Why the big gap?

matamoros1965

Why have some people got into the habit of leaving a big gap between their car and the one in front at traffic light? It's a bit annoying especially if you are a few cars back and are trying to get into a filter lane. Anyone?

doOh

because if some1 hits u in da back of your car and u hit car in front of u, ur fracked

Alanstrainor

doOh wrote: »

because if some1 hits u in da back of your car and u hit car in front of u, ur fracked

Less of the "txt spk" please.

Anan1

I leave enough space to see the wheels of the car in front - means I can see more and i'm not blocked in.

jaffa20

doOh wrote: »

because if some1 hits u in da back of your car and u hit car in front of u, ur fracked

Not really. Both parties end up claiming off the person who didn't stop in time.

gerrycollins

how big of a gap are you talking about? I leave a little less than 2 meters between me and the car in front for various reasons.

if Im rear ended space allows to minimise possible other car involvement.

the car in front may brake shortly are taking off and the space allows me to break without rear ending them

Eric Cartman

If on a slope (especially slip lanes on motorways) and a driver I dont feel comfortable about (e.g Learner or anybody whos not a male in a >1.6l car ) is infront of me I tend to leave 3-4 meters to give me time to alert them via the horn if they start rolling back while stopped in traffic, ive noticed its become more common in the last year or so as attention in traffic seems to be on phones and not using your handbrake or holding the footbrake down

redsteveireland

As above, if someone bumps you it reduces the risk of hitting the person in front, I was thought by my driving instructor many moons ago to make sure you can see the wheels of the car in front.
Also if the person in front has the same problem as my neighbour they might mistakenly slip the car into reverse. :eek:

Whats the rush anyway?

BanzaiBk

I leave about 2 metres in the rain or general bad road conditions. Otherwise not much at all.

Anan1

Anan1 wrote: »

I leave enough space to see the wheels of the car in front - means I can see more and i'm not blocked in.

A driving instructor told one of the lads I went to college that that was the way to go

squod

Probably because the heater is on and if you're too close all you smell is fumes from the car in front.

bladespin

RoverJames wrote: »

A driving instructor told one of the lads I went to college that that was the way to go

Same as that, you should be able to see the bottom of the tyres on the car in front, from what I've seen it's so that you can manouver out and around should they break down.

matamoros1965

I think the rule is that you should be able to see the tyres of the vehicle in front contacting the ground. Some people are leaving from 3/4 metres upward. It's a surprise to hear so many of you are concerned about being rear ended though, I was rear ended whilst driving a fully laden Transit by a car which itself was hit by (suprisingly enough) a Volvo which hit it at about 50kph but to be factoring in the chances of being rear ended into your driving is for me a bit much. Anyway, the last guy pays.

I was on the Tallaght bypass recently and the driver in front had left such a big gap that I overtook and pulled into the space just to make a point.

-Chris-

I was taught to see tyres and tarmac.

Whenever I stop in traffic I want to see their rear wheels, and a bit of the road. It may leave a bit of a gap (depending on what I'm driving), but I've had several times where, in heavy traffic, the car in front has all of a sudden turned on their hazards because they're having some sort of difficulty.

Without that gap I'd have been stuck behind them until things cleared enough that I could reverse in traffic.


P.S. If you tried coming around me and pulling into that space, I believe you'd be furtively glancing to see if you remembered to lock your doors within about 10 seconds... :mad:

stevenmu

Slightly OT, but the thing that's annoying me most on the roads at the moment is when people stop leaving a gap of a meter or two, then pull forward a little and stop again, then pull forward a bit more and stop again etc.. etc.. If there are a few people in the queue doing this you can either end up with a huge gap left in front of you, or you have to pull forward 4 or 5 times per traffic light cycle. Do people hate their clutch or something?

It's gotten to the point now that I'll just sit and wait for the lights before I'll move, I don't care if there's a 20 meter gap and the people behind are beeping and flashing like my mad. I'm not going anywhere until there's actually somewhere to go to and I'm not putting my car through unnecessary wear and tear just because some idiots can't figure out how to stop in the right place and wait for the lights before moving.

matamoros1965

Not at all, what I meant was maybe the size of a forty foot container gap that I could easily go around and safely pull into, I couldn't see a need for it, so I moved past.
I've seen cases of only 3 or 4 cars getting through a green light because of big gaps and drivers moving off slowly which when they do it and you're following, they amble up to the lights which turn amber and then they hit the gas and bomb through a late amber/red light. Sorry, that's a second peev.