#3 DISTANCE!
The last lesson learned in my previous blog post, and #3 on my TOP FIVE tips to driving in the Rain is: keep your distance from the car in front of you.
Now although the accident I witnessed yesterday happened over a dry road, the SUV skidded into the Benz and the Benz also slid forward and hit another car. How could this happen? I mean, the Benz and SUV's brakes or tires must have been in bad shape. Right?
Wrong. The assumption that vehicles with brand new tires and brand new brakes should stop on a dime etc is false (unless of course the car's crawling at 2 miles an hour). If you are driving under high-risk conditions, you should never be confident that you will be able to stop your vehicle in time to avoid a collision. If you are driving a heavy vehicle, you should be even less confident.
In normal driving conditions in L.A., cars should have at least a 2 car-length distance between them. Nevertheless, people are impatient and feel the need to tailgate each and every car (unless occupied by intimidating folk). Remember: the faster you are driving the farther away you should be from the vehicle in front of you. In bumper-to-bumper traffic it is usually fine to be 12 inches away from the car in front of you without risking much. Driving at 65MPH with 12 inches between you and the car in front of you is asking for major trouble.
Although you may get away with tailgating on a dry road, in a wet road, it is a recipe for disaster or death. The more distance you have between the car in front of you the more options you have in case of hydroplaning or, as in yesterday's accident, it will give you enough leeway to brake quickly after an unexpected stop of traffic flow. If the Benz's driver had kept a good deal of distance from the car in front of it, there would only be damage on the rear of the car and might have still been drivable.
Benz driver, if you're out there, next time stop your car so that you can still see the bottom of the back tires of the car in front. This is a good distance to keep when stopping behind a car in any normal traffic situation. If you pull up and can't even see the license plate, you are definitely way too close.
I have to mention what my suggestions are when some ackhole is tailgating you. Usually, I'll continue my rate of velocity and wait for whoever it is to pass me. If in the rear-view mirror I see that this driver is obviously DWS, then I'll signal and safely make a lane change. Changing lanes without signaling (see COMMUNICATION!) increases the chances of collision if both of you decide to move in the same direction (as it usually happens). If I'm feeling relatively brave, I'll gently pump the brakes to remind the driver behind me that "Yes, you have absolutely no fracking idea if I'll have to stop suddenly and you'll obviously be the liable party in a rear-end collision." This maneuver though has the risk of infuriating the Ragers. Oh Ragers, hell hath no fury to compare with thy rage.
So if an ackhole is tailgating you, your best option is to take the action that improves your chances of avoiding an accident if you have to stop suddenly. Throwing cans of oil out your car window to rid yourself of a (tail)Gater is a questionable move (so is trying to shoot the car's tires out or braking suddenly!)
The next storm is coming! (from weather.com)
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