Keep a safe distance
H. Kishie Singh

KEEP distance! This is definitely the wisdom of the ancients. And this formula is the ideal and only solution to one of the problems that exist on our roads. The problem, of course, is tailgating. It simply means that the driver of the car following does not maintain a safe distance from the car in the front. This means that there is not enough safe braking and stopping distance.

The accompanying photograph shows what can happen if you don’t maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you. The photograph was taken at the Karnal Toll Booth on N.H.-1 on a foggy day. The car to be hit first was standing still, paying the toll-fee. Six more cars piled into the stationary car. Not even one driver had maintained a safe and sensible distance. The brake marks told another story. All cars had been travelling at speeds too high for the road conditions that existed that day.

None of the six drivers had the good auto-sense to maintain a safe distance. Not one of these drivers had any thought for their personal safety or of their passengers. As a matter of fact, every one on the road that day drove as if there was no fog. Caution had been thrown to the winds. They drove at much the same speed as they would have on a clear sunny day. The only concession they made was to switch on headlights, on full beam and keep their finger on the horn. Hundreds of cars overtook me that day on the Ambala-Karnal stretch. I stayed in the left-hand lane, maintaining about 50 km.p.h. At this speed, 23 metres or 6 car lengths are required to stop, if you are travelling on a dry road with good brakes, good tyres and, of course, good visibility. Most cars that overtook me were travelling at 80 km.p.h. plus. Some went by in a flash and were lost in the fog. One reason I was happy to let them overtake me was that they all had their high beams on. This can be dazzling in the rearview mirror. Believe it or not, the vision of a driver using high beams is restricted. Low beam would give him better visibility. Also, a driver with his nose almost on my rear bumper makes me nervous. Never let the driver behind you dictate your driving speed or habits. Let him overtake.

An irresponsible driver behind you is a potential source of danger. Let him go ahead. He can’t do much damage ahead of you. Yes! He can stop suddenly! So, keep distance. The ancient ones knew about driving on the highways!

Take another look at the accompanying photo. The light poles are barely visible in the distance. The top of the light poles are fading into the fog. That’s how poor the visibility was.

And since all the cars were white in colour, this made it even more difficult to see them in the fog, which was also white. At times like this, it is important to have the rear brake lights in working condition. Keep them on. Red has a more penetrating wavelength and is visible from a longer distance. This is tremendous safety feature.

The accompanying chart shows the distance required to stop. Keep it in mind and keep distance.

Happy motoring!