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The two-second rule is a rule of thumb
by which a driver may maintain a safe
following distance at any speed. The
rule is that a driver should ideally
stay at least two seconds behind any
vehicle that is directly in front of the
driver's vehicle. It is intended for
automobiles, although its general
principle applies to other types of
vehicles.
The
two-second rule is useful as it works at
any speed. It is equivalent to one
vehicle-length for every 8 km/h (5 mph)
of the current speed, but drivers can
find it difficult to estimate the
correct distance from the car in front,
let alone to remember the stopping
distances that are required for a given
speed, or to compute the linear equation
on the fly. The two-second rule gets
around these problems, and provides a
simple and common-sense way of improving
road safety.
The
practice has been shown to dramatically
reduce risk of collision, and also the
severity of an accident should an
accident occur. It also helps to avoid
tailgating and road rage for all
drivers. |
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The Two-Second Rule is a
way for the defensive driver
to judge the minimum safe
following distance to help
avoid collisions under ideal
driving conditions. The red
car's driver picks a tree to
judge a two-second safety
buffer. |
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The risk of tailgating is largely caused
by the accident avoidance time being
much less than the driver reaction time.
Driving instructors advocate that
drivers always use the
"2 Second
Rule" regardless of speed or the
type of road. During adverse weather or
hazardous conditions, it is important to
maintain an even greater distance of
three or four seconds behind the vehicle
in front of you.
It tells a defensive driver the minimum
distance needed to reduce the risk of
collision under ideal driving
conditions. The allotted two-seconds is
a safety buffer, to allow the following
driver time to respond.
A method is generally needed to estimate
the elapsed time, so that the driver can
adjust accordingly. To estimate the
time, wait until the rear end of the
vehicle in front of you passes any
distinct and fixed point on the roadway
- e.g. a road sign, mailbox,
line/crack/patch in the road. However,
don't take your eyes off the vehicle for
more than a second or that would defeat
the purpose. As you count to yourself
the elapsed time in seconds, the front
of your car should pass the same point
no less than two seconds later. If the
elapsed time is less than this, increase
the distance, then repeat the method
again until the time is at least 2
seconds.
One can count the duration of time
simply by saying "one... two..." but for
greater accuracy, it is suggested that
drivers say "only a fool breaks the
two-second rule". At a normal speaking
rate, this sentence takes approximately
two seconds to say, and serves as a
reminder to the driver of the importance
of the rule itself.
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