This Is Why You Should Leave Sufficient Gap From The Car In Front Of You [Video]

Driving on Indian roads can be tricky. Obstacles- people, cattle or vehicles can show up at any time, forcing you to slam your brakes hard. In such cases, it is important to keep a safe distance from the one that brakes, to stay safe and avoid collisions. A recent dash-camera recording shows just the same.

The Incident

This story stems from a video shared on the YouTube channel Nikhil Rana. It shows an incident, likely from some part of West Bengal. We see a White Maruti Celerio driving through a village. The road is well-paved, and there is just minimal traffic around. The hatchback seems to be doing a speed of around 70 kph. It is being followed by another vehicle which is doing almost the same speed.

Soon, we see the road turning slightly to the left. The Celerio takes the turn safely, and soon sees a Zebra crossing. It slows down even though there are no pedestrians waiting to cross. From this, we understand that this Celerio has a responsible driver. Soon, he sees another Zebra crossing, and a boy waiting to cross. Before the driver takes proper note of the boy, he jumps into the middle of the road, moving swiftly through the Zebra crossing.

Sensing the Red flag, the driver slams his brakes, and stops just before the line, narrowly saving the child from being hit. Panicked, the kid jumps back.

With timely thinking and prompt actions, the Celerio driver could stop safely. Seeing the Maruti do a panic braking, the vehicle that was following it does a hard-braking as well. Since he was maintaining a safe distance from the hatchback, the vehicle could be brought to a safe stop, without hitting the Celerio. The safe vehicle speed of 70 kph further helped in keeping it safe.

In this case, the blame cannot be placed solely on the kid. He should have been more careful when crossing the road. But more importantly, the folks who constructed this stretch of road should have been more responsible with the (Zebra lines) markings and their positioning. Ideally, they should have been put in a place with better visibility and fewer blind spots.

The road in this case, is clear, well-paved and well-marked. Since the traffic density is low, vehicles would tend to speed. In such scenarios, wrongly placed Zebra crossings can be extra dangerous for pedestrians.

Why Is It Important To Keep A Safe Following Distance To Brake Safe?

Bringing a speeding vehicle to a complete halt doesn't happen in a blink. The time span between hitting the brakes and the vehicle coming to a complete halt can vary with vehicles, load, speed and other factors. The distance travelled during this period is called the 'braking distance'. It increases with vehicle speed, road conditions, and vehicle weight. The heavier the car, the longer it takes to come to a complete halt. Steer-ability is often compromised while the vehicle is covering its braking distance.

Maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle driving in front, gives the driver safe reaction times if some surprise were to happen. He/she can thus brake safely and avoid collisions.

Heavy vehicles like trucks should always ensure safe following distance from those around. Climatic conditions like rain and snow lead to compromised traction. This also means that the stopping distances would shoot up. In such cases, vehicles should maintain a longer following distance than usual. Human factors like fatigue, distracted driving, or impaired judgment will further demand higher following distances.