What does a safe distance you should keep while driving behind another car depend on?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
A. On the speed with which you're driving.
Explanation
In the photo you are driving on a dual carriageway on an elevated road behind a white minibus, and next to you a dark car is travelling in the left-hand lane. A safe distance from the vehicle in front depends in particular on the speed at which you are driving - answer A. Neither engine power (B) nor the width of the roadway (C) affects how many metres you travel before you react and brake to a stop.
The Road Traffic Act requires you to keep the distance necessary to avoid a collision if the vehicle in front brakes or stops, and on a motorway and an expressway it requires a distance in metres of no less than half your speed in km/h. The faster you drive, the longer the distance travelled during your reaction time (about a second) and the longer the braking distance, which increases with the square of speed. A simple method: choose a point that the car in front of you passes, and count whether you reach it after at least two seconds; on a wet road, increase this time.
Legal basis: Art. 19 para. 2 point 3 and para. 3a of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)