WINDHOEK – Every motor vehicle driver must keep a safe following distance. Namibia is currently experiencing heavy rains and vehicles are skidding, causing accidents.
Keeping a safe following distance is by far one of the easiest, yet most commonly broken rules of defensive driving. Even if you follow every other defensive driving technique, you cannot possibly be a safe driver unless you follow this rule each and every time you drive.
If you keep your distance from other drivers, you will almost always have an escape route, or will be able to take some sort of evasive action with ease. Even during very high speeds, if you maintain a large enough following distance, your chance of colliding with the vehicle in front of you is very small.
At a minimum, during dry weather conditions, you should have at least 2 seconds of space between you and the vehicle in front of you (3 seconds is better). Do this by using a fixed object such as a bridge, tree, or even a crack or shadow in the roadway. Once the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of you crosses that object, begin to count… one-thousand one, one-thousand two, one-thousand three, etc. If you do not make it to two by the time your front bumper crosses that same fixed object, you need to increase the following distance. Of course, being further away than 3 seconds is not only acceptable, it is recommended.
When visibility is low such as light fog, light rain, or night-time driving, you should double the following distance to a minimum of 4 seconds. This will seem like a large gap between you and the vehicle in front of you. That is ok. Adding a few seconds following distance is a very minor inconvenience for a huge benefit should something occur.
Everyone thinks they are driving far enough behind the vehicle in front of them, yet rear-end collisions are one of the most common forms of traffic accidents. Use the counting technique for following distances, and you can be much more confident that you are driving at a safe distance.
When driving during major weather such as heavy rain, you should increase your safe following distance to a minimum of 6 seconds. Yes, this will seem like an eternity. But if you are in a hurry during major poor weather conditions, you are an extreme hazard to yourself and everyone around you.
Relax, back off, and keep your distance. While driving in hazardous conditions, you should not be concerned with what time you arrive at your destination. You should be concerned with simply arriving there. Some people like to stay close to the vehicle in front of them because they believe it helps increase their visibility. Yet that kind of thinking is exactly how multi-car pile up accidents occur.
We know that maintaining a safe following distance can be challenging. Keeping these following distances will be very tough at times, especially during heavy traffic. Imagine the pile-ups we experience now and then between Windhoek and Okahandja, especially on Sundays when everyone is rushing back to Windhoek. Keeping the following distance becomes very much a challenge.
Other vehicles will continuously cut you off and close the gap. In a sense, they are taking advantage of your safe driving habits to try and get slightly further ahead. That is ok. Remember, they are not a great defensive driver like you are. And someday, it will probably catch up with them. Do not get angry with them. Simply adjust. You have made the choice to be a safe driver, so it’s up to you to adjust your driving skills around the actions of less educated and less talented drivers.
Most people do not even realise they are being poor drivers. So do not take it personally when somebody performs an unsafe driving manoeuvre around you. Just adjust, keep your distance, and adjust again. In heavy traffic, the cycle seems never ending.
Many people think an increased following distance will cost them too much time, especially when driving in traffic. No doubt, you will be cut off and will need to further open the space between you and the vehicle in front of you. It will be a constant challenge and you will have to constantly adjust. But just how much time will it cost you?
Well, let us say for every car that cuts you off, you lose 5 seconds from your day (a pretty liberal number). And let us say you are cut off 50 times during your commute (that is a lot! But it makes the Math easy). That means, you will arrive at your destination a whopping 4 minutes later than if you reduced the following distance. And let us face it, does each car that cuts you off really cost you 5 seconds? And do you really get cut off 50 times during your commute? You really are not losing much time. An accident would be much more costly.
Finally, if you are being tailgated, try changing lanes. Let off the gas pedal and very gradually slow down to entice the tailgater to pass. The last thing you want to do is be caught off guard to a potential hazard.
Never be intimidated. If you are worried you will get rear-ended, increase your following distance and continue to coast to a slower speed. You cannot control how others drive. All you can do is adjust to their crappy driving. If you go 5km/h over the limit, they will still tailgate you. If you go 10km/h over the limit, they will still tailgate you. So do not ever speed on account of being tailgated. It is not going to work.