How to Determine the Distance of the Car Behind
2 Answers
Methods to determine the distance of the car behind include: 1. If the rear car is positioned on the outer side of the rearview mirror, it indicates a closer distance, while being on the inner side suggests a farther distance; 2. The larger the size of the rear car in the rearview mirror, the closer it is, and the smaller the size, the farther away it is; 3. When the car's interior rearview mirror shows the hood of the rear car but not the grille, the distance is approximately 3 meters; 4. If the interior rearview mirror shows the grille of the rear car, the distance is around 8 meters; 5. When the interior rearview mirror fully shows the tires of the rear car, the distance is more than 20 meters.
Having driven for decades, I often use the size of the rearview mirror to judge distance: when the following car occupies only one-third of the left mirror, it's at least ten meters away; if it takes up half, it's down to five or six meters; if it fills the entire mirror, the rear bumper is almost touching you. At night, use the lights to judge: if the following car's low beams look like a small dot, it's safe; glaring high beams clearly indicate it's closing in. On highways, use the white dashed lines as a ruler: each segment is six meters—count how many segments the following car crosses to gauge the distance. In traffic jams, watch the frequency of brake lights; frequent flashing means the car behind is following too closely, so quickly increase your distance.
