The Three (3) Second Rule - Following Distance | RI Division of Motor Vehicles

RHODE ISLAND’S TITLE LAW HAS CHANGED Effective March 1, 2024

The Rhode Island DMV will no longer be accepting photocopies, images, or electronic copies of titles.
All new registration and/or new title transactions will now REQUIRE THE ORIGINAL TITLE to be submitted to the RI DMV at the time the transaction takes place.
Your lienholder or leasing company can send the original title to the RI DMV, ATTN: Research Office, 600 New London Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920 or to you directly. We highly recommend that the title and other documents are sent with tracking information to enable customers and lienholders to know when the title was received.
As long as your contact information (name, address, phone and e-mail) is included with the title, the RI DMV will contact you once your original title has been received so you can complete your transaction. Be advised that this process can take several weeks for the original title to be sent to the RI DMV. Please also be advised that the RI DMV cannot request a title from a lienholder or lease company.
A VIN check is required for all transactions involving an Out-of-State title/vehicle.
Reservations are required for all visits. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
For more information on RI’s new title laws, and new requirements for registration and title transactions, CLICK HERE and scroll down.

The Three (3) Second Rule - Following Distance

The following three-second rule cannot always guarantee you time to stop to avoid a collision, but it works in most situations.

How to calculate your following distance: Here’s how it works: You are following another vehicle and that vehicles rear bumper passes a fixed point (traffic sign, overpass, pole, tree, a line on the pavement, etc.) you start counting seconds, ‘one-thousand and one, two-thousand and two, three- thousand and three’. If your vehicle’s front bumper passes the point before you finish counting to three, you are following too close to the vehicle in front of you. Reduce your speed, and count to three again. When driving under adverse weather/road conditions, be sure to increase your following distance an additional second for EACH imperfect condition.