Stopping Distances

Driving can be dangerous enough as it is without other road users staying too close to the vehicles in front.

The problem that a lot of road users have is that they always seem to be in a rush and this is one of the most common reasons why there are so many accidents on todays roads. Speeding and staying too close to the vehicle in front (tailgating) are both illegal and can easily be prevented if the road users paid more attention to the road and its users rather than worrying about arriving late.

We always advise leaving early if you need to get somewhere so if there is any traffic or hold ups, you should still arrive in time.

The recommended distance you should keep from the vehicle in front is as follows:

For 20 mph you distance should be at least 12 metres or 40 feet.

For 30mph your distance should be at least 23 metres or 75 feet.

For 40mph your distance should be at least 36 metres or 118 feet.

For 50mph your distance should be at least 53 metres or 174 feet.

For 60pmh your distance should be at least 73 metres or 240 feet.

For 70mph your distance should be at least 96 metres or 315 feet.

These stats are for driving on dry weather conditions only and these distances should be doubled if the road surface is wet or unstable.

If the roads are icy then you should try to multiply these stopping distances by 10 as it is very difficult to stop in icy conditions as the roads barely have any grip and braking too hard in icy conditions could cause your car to skid and crash into something.

The main reasons for these stats are if the car in front brakes suddenly you should then have enough time to react and stop.

When you are stopped behind another vehicle in traffic situations you should at least see the bottom of the tyres of the vehicle in front of you (we call this tarmac and tyres.)

The reason why is that if the vehicle in front of you rolls back then you will have a safe distance from it so it doesn’t hit you plus if the vehicle in front of you breaks down you will have enough distance to go around it rather than having to reverse back first.