following distance by hawkwell driving school hockley

You should normally stay about 3 seconds behind the car in front, further if you have someone close behind you, or if the road is wet. Above 40mph you are too close if you can read the number plate of the car in front.

The biggest cause of accidents is driving too close to the car in front. Drivers do this all the time not realising how dangerous it is. The Highway Code and advanced driving institutions advocate keeping two seconds away from the car in front (in dry conditions - double in the wet):

Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule

However as far as we are concerned this is only adequate at speeds below 40mph, above 40mph it should be at least 3 seconds (to put this into practice wait until the car in front passes a marker, such as a signpost, then it should be 3 seconds before you get to the same marker). On a dual carriageway or motorway there are small blue and yellow posts every one hundred metres - this is your overall stopping distance at 70 mph.