If someone unnecessarily hits the brakes and you hit them Are you following too close?

Answer 1

Yes. Rule of thumb. If you are following another car give yourself 4 to 5 second lead. The best way is to pick a stationary object, such as, a telephone pole, a sign, or a light pole and count 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi and so on. If you get to 5 seconds by the time you pass the object you are fine. Add 1 second to every 5 MPH. 55 MPH=5 seconds.

The above poster has recommended a very conservative following distance. Many authorities recommend two full seconds if the roads are dry and you are paying attention. If you're on a cell phone, better give yourself 20 seconds or so.

Two seconds is no longer being recommended as a safe following distance. This is because it take the average person 3/4 of a second to realize a problem and another 3/4 of a second to apply the brake. That's 1 1/2 seconds. So the first paragraph is what is now being promoted. A Minimum of 4 seconds following distance is now recommended for cars during the day on a dry road.

It is also a good idea to keep in mind the relative braking abilities of your vehicle. Typically lower cars stop better than higher cars. Trucks tend to stop poorly relative to cars. ABS tends to make a car stop better on bad road surfaces than vehicles without ABS. Wide tires tend to help stopping power, though taller tires make it harder to stop. Worn or aged (in years) tires reduce stopping power. Brake system faults or wheel misalignment reduce stopping power. Improper tire inflation reduces stopping power, especially tires that are overinflated (some people do this to improve mpg even though wearing out the tires faster usually eliminates the benefit).

ABS also makes you stop slower. However, on wet or slippery conditions, ABS also allows for manuevering without requiring the skills of a professional racecar driver.

All of the above assumes that the person was not slamming on their brakes to intentionally cause an accident (a common insurance scam). The general rule is you are responsible for avoiding hazards ahead of you because you are in the best position to do so. It's easier for you to create a 2 second following distance than for the person ahead of you to create one, etc.

Answer 3

It's great to say that you should leave a 5 second gap, but in reality that doesn't happen. It always used to be 'the 2 seconds rule', but personally I find 3 seconds much more relaxing. At that distance, you have the feeling that no matter how much of an idiot the guy in front of you is, you can avoid getting in an accident with them.

I'm sure it's illegal for someone to put on their brakes for no reason, except perhaps to make a tailgater crash into them. The hard job would be in proving that's what they did. All they have to say is that they thought someone was about to step into the road, or there was a dog, and there is not much you can do to disprove it.

Much better to give yourself sufficient space to avoid such toxic individuals.

Good luck.