A 3-minute lesson from the Oklahoma course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Give yourself a "cushion of safety": open space in front, behind and on the sides. Stay far enough behind the next vehicle that if it stops suddenly, you can stop safely. Speed, traffic, road and weather all affect how much space you need.
Two ways to judge a safe following distance:
Allow one car length for every 10 miles per hour of speed, OR
Use the three-second rule; in bad weather or poor road conditions, count four seconds
Pick a fixed object ahead. When the car ahead passes it, count "one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three"; you shouldn't reach the object before you finish.
Trucks take longer to stop than cars because of their size, but at higher speeds or on wet pavement they may have better traction and stop more quickly. Follow too closely and you may rear-end one.
At 50 mph, the car ahead passes a road sign and you reach it at "one thousand two." You're too close. Ease off the gas until you count to three, or four seconds if it's raining.
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.
How many seconds should you count behind the vehicle ahead under normal conditions?
1 second
3 seconds
5 seconds
10 seconds
Answer: 3 seconds
Use the three-second rule under normal conditions, increasing to four in bad weather.
