How to Judge the Distance Between Cars
2 Answers
Specific techniques for judging the distance between cars while driving: Judging by fixed reference points on the car: When the midpoint of the left rearview mirror is on the left sideline, the distance between the car and the sideline is 1.5 meters. When the first wiper node is on the left sideline, the left wheel of the car is on the sideline. Judging by the position of the white line: When the white line is at the midpoint of the engine hood, the right wheel of the car is already on the line. When the white line is at the half position on the right side of the engine hood, the car is 30 centimeters away from the right sideline. When the white line is at the one-third position on the right side of the engine hood, the car is 60 centimeters away from the right sideline. When you can see the upper edge of the rear bumper of the car in front, the distance is 1m; when you can see the lower edge of the rear bumper, the distance is 2m; when you can see the lower edge of the rear tire, the distance is 3m; when the car's shadow occupies the entire rearview mirror, the distance is 3m; when the shadow occupies two-thirds of the rearview mirror, the distance is 5m; when the shadow occupies half of the rearview mirror, the distance is 9m; when the shadow occupies one-third of the rearview mirror, the distance is 12m. Reasons for maintaining distance: Avoid rear-end collisions caused by sudden braking of the car in front; if you follow too closely, you may not have enough time to brake, as the car will still move forward a distance even with sudden braking; give yourself time to react to emergencies.
A housekeeping skill honed over more than a decade of driving. My daily methods for judging distance mainly rely on four tricks: First, observe the position of the rear wheels of the car ahead—when you can clearly see where the rear tires meet the ground, the distance is usually about 15 to 20 meters. Second, gauge the distance in the rearview mirror—if the entire front of a car in the adjacent lane is visible in the mirror, it’s still safe; if only half of a headlight is visible, prepare to brake. Third, on the highway, watch the white dashed lines—passing two consecutive segments roughly indicates a safe following distance. Lastly, practice adjusting mirror angles and checking blind spots by turning your body when changing lanes. Nowadays, many new cars come with driving assistance systems, which ironically make people less capable of judging distances on their own.
