Often throughout the course of this truck accident lawyer blog we have discussed and reviewed driving safety tips. Today we would like to discuss an very important driving safety principle- maintaining a decent stopping distance between your vehicle and those around you - particularly the vehicle in front.
Perhaps the average driver is unaware of the highly refined equations related to stopping distances for trucks and automobiles. Let's consider some statistics and research on the topic.
According to one reliable authority if a street surface is dry, the average driver should be able to safely decelerate an automobile or light truck with reasonably good tires at the rate of about 15 feet per second (fps). That is, a driver can slow down at this rate without being worried that control of the vehicle will be lost in the process
In addition, "The measure of velocity is distance divided by time (fps), stated as feet per second". For the statistical novice consider the following explanation:
"Velocity is reduced 15 fps every second. If the initial velocity is 60 mph, 88 fps, after 1 second elapsed, the vehicle velocity would be 73 fps, after 2 seconds it would be 58 fps decreasing progressively thereafter.
Given the previous set of conditions, it would mean that a driver could stop a car or pickup truck in a total of 6.87 seconds (including a 1 second delay for driver reaction) and your total stopping distance would be 302.28 feet, slightly more than a football field in length".
A football field is often too lengthy of a span to slow down to prevent an accident. The cautious driver will leave plenty of room between their vehicle and the one in front. It just makes sense.
You should also be aware that stopping distances for 18 wheelers is much greater than cars or pickup trucks. The predicted distances for truck stopping depends on the condition of the brakes, weight of the load, and type of rig. But in every case it takes a big rig much longer to stop.
If you find yourself followed to closely by an 18 wheeler, change lanes if you can or let the truck pass you.
The 18 wheeler accident lawyers at the Baumgartner Law Firm help victims of tractor trailer accidents seek civil justice.
