Member-only story
Learning to drive. Maintaining an adequate stopping distance.
STOPPING DISTANCE
Maintaining an adequate stopping distance is one of the main keys to safe driving. It is a core principle of defensive driving. It allows the driver to scan effectively. To scan, teach your student to observe the car directly in front of them, and move their eyes between this car, and the traffic fifteen to twenty seconds ahead of them. This will teach the student to not fixate on a set point in the distance and will allow their vision to expand and take in changes in traffic further ahead. Often a car two or three cars ahead of yours may brake rapidly, causing a domino effect. If the student is too close to the car in front of them they can potentially rear-end it, if it comes to a sudden stop. Stopping distance gives your student time to react to these changes and brake in a controlled manner, avoiding a rear-end collision.
Remember, new drivers have what we as experienced drivers consider a lag and will take a little longer to react than a driver with more hours behind the wheel. Be patient.
How do we measure stopping distance?
Watch the vehicle ahead of your student pass something stationary, such as a telephone pole. Count One Mississippi, Two Mississippi until your vehicle passes the same object. This tells your student how many seconds of stopping distance they have between the two vehicles. I recommend five seconds. The standard recommendation is three seconds. Five seconds gives a new driver more time to process changes, and respond accordingly. Reaction time increases with more hours behind the wheel. The old-fashioned way to measure stopping distance was to keep one car length for every 10mph between you and the car in front. I always add an additional length or more, especially in poor weather conditions.
Stopping distance is essentially a way to measure the physics of speed, weight, and momentum. No matter how good a driver you may be, physics will always correct over-confidence. When traveling too close and too fast, there comes a point when we cannot stop in time if traffic ahead comes to a rapid stop. Teach your student not to test those limits.
Stay safe, and keep driving!
