What is the three-second rule for motorists?

Whenever you take a vehicle out on the road, you need to obey the rules the law sets out. For instance, giving way at certain intersections, stopping at a red light and not passing the speed limit.

Yet there are other rules you should abide by, even though they are not legal requirements. Hopefully, your driving instructor taught you them, but as that may have been a long time ago, and you may have forgotten. As have many of the motorists you share the road with. The three-second rule is one of the most commonly forgotten norms that motorists should abide by, even though the majority don’t.

It can help you to maintain a safe following distance

Do you know the safe following distance when traveling at 30 mph? What about when traveling at 10 or 60 mph? Most people do not, and working it out when your speed varies requires a mathematical agility that, even if it comes easily to you, will distract you from thinking about the road. By counting the gap in seconds rather than feet, you’ll avoid the math. Three seconds at 10 mph will usually be a safe following distance, and so will three seconds at any speed, as the faster you travel, the greater the three-second distance will be.

Sometimes, you need to leave more than three seconds

If you religiously stick to three seconds, you may well cause a crash one day. Reasons for lengthening the time gap include poor road conditions, poor weather conditions or you feeling poorly. If you are tired, agitated, distracted or in any state other than calm and focused, you should probably increase the gap, too.

Three seconds is a minimum gap for ideal conditions and a driver who is fully alert and focused on the road. If someone crashes into the back of you, there’s a good chance they should have been further back. Seeking legal guidance to prove this concern can potentially help you to claim the compensation you need and deserve as a result of the other driver’s likely negligence.

Posted in Car Accidents | No Comments »