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Old 06-11-2010, 05:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FSETH View Post
My math could be off, but based on a 1 second interval and estimated speeds of 40-65 mph, that would translate into about 60-100 feet between the two cars. That isn't tailgating in my book.
Driver education courses teach the "three second rule". We can cut that to two seconds for perfect driving conditions, and many of us do so on many occasions, but one second is pushing it. Tyical reaction times are close to 0.75 seconds. When the BMW driver walks back to the car, it looks like less than 8 paces between them. That isn't 60 feet, and the distance looks about like what the Mazda was using for a following distance. I agree that the BMW driver over-reacted, but the Mazda driver was a fool as well, and had the benefit of video-editing and captions to frame the incident.
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