A 3-minute lesson from the Massachusetts course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Space is time. Keeping enough room around your vehicle gives you time to stop safely or steer around a hazard. Massachusetts measures following distance in seconds, not car lengths.
Know the rule
Use the three-second rule: when the vehicle ahead passes a fixed object like a sign post or tree, count "one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand." If you reach the object before you finish, you're too close; slow down.
Following a pickup on dry pavement, you see it pass a mailbox, and you reach the mailbox at "two one-thousand." You're following too closely: ease off until you count at least three seconds.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
What is the minimum following distance recommended in good conditions using the three-second rule?
One second
Five seconds
Two seconds
Three seconds
Answer: Three seconds
The three-second rule is the minimum safe following distance in good conditions.