Massive room between cars at red lights?
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Anonymous
| I have started noticing lately that cars are leaving like a full car length between themselves and the car in front of them at red lights, which is massively annoying when I need to get into the turn lane. What is this horrible phenomenon? Just a northern virginia thing? |
Anonymous
| Likely prevalent in NVA since the Langley shooting (they did catch the guy). But yes, it is overdone and annoying, OP. |
Anonymous
| I leave enough space for myself to get out if the car in front of me stalls. It has happened! |
Anonymous
| Honestly, do you really think a little extra room is going to delay you enough to matter? |
Anonymous
| I've noticed it too and I think it has to do with the total lack of spatial awareness a lot of people have. It's why people are so bad at parking, as well. |
Anonymous
| I think people inch/pull forward causing more space between the cars -- which almost always happens -- but these days the car behind them doesn't pull forward as well because they are looking at a phone. |
Anonymous
| I get road ragey too, OP, but this isn't a big deal. |
Anonymous
| you are supposed to leave enough space so that you can stop without rear ending the car in front of you. with insurance rates skyrocketing a lot of people are being more cautious, unless you are a horrible driver from Maryland or dc. |
Anonymous
| What is the recommendation? That you can see all of the vehicle in front of you? All the way to where the tires touch the road? |
Anonymous
That's what I learned way back when in driver's ed. |
Anonymous
| A lot of people have taken the defensive driving course where you have to be able to get out of stopped traffic to avoid carjackers etc. That requires a little more room. |
Anonymous
+1 Lack of common sense and basic intelligence, also. You can tell so much about a person by how they drive. |
Anonymous
| Usually they've stopped early so they can pick up their phones and scroll. This isn't some smart defensive driving trick. |
Anonymous
| It causes blocked intersections because the cars behind see that there is in enough space to go through, then the car stops suddenly a full length or more back leaving others in the middle of the intersection when their correct judgment would have had them and the car behind them through the intersection. |
Anonymous
| Texting. |