How to Maintain Safe Following Distance for Beginner Drivers?
2 Answers
Precautions for beginner drivers: Pay attention to highway signs: Observe the distance confirmation signs and auxiliary lines on highways. When driving at speeds exceeding 100 km/h, maintain a safety distance of at least 200 meters from the vehicle ahead in the same lane. Be cautious in adverse weather: During fog, rain, snow or other severe weather conditions, stay highly alert and increase your following distance. Under low visibility conditions (fog, rain, snow, dust storms, hail etc.), double your normal following distance to prevent rear-end collisions. Avoid large vehicles: Try not to follow vehicles that obstruct your view, such as trucks or trailers. If you must follow large vehicles on highways where visibility is completely blocked, increase your safety distance and overtake when safe to do so. Don't speed: Maintaining safe speed is the most important guarantee for safe travel on highways.
When I first started driving, I was most afraid of tailgating. The 'three-second rule' taught by my instructor was super helpful: when the car in front passes a lamppost, silently count 'one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three' in your head. If you haven't reached the post by the time you finish counting, you're at a safe distance. In rainy or foggy conditions, increase it to five seconds, as braking distance can double. On the highway, stay extra far away from big trucks—they brake as slowly as sloths. Once, I followed a bus too closely, and when it suddenly stopped, I almost rear-ended it. Just thinking about it still gives me chills. Remember, following distance isn't a fixed number of meters—it depends on your current speed and road conditions!
