Waiting at traffic lights, if you leave > 8 foot gap between you & car in front

[lljkk]

why do you do this?
is there an actual reason to do it?
Driver in front with this habit affected me the other day on a single carriageway road, because some of the traffic lights (we went thru) were short-duration on green, another car could have got thru junction in the time available, or at least it felt that way.

There was Good visibility, no one being aggressive, all level ground so no worries about cars slipping backwards, nor frantic lane changing to accommodate. The driver in front just did this habitually, they stopped with a big gap between them & car in front. My car is 12' long & could possibly fit within some of the gaps they left.

I've no idea how big the gap is between me and the car in front but I was taught that so long as you can see "tyres and tarmac" then that's appropriate. It gives you enough room to pull out around them if needs be but doesn't leave enough space for another car to pull in to the gap.

Locally to us there's a set of traffic lights on a hill and people always run up the rear end of other cars as they stop too close and don't allow for the vehicle in from to be slow moving off the lights,

A general rule of thumb is that you should be able to see the car in front's rear wheels on the tarmac when stopped at traffic lights.

It gives room to manoeuvre in an emergency, and reduces the risk of a chain of cars being affected if someone gets hit from behind, as they're less likely to get shunted into the car in front.

Tyres and tarmac is taught to all learners. No need to be so impatient on the roads, OP.

I was taught ‘tyres and tarmac’ too. My driving instructor said that it left you space to move and let emergency vehicles through.

I was taught ‘tyres and tarmac’ too.

i have noticed an increase in people being really close to other drivers generally though - I do a lot of motorway driving at the moment and always leave plenty of space and some bugger always jumps right in front of me. It’s like they have never heard of not tailgating people….

As others have said, tyres and tarmac is taught. But that’s not a universal size and it looks different to different people. I will leave a bigger gap if it’s a stop on a hill or if the person behind me has been driving erratically. If you’re constantly finding that people in front of you are leaving bigger gaps, the problem might be you.

As for someone else getting through the lights, well you made it through so I don’t see the need for the whinge but when there’s queuing traffic people could always react quicker to get the queue moving. We were queuing to get into an industrial estate yesterday and nobody was leaving big gaps but it felt like nobody was quick to react to the green and then pull off. The problem isn’t the size of the gap, it’s that people aren’t concentrating and therefore not reacting quickly enough.

Tyres and tarmac. I hate having people up my bum when we're waiting at lights, you get glare from their lights at night and it doesn't leave any space to move if something happens (emergency services, lights fail, car in front decides to turn around).

But also... don't be so impatient when driving. So what if someone else could have got through. It's a short wait until you go again, hardly the end of the world.

I get it OP. It's fucking annoying when people do that.

Tyres and tarmac my arse - no one does that.

Impatient drivers who feel the need to tailgate are far more annoying, not to mention dangerous. Don’t be that person.

I think it was my first post on MN asking a very similar question OP.
In my case I was asking why the front car leaves the big gap between itself and the stop line at lights.

There was an idea that drivers were being taught to because if they got rear ended they wouldn’t be shunted into traffic.

Maybe, but in slow moving traffic no one is going to get shunted that far yet they still stop way back.

Another annoyance is that they then start to creep forward before the lights turn green.

I believe it’s good practice and am all for it. Unfortunately, where I’m located everyone is an arrogant arsehole when driving. If you left that gap you would be at a complete standstill or never get where you are going as everyone would just keep pushing the nose of their cars into your gap.

Not sure how long a gap I leave but I was told you should be able to see the rear tyres of the car in front. And to stop at the line.

@TheBelleOfBelfastCity I don't tailgate anyone but I don't leave 8 feet between me and the car ahead at traffic lights.

That is a sight very seldom seen.

I guess I'd probably leave around half that ie 4 feet?

Driving along, always leave stopping distance depending on speed of vehicles.

If you believe that ‘no one does’ tyres and tarmac and find it ‘fucking annoying’ then I’m afraid you probably are a tailgater. If you really are so bothered by people leaving a safe gap between cars then that’s called road rage.

I was taught tyres and tarmac too. Enough space to manovre if needed - if to get out of the way for an emerency vehicle, for example.

Other reasons might be a Keep Clear sign on the road or a yellow hatched box.

Why such angst? Its only a gap which, in the grand scheme of things, is only about 4ft bigger than the recommended tyres and tarmac. What will closing that gap actually achieve in the grand scheme of things?

For all you know, they might have been shunted from behind into the car in front by an impatient tailgater who gets annoyed at people leaving gaps so they leave an even bigger gap to mitigate other people's irrational impatience.

Sometimes I end up with a big gap but it's because the car in front crawls v v slowly instead of just leaving a sensible distance and stopping.

I agree that people not concentrating is a greater problem. It amazes me how people seem to be taken by surprise by the lights going green.

Yes, everyone was taught tyres and tarmac guys 🙄 a whole car’s length is not just ‘tyres and tarmac’ is it.

YANBU OP! (I know it’s not AIBU)

If everyone left that big of a space it would take everyone double the time to get anywhere, affects the flow of traffic.

I'm not claiming to be the world's best driver but yes, I do that I didnt know it had a name but ita stick with me the car in front might break down and I would ne r to be able to get past. I don't know how many feet it works out at though

My assumption when people did this has been comforted by you. You have no idea how big the gap is. That the problem. People have no concept of the size of their car or where their car starts and finishes. If you can't tell how much space there is then your lack of spatial awareness suggests you shouldn't be driving

I've no idea how big the gap is between me and the car in front

Right 😄 I picked up on that too... really not a good thing to admit.

They have no idea where they are on the road. No spatial awareness. They shouldn't be in charge of a car.