Question: I often feel that vehicles behind me are tailgating me. How closely are drivers allowed to follow the vehicle in front of them?
Answer: Following too closely – or tailgating – occurs regularly in areas of the Sunshine Coast where there are limited passing opportunities. Some drivers seem to think that when they are delayed by a slower driver, pulling up close to the vehicle in front of them will magically cause that vehicle to speed up. Not only is that unlikely to happen, but following too closely can also be very dangerous.
The Motor Vehicle Act does not stipulate any exact following distance, but says that a driver must not “follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of the vehicles and the amount and nature of traffic on and the condition of the highway.”
While this may seem subjective, the key point is that you need to be able to stop safely regardless of how suddenly the vehicle in front of you stops. The fact that the vehicle in front of you may have been driving slowly does not give you the right to tailgate them, and is not an excuse if you rear-end them.
There are three key factors to stopping a vehicle: the cognitive time it takes to recognize that the vehicle in front of you is braking and that you need to act; the physical time it takes for you to move your foot to the brake pedal; and the time it takes for your vehicle’s braking system to stop your vehicle.
Picture this: You are travelling at 60 km/hr and only leave 15 feet (a car’s length) in between your vehicle and the small car in front of you. The driver in front of you slams on their brakes because someone has just pulled out in front of them. If you are driving the exact same car as the one in front of you (same weight, tires and brakes) at 60 km/hr you only have one third of a second to see that the car in front of you is braking, recognize that you need to brake, and begin braking. Most people simply cannot react that quickly. If you are driving a larger vehicle, you will have even less time, as your braking system will take longer to stop your vehicle compared to the small car in front of you.
Although there is no set rule about how much distance to leave between vehicles, the next time you are in a rush to get somewhere, ask yourself: If the person in front of me slammed on their brakes without warning, would I be able to stop in time? Give yourself some extra time and distance – chances are you’ll still get to where you’re going at the same time, and without the risk of hurting yourself or someone else. Some of us may drive faster than others, some may drive slower, but if we share the roadways and show respect for other road users, we can all get to where we are going safely … and that’s a whole lot better than getting into a collision and not getting there at all.
(Question the Constable! is a segment featured by the Sunshine Coast RCMP. Residents can email their questions related to the RCMP on the Coast, and in each segment one question will be answered (the submitter will be kept anonymous). Submit questions via email: [email protected])
