How much of a cushion should you keep between you and the car in front of you under normal driving conditions?

Answer 1

2 to 5 seconds, depending on what speed you are travelling and the weight of your vehicle. The faster you go or the heavier your vehicle is, the more distance you should have between vehicles. Check the time by taking note of some landmark such as a sign or overpass, and when the car in front reaches it, start counting seconds. When you pass that same landmark, stop counting. If you're doing city speeds (around 30mph/50kph), you should have 2 or 3 seconds between. At highway speeds (around 60mph/100kph), you should have more like 5 seconds between.