Cyril Haearn wrote:Best to leave a much bigger gap than two seconds
Quite so. Why bother with the impossible task of estimating "my braking distance" to the car in front then trying to place oneself exactly at this theoretical but elusive distance? Personally I leave "a long way" as the distance to any car in front I'm happy to emulate the speed of. This is generally at least one hundred yards on all but motorway or motorway-style roads (where it's more like 300 yards; or more).
In practice, you reach the same destination about 5 - 10 seconds after the fellow in front, rather after the 0.5 seconds of the tailgater. Is this a great loss to one's life, somehow, when other interesting things could be done instead with the 5 seconds? Hardly.
Many want to overtake, of course. Even those who don't go loon (doing it on the blind bend, humphill, approaching-a-junction or other asking-for-it place) often have no idea how to do overtaking. They think it will be a speedier matter if they get one yard from your rear bumper before pulling out and accelerating past (eventually). Of course, it takes far less time if the acceleration period occurs on the right (I mean the left) side of the road first before reaching the car to be overtaken and pulling out for a far briefer period. Ask any traffic rozzer.
Does no one ever really learn to drive well these days? Proper driving seems such a rarity.
Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes