Maintaining a safe distance when driving in a vehicle is one of the basic skills. Each driver must own it. In the rules of the road there is no clear definition of distance and methods for calculating it, so this topic raises a large number of questions and disputes. What distance should be between cars in order not to get into an accident? What does it depend on? Do weather conditions and traffic affect a safe distance between cars? What penalties are provided by law for violation? In what cases are they used? All these questions are answered in our article.
Safe distance determination
Failure to comply with the distance is one of the common causes of accidents. Most often this happens in cities with heavy traffic. In traffic rules there are no exact figures defining a safe distance between cars. This is due to the fact that several factors influence the size of the braking distance of a vehicle. Traffic regulations oblige the driver to maintain such a safe distance that will ensure trouble-free movement.
It is recommended to calculate the braking time of the car based on the following data:
- On a perfect asphalt road during daylight hours and with good visibility - 2 seconds.
- On the same road at night - 3 seconds.
- On wet pavement during the day - 3 seconds.
- On a similar road at night - 4 seconds.
- On asphalt with small snowy areas during the day - 4 seconds.
- On a similar road at night - 5 seconds.
- On a snowy road with ice in the afternoon - 5 seconds.
- In a similar situation at night - 6 seconds.
It is recommended that novice drivers practice and determine which braking distance the vehicle will have during emergency braking.
What determines the size of a safe leg
Accidents at non-observance of the distance are often encountered, so the question arises, on what factors does the safe distance between cars depend on?
Reasons that affect the size of the safe distance:
- Type of vehicle.
- The condition of the road surface.
- Movement speed.
- Times of Day.
- Weather.
- The reaction speed of the driver.
- Vehicle power.
- The condition of rubber cars.
Each of these factors must be assessed and correctly predicted.
During emergency braking, on average, a car will stop in 2 seconds, and a truck in 5 seconds. The higher the mass of the vehicle, the more time it will take to completely stop it.
The same car under different weather conditions can stop abruptly at different times.
The driver must take into account all the reasons why the distance between cars should be increased. Failure to observe the distance leads to a collision between vehicles. In this case, a motorist who did not observe the distance will be found guilty.
Safe distance in bad weather
The driver must be extremely careful when the weather conditions worsen. If ice appears on the road surface, it snows, it rains, then it is necessary to reduce the speed and increase the distance from the car going in front.
In this case, it is necessary to take into account the degree of wear of rubber, the type of vehicle and other factors that increase the braking distance.
Safe distance with heavy traffic in the city
In an urban environment on the roads, the driver is required to maintain a distance that is safe.With heavy traffic, as well as in traffic jams, you have to alternate between braking and acceleration, but keep the distance between cars to a minimum.
Novice drivers have a particularly difficult time. They are trying to maintain a distance of 5-10 meters from the car that goes in front. At the same time, other motorists are trying to take an empty place. As a result, the newcomer begins to get nervous because the distance becomes dangerous. In such cases, you can often get into an accident.
It is recommended to keep the distance between cars 3-4 meters in normal weather conditions.
In urban environments, reducing the distance between the vehicle bodies can lead to an accident.
Safe distance when driving out of town
When driving outside the city limits, as a rule, on good roads, speeds become higher, which must be taken into account when observing the distance between the cars.
In some sections of the road you can meet the sign 3.16, which obliges the driver to adhere to the specified distance between the cars. Such a sign is most often installed on roads with dangerous bends and bends.
To avoid troubles, you need to clearly comply with traffic rules. Non-observance of the distance is dangerous not only with penalties. This can cause an accident in which vehicles and people will be affected.
Safe distance at night and with poor visibility
A serious danger to the life of the driver and passengers of the vehicle is the non-observance of the distance at night and with reduced visibility on the road. In the dark, the driver’s visual acuity decreases, fatigue builds up, he can be blinded by the headlights of an oncoming car.
To avoid any accidents at night, you must adhere to several rules:
- The driver must sleep before driving at night.
- It is recommended to take a break after every hour of movement.
- Keep track of the vehicle that is coming towards you. If his headlights are blinded, it is better to turn on the alarm, pull over, allow the eyes to recover.
- Do not take risks, follow the speed limit.
- Do not dazzle the driver of the oncoming car with high beam, switch it to the low beam in a timely manner.
For novice drivers, the technique of Soviet instructors may be useful. They recommended choosing a safe distance as follows. 10 m must be added to the stopping distance. At night and with poor visibility, this distance will avoid an accident.
Despite the fact that at night there are fewer cars on the road, the driver needs to be extremely careful. The number of accidents caused by non-compliance with the distance is still high at night.
Traffic accidents
Collision of cars moving within the same lane in one direction is a frequent occurrence on the road. It is generally accepted that the driver of a car located behind is always to blame. This is not true. There are cases when both motorists are found guilty.
The causes of such accidents:
- Failure to comply with the distance.
- Rollback, reversing the vehicle in front.
There are other controversial situations with emergency braking ahead of the transport. But most often in such situations, the driver of the car going behind is recognized as guilty. His mistake is that he does not maintain a safe distance. The administrative code provides for non-compliance with the distance article 12.15. The driver is responsible for whose fault the accident occurred.
Penalty for breaking the rules
What will be the penalty for non-observance of the distance in an accident? Such a penalty may be imposed on the driver, provided that at the time of the accident both vehicles were in motion. The amount of the fine may be 1,500 rubles (not including the cost of repairing a damaged car).If the driver paid this money within 10 days after the accident, the amount of the fine can be reduced by 50%.
If one car was parked in the wrong place, then this violation does not fall under the Code of Administrative Offenses. Non-observance of the distance in this case is not taken into account, since completely different articles of the law work.
Many drivers are interested in whether video cameras can record such a violation? Despite the fact that such actions can lead to an accident, fixing it is quite difficult. Therefore, for violation of traffic rules and non-compliance with the distance, the article of the Code of Administrative Offenses can be applied only in the event of a car collision.
In which cases the driver will be fined
The driver must know that he can be punished for not observing the distance if an accident occurred due to his fault. If there is no traffic accident, penalties are not imposed.
A controversial situation may arise if an accident occurred during emergency braking of a car with studded tires, but without the "Spikes" sign. As practice shows, the driver of a vehicle going behind is not exempted from liability for non-compliance with the distance (paragraph 12.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). In this case, the wine can be divided into both drivers.
The motorist must be aware that failure to maintain the correct distance between vehicles can lead to an emergency. There are techniques by which you can learn to correctly determine the required distance. In this case, several factors should be taken into account, for example, weather conditions, time of day. The law provides for the punishment of drivers for violations, but it applies only to cases when vehicles had an accident.