He isnt argueing, he is speaking basic fundamental driving safety. 4 seconds at highway speeds is not safe at all.
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Discussion in 'Lease Purchase Trucking Forum' started by dtj12231989, Dec 5, 2019.
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Dave_in_AZ, JonJon78 and Farmerbob1 Thank this.
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If a 4-second following distance was your habit, for any significant amount of time, then you are a lucky SOB that nobody ever laid into their brakes hard in front of you.Dave_in_AZ and JonJon78 Thank this. -
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flood Thanks this.
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CMV Driving Tips - Following Too Closely | FMCSA It says 4 seconds if under 40mph.
How to Calculate Proper Following Distance Part 1 -
Here is how I look at it. The more following distance I have, the more my chances of getting around any hazards go way up. I have been driving since April of 2019 and I have seen time and time again that there is never a time when you can have too much following distance. Another thing is when someone comes up behind me and gets right up on my back end, I slow down to the point of forcing them to pass me. Especially if it is another truck driver. I know that are getting the draft of my trailer. I'm like go get someone else's draft. You ain't sucking down my fuel that I paid for. On occasion, when I'm in a funny mood, I think about making them hit my back side but I don't wanna ruin their career. They will ruin it on their own. I just do me and what is safe for me. They can handle their own. Unless they got their drivers license outta the morning cereal box.
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However, the amount of time I've been driving is meaningless, because physics doesn't care.
Physics says that if you are 4 seconds behind another vehicle, and they brake hard, you will either hit them, or go out of lane to avoid them. Period. End of discussion. You lose too much time to reaction speed and air brake activation to match their deceleration.
Here is a site that explains things reasonably well for cars and light trucks.
https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/vehicle_stopping_distance_and_time_upenn.pdf
Commercial vehicle numbers will be different, but even cars and light trucks are estimated to have a stopping time from 60 MPH of 4.4 seconds. NOT including recognition and reaction times.
It's pretty clear that you were taught bad information, and have never been in a situation that taught you differently in the school of hard knocks. That's understandable.
However, here and now Mr. Physics and I are telling you that a 4 second following distance is death waiting to happen. Yours or someone else's. I can't make you listen, but if you really want me to, I can prove it with explicit math. -
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