daver@felix.UUCP (Dave Richards) (03/21/86)
************************** I've seen a lot of talk about leaving (x) car lengths per (y) mph lately. What I was taught, and what I have read in many places is 1 car length per 10 mph. Car manuals state this. DMV handbooks state this. There's only two problems with it: 1. Any more than about 1 or maybe two car lengths is extremely difficult to judge. 2. You can't abide by the rule in this state (California), because if you back off that much someone is going to pull into the lane ahead of you. In fact, to maintain that distance on the freeways around here, you'd need a car that could do 100 mph- backwards! Seriously, traffic commonly moves here at 65 mph with cars 20 feet apart. I think that if you're going to use any kind of rule, the one or two second count method is the best. Dave