How to Judge the Distance Between Cars When Driving?
2 Answers
Methods to judge the distance between vehicles are as follows: 1. When the lower edge of the rear wheel of the car in front aligns with the lower edge of the windshield, the distance is 3-5 meters. 2. When the lower edge of the front car's bumper aligns with the lower edge of the windshield, the distance is about 2 meters. 3. When the upper edge of the front car's bumper aligns with the lower edge of the windshield, the distance is 0.5-1 meters. 4. When the image of the rear car occupies the entire rearview mirror, the distance is about 3 meters; when the image occupies two-thirds of the rearview mirror, the distance is about 5 meters; when the image occupies half of the rearview mirror, the distance is about 9 meters; when the image occupies one-third of the rearview mirror, the distance is about 12 meters.
The method I use most often while driving is the rearview mirror judgment technique. By observing the appearance of the car behind me in the mirror: if it fills the entire mirror surface, it's probably about 5 meters away—too close, so I need to be careful; if it only occupies half the mirror, the distance is roughly 10 meters; if just a small front end of the car is visible in the mirror, then it's at least 15 meters away, which is a safer distance. When following another car, I silently count to three—after the car in front passes a utility pole, I count 'one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three' before passing the same spot. This method works especially well on clear days. In rainy or foggy conditions, I add another half-second to the count, leaving a longer braking interval for safety. When changing lanes, besides checking the mirrors, I also turn my head to look, as the area around the C-pillar is where electric scooters are most likely to hide.
