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.

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