Back in the early 1970s, my driving school teacher told me to leave enough space to see the license plate. However, back then, plates were usually attached to the rear bumper; now they’re generally on the trunk lid. I still leave enough space to see the bumper.
I remember a conversation with a friend about this issue; she is one of these people who always leaves a huge gap. She mentioned the worry about being rear-ended. However, she also said that she liked to have a little more space to move when the light turned green; she could take her foot off the brake and let the car build some momentum before stepping on the accelerator, thus saving a little gas in the process. I thought that was an interesting point, but I didn’t start leaving 20-foot gaps at stoplights.
This makes no sense. Does she think the car is not using gas just because you’re not pressing down on the pedal? In fact drifting along with your foot off the gas gets terrible mileage. You want to get up to speed quickly (without flooring it) if you’re worried about saving gas.
Funny enough, some of the lights around here are the opposite. If there is only one car in the left turn lane, stopped at the stop line, they won’t get a green left turn arrow. Stop a car-length back or more than 1 car in the lane and the light will trigger. Drivers will often stop a bit back and then roll forward once they see another car join the line.
That’s a true statement, but ultimately you are going to use about the same amount of energy from the point where you begin your stop to the point where you resume full speed. It doesn’t matter if you stop a few feet sooner, because then you have to drive those extra feet when you start. Driving a hybrid is a red herring because you are just exchanging one form of energy for another. All the electricity in a hybrid ultimately came from burning gas, so using electricity doesn’t save gas. (What saves gas in a hybrid is capturing the energy that would have otherwise been lost to heat generated by friction.)
I think such fear is operative in some cases. It’s the same kind of irrational and annoying fear that affects drivers halted at a four-way stop. They see you coming down the road that intersects at a 90-degree angle and are so panicky at the thought that you might blow through the stop sign and hit them, that they wait until you’ve come to a full stop before proceeding, so that you’re delayed as they cautiously creep through the intersection (they should’ve been long gone by the time you get there). Sometimes I feel like T-boning them anyway, just to teach them that their excessive precautions are in vain.
Another reason for leaving a huge gap between them and the car stopped in front, might be that they think it’s impolite to pull up close to the other vehicle. I’ve experienced this peculiarity* when waiting on line at fast-food places, where dingbats leave such a huge gap between them and the person ahead on line, that no one knows where the back of the line is and people accidentally cut in (or the unnecessarily long line winds up trailing out the restaurant door).
*especially since moving to this part of the Midwest.
My other less than favorite behavior involves drivers who stop way behind the car ahead of them at the stoplight - then creep forward by degrees, stopping and starting up again, so you’re obliged to do the same thing unless you want to leave a gap.
There was a video going around a while ago about just this, showing how if all the drivers waiting at a light start going at the same time instead of waiting for the car in front of them to move, you will get a significantly larger amount of cars through the same length of light. I wish all drivers could see that video and act accordingly.
This is why I leave a bit of room (~ seeing the tires of the car in front of me), but not a ton.
As a stick driver who puts my car in neutral at a long light, drivers like you make me want to box you about the head and shoulders.
Agreed. Sometimes when I’m on a bit of a hill and a vehicle is getting too close to me, I’ll allow a bit of rollback to remind them that not all vehicles on the road are automatics. (And when I say “a bit,” I mean “an inch” - just enough for them to see movement in the wrong direction and remind them not to actually kiss my bumper.)
If they do, then you will quickly get to the point where the following distance is not safe for the speed. However, I do think people in general are overly conservative about getting through a light, especially a shorter one like a left turn. I have taken notice of this, and it is usually about 2 seconds between the time a left arrow comes on and the time the lead car enters the intersection. And it can be another 2 seconds before the next car goes through. I have seen higher numbers. Subsequent cars take 1-2 seconds. That is a long time in Intersection World. When you have a 30-second light and 30 cars queued up, it can make the difference between a few cars getting through vs. everyone in line.
I was at a stop light where the guy in front of me had stopped so far back he wasn’t triggering the timer. I think after a few minutes of other people blowing their horns he finally figured it out.
In Oregon, the law is that you stop far enough back that you can see the rear tires of the vehicle in front of you. Generally that works for me. I have also been rear ended in heavy traffic twice. The second time was a chain reaction accident (someone hit someone who hit me). I leave more room than some people might like, but I also don’t hit the guy in front of me. I’ll accept your irritation.
I keep a space in front , not car length, but a bout 2 or 3 feet. If I’m first at a red light, I wait a few seconds before I go, I ain’t get broadsided buy some asshole who tries to “beat the light”. I also don’t block intersections, and driveways no matter what the driver behind me thinks.
I’ve seen enough road rage that getting out of your car can cost you, maybe your life…just saying.
Once a truck pulled up about 6" behind me on a steep him. I just sloooooowly let my car roll back on his bumper so i could go without rolling back into him.
