many people don't follow the 3 second rule and even if you stop they might not. Glad you are educationg yourself and your kids

[JohnP]

Originally Posted by Nelly

We must be better in the UK as we got the 2 second rule lol.

Yes they've added 1 second to the 2 second rule because of all the distractions most drivers deal with these days.

Originally Posted by Nelly

Sorry all joking aside, you are a top fella for a number of reasons.
1. You are trying to keep your children safe through education.

Thanks! They quote that 44% of first year drivers get into collisions and only 4% who take this course do. Me and my brother both totalled our first cars, so if this course keeps them from repeating our mistakes it's more than worth it.

[JohnP]

Originally Posted by necrotimus

Glad to hear you are ok and that nothing happened.

Just be sure to look behind you to as you are stopping/stopped. Too many people don't follow the 3 second rule and even if you stop they might not. Glad you are educationg yourself and your kids

Yup, fortunately no one was behind me today.

[Tailgate]

Tailgating (the driving kind) sucks. When an idiot is tailgating me then I have to open up even more territory in front of me since #1 idiot behind will run me over if I have to make a sudden/hard stop. So, if effect, one has to evaluate both, the distance in front and the distance behind. Someday, maybe, vehicles will be equipped with sensors/warning devices that calculate distance and speed necesary for safe operation. Not that they should be necessary but there are just too many idiots on the road who don't anticipate an emergency. Unfortunately, many of the same idiots would probably just ignore an unsafe zone alert and continue to tailgate. It's so reckless when it's a rider in front.

[DefyInertia]

Originally Posted by JohnP

Be safe out there...and follow the 3 second rule!

-John

Especially when it's 30F out there!

[Denver_FZ6]

I've always used the 2 second rule in the car, but have adopted the 3 second rule on the bike. Also, leaving a 2-3 second gap also allows me to easily absorb the speed variation caused by tailgaters ahead, who frequently must overbrake when traffic slows. I don't feel I'm as likely to get caught in a squeeze play with the cars front/behind me.

I've stopped preaching the 2 second rule to others though. The response is always, "but people will cut in front of me". I can't rationalize that with the result... a rear end collision in my fault.

[Tailgate]

Originally Posted by Denver_FZ6

I've stopped preaching the 2 second rule to others though. The response is always, \\\"but people will cut in front of me\\\". I can't rationalize that with the result... a rear end collision in my fault.

Yeah, ones as these lack so much intelligence, it's probably easier to potty train an infant than to educate them.

[Cmayer31]

Glad the 3 second rule saved you from the potential accident. Just want to add that even when using the 3 second rule make sure you keep an eye on the rear view because chances are the person behind you isn't following the 3 second rule.