Drivers - what’s with the gap?

[tanstaafl]

For the first time in months, I’ve been out this morning at rush hour ( or what constitutes rush hour in this ruralish place I live ).

There it was , ‘the gap’.

Car in front waiting at lights. There’s a gap between the front of their car and the white line you could get an old mini into.

I was taught you pull up to the line imagining the bumper ( remember them!) just about above the white line.

Are drivers taught differently now?

I see it between cars queuing at lights too.
Is everyone being taught VIP protection techniques these days?

Yabu - times have moved on , keep up grandma
Yanbu - I too want to tap on their window and ‘offer suggestions’

[Mascaramademehappy]

You don’t go right up to the line because if someone shunts you forward from behind you go right into oncoming traffic. You should leave enough room so that you can actually see the line. This was drummed into us in our annual workplace advanced driving courses.

Same with any situation where you are potentially stationary, you need to leave enough space to be safe and move yourself out of danger.

[GiraffeWithSwag]

As previous posters have said ‘tyres and tarmac’....my kids were also taught... ‘fly or die!!’ for any birds that were in the road. As in, the bird flies or it dies, do NOT swerve to miss the bird. The birds life isn’t worth putting yours or other road users at risk for swerving.

[Russellbrandshair]

Because all the idiots who dont leave "the gap" are sitting nose to tail at traffic lights. Someone at the back doesn't stop in time. All cars shunted forward and car in front shunted into oncoming traffic

Yes exactly. This thread is rather alarming- I can’t believe some people are on the road 😬

[GlitteryUnicornSparkles]

In regards to the white line I was taught that the general rule of thumb for most modern cars is that the white line should appear to run alongside / inline with your wing mirrors to prevent your car bonnet being over the line.

In relation to a gap in general ‘tyres & tarmac’ was drilled in to me, you should always be able to see the car in fronts tyres touching the tarmac, far too many people get far too close to the car in front. As said by others this prevents you from shunting into the car in front if someone hits you from behind and also gives room to manoeuvre in an emergancy. I was recently hit from behind at traffic lights, the fact I stick to this religiously is the only reason I did not hit the car in front and even then it was close.

[k1233]

The gap between cars at lights is super important. It prevents the multi vehicle accident when someone is rear ended.

Someone wrote my car off a number of years back. I was 10 cars back at a red light, car behind me braked in the last couple of metres, so hit me close to full speed. He shattered my petrol tank, buckled my chassis - car was a write off. Car in front of me was barely touched. The police said it was my excellent driving that meant it wasn't a multi car pile up. Part of the excellent driving was stopping so I could see where the rear wheels of the car in front touched to road.

Before anyone asks why I didn't manoeuvre out of the way, I was on a bridge without a verge and traffic was on coming in the other lane - there was nowhere to go.

[ShowOfHands]

FIL was saved by leaving a gap. He was at the end of a queue of traffic and the driver of the lorry behind him hadn't noticed the stationary queue (admitted he'd zoned out). FIL had cottoned on to this in his rear view mirror and had enough time to turn his wheels and start evasive action so that he was shunted into a field with a reduced blow and not full impact into the car in front. The rear of his car was crushed and he had to be cut out. The emergency services said his swift actions undoubtedly prevented serious injury at the very least. Fortunately, the lorry ended up on the other side of the road with no oncoming traffic.

[Bargebill19]

Witnesses today - standing traffic which then started to move. One car (1) either stalled or wasn’t quick enough for the car (2) behind them who promptly drove into the back of the first car (1).
Within ten minutes there was a mile long queue of traffic trying to get around the two car smash. If car (2) and left a gap, then he would have had time to stop and not cause a crash and extra congestion.

[Oliversmumsarmy]

Funnily enough I have noticed this recently

Usually at traffic lights.
I will be in one lane right up to the line and the car at the side of me or if a single carriage way the car at the junction will be hanging several feet back.

This isn’t about queuing with cars in front but the lead car at the lights or where they are about to make a turn.

If you are several feet back how are you supposed to see what is coming and you will probably need to leave enough time for you to drive up to the line then make your turn

[maddiemookins16mum]

I leave the space of half a car in front of me in any queue.

[TopBitchoftheWitches]

Just leave a sensible distance. Stop being a dick.

[HellsAngel81]

I learnt to drive 6 years ago and don't remember being taught tyres and tarmac . I honestly don't know what I do at traffic lights, but I'm going to remember this next time I'm out in the car and check that I actually do it!

When I learnt to ride my motorbike, defensive driving was drummed into you, so I will be ashamed of myself if this is an area I'm crap in

[safariboot]

In at least some cases, I leave a bigger gap in case I want to inch forward to deter the window washing scammers or persistent beggars.

[HopeClearwater]

@Mascaramademehappy thanks, I’ll take that on board. Would you recommend the advanced drivers course then?

[BackInTime]

Tyres and tarmac

[MotherPiglet]

I was taught you should always be able to see tyres and tarmac. Bumper to bumper sounds dangerous to me.

[RHOBHfan]

@0blio

So many people misunderstanding the OP!

Yes, there should be a gap between cars to allow braking time but the OP is about leaving a gap at the front of a queue at a red light. That's just ridiculous.

She’s on about both in her OP

Answers are addressing both

[ultrablue]

Just to add some junctions are tight at the top of my Mom's road if you stop right up at the white line, buses turning into the road are likely to actually hit you. Every junction is different.

[Infullbloom]

Hopefully by now you've realised you're supposed to leave and gap and the reasons for that OP. If I'm stationary behind another car I leave a bigger gap than I need to so I can move forward a bit when arseholes pull up to my bumper.

[TimeWastingButFun]

Did you not learn about this in your driving lessons?

[Wotsitsarecheesy]

The only issue with 'tyres and tarmac' is when the traffic lights are on a roundabout (not just at the roundabout entrance, actually on the roundabout itself). I've seen cars stuck blocking the roundabout exit because the car in front has left a big gap before the lights that are on the roundabout. If they pulled up to the line, there would be plenty of room for both cars. Also can be very dangerous when cars on a NLS road travel around the roundabout at speed, because they had a green light, to suddenly find someone sticking out into their lane because they have stopped at the lights on the roundabout, left a massive gap to the car in front, and are blocking the lane.

[buckeejit]

Yabu. A gap is necessary. Same as gap is necessary when driving to keep safe

[MintyMabel]

Yes, there should be a gap between cars to allow braking time but the OP is about leaving a gap at the front of a queue at a red light. That's just ridiculous.

It isn’t. If an emergency vehicle needs to get through, leaving yourself some space to pull forward without having to go into moving traffic is actually a sensible thing to do.

[MintyMabel]

I've seen cars stuck blocking the roundabout exit because the car in front has left a big gap before the lights that are on the roundabout

That is the fault of those blocking the road. They shouldn’t pull forward until they can see they won’t block the roundabout.

[tanstaafl]

Thanks for the replies.

The anti-shunt advice of ‘tyres and tarmac’ makes sense for stationary traffic but I’m not buying the ‘space to manoeuvre for emergency vehicles’ entirely. There’s space in front and behind you to utilise plus you never move individually, the whole line moves.

I realise that ‘gap’ is entirely subjective but if you’ve seen drivers leave a big space at lights you’ll know what I’m talking about.

[Booksandwine80]

Sorry but you’ve got too much time on your hands