TOTALLY GEEKED!

A Modern Mystery: Why Hang Back at Stoplights?

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Dear Car Talk

Apr 14, 2015 (Archives)

11 Comments

distracted driving, traffic

Dear Car Talk:

I seem to be missing something lately that I can't figure out! There appears to be an epidemic of drivers who, when stopped at stoplights, insist on leaving one, two and sometimes even three car lengths between themselves and the car in front of them! It is not just old folks like myself, either. Is there some benefit to their cars that people believe in, that I have never heard of? I don't know of any!

-- Jim

Since you're an old guy, I'll fill you in on what these people are doing, Jim: They're texting. 

Most people under 60 years of age these days, given a fraction of a second of free time, will reach for their phones. And if they discover that no one has tried to reach them, they'll try to reach someone else. If that fails, they'll start checking Facebook. Or Tinder.

It's like in the old days, when you used to walk out to your mailbox during the day to see if the postman had come yet. But it's like doing that 500 times a day.

So when they find themselves with 20 or 30 seconds (i.e., an eternity) at a red light, people can't resist the urge to engage with other humans on their smartphones. And while they're engrossed in answering a probing question like "Where r u?" ("I'm two blocks from the last place I texted you"), they don't notice that the car ahead of them moves up a few car lengths. 

Interestingly, I recently drove a Subaru Outback that lets you know when the car in front of you starts moving. It's part of Subaru's Eye-Sight system, which actually is designed for crash detection, but they've cleverly added a "Hey, knucklehead ... it's time to go!" warning. When you're stopped in traffic, and it detects that the car in front of you has moved more than a few feet, it beeps to wake you up from your Candy Crush trance and remind you to get moving.

It's a sensible use of a new technology. I mean, how many times have you been waiting for a left-turn arrow to turn green, only to have the person in front of you be lost in an iPhone trance? Then you honk, and they take off just in time to make it through the light themselves, leaving you to wait through another light cycle.

Which is OK, actually, because then you have 30 more seconds to check your phone. 

T

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• 12 comments
• Car Talk
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MarTTy4653• an hour ago

I always hang back maybe a car length or so to make sure the person in front of me doesn't roll back into me while trying to put his car in gear. Just habit, I guess...Seattle has a lot of hills. By the same token, I really hate the moron who is right on my bumper when I'm stopped on a hill. I'd rather not use my handbrake to keep from rolling a foot back to avoid the moron who's that close to me. People don't think about that, and don't drive manual transmission sports cars anymore.

• 2

•Dangerspork• 15 minutes ago

There are a handful of decent reasons why there's space between you and the car in front of you. I typically stop so I can see the bottoms of the tires of the car in front of me. Here's why:

1) In case you're rear-ended
Several folks have mentioned this already. But if the person pulling up behind you doesn't stop in time (perhaps because they're texting) you might avoid hitting that car in front of you.

2) In case of roll-back
Also mentioned, if the person in front of you unintentionally rolls backward a bit (perhaps because they're texting) you have a bit more time to give them a honk.

3) In case they get stuck.
If the car in front of you is stalled, stuck, or for some other reason can't move forward, you can still pull around them if you leave enough space.

4) Because people are impatient.
Americans in 2015 can't wait to get to the next thing. So while at the light, they let go of the brake and creep up a foot. And then 5 seconds later, another foot. And then a couple more. I drive a standard transmission. I pull up to the light, put the car in neutral and (typically) don't put it into gear again until the light turns green. I'm certainly not going to ride the clutch so I can move 2 car lengths ahead a foot at a time.

Akqueenbee• 22 minutes ago

I always have 1-2 car lengths between me and the car in front. In Alaska you can be cited for being too close to the car in front of you if you get pushed forward when hit from behind. I was recently rear-ended and if I hadn't been a car length behind the one in front, I would have been pushed into it. And when I am behind the wheel, my phone is not within easy reach. I don't text or answer my phone when driving.

DaniB• 35 minutes ago

I always figured it was because some people think that "stopping distance" means the distance away from the other car that you should stop, rather than it being the distance you leave between moving cars so that you have time/space to stop.

Penalope• 36 minutes ago

Safe driver training says to keep a car length between you and the car in front of you. Also, if you are rear ended, even while stopped, and your car is forced into the car in front of you, you can be cited for failing to maintain a safe distance.

zzoott• 40 minutes ago

Here's another poser, though, since we're on driving behavior 101: In your state/province/country/warlord-controlled city-state, what is the correct manner of approaching a light-signal controlled intersection for the purpose of making a left turn on a solid green indicator (no arrows)? In this neck of the woods, we were taught to advance into the intersection under the guidance of the light, where we are to wait for all other traffic with a superior right-of-way to clear said intersection before advancing with intended left turn, thus taking possession of the intersection in deference to those with a superior r-o-w, then turning as intended, even if the light has cycled to yellow, then to red. As such, we were told, we were still in rightful possession of the intersection until duly concluding the turn, and those with the newly-green light must wait for such clearance. More and more what I'm seeing here is folks who, upon said solid green signal in the left-turning lane, refuse to move an inch beyond the white painted stop line on the pavement or into the intersection, in many cases hoping for a green arrow (that, in most cases here, does not exist) or worse, trying to lurch from that point the second the light goes to yellow or red, simply diving through the intersection.

hellsop• 43 minutes ago

Frankly, I leave no small amount of room because I live in a city with kind of narrow streets and 45' semi truck may need the front driver at light to move back 8-10 feet if the truck's going to be able to turn left without dragging that trailer across the hood of the first car at a light. And if I leave 15 feet, the front car can back up without me having to get me to back up by getting the dummy behind me to understand what the little white taillights on my car being on means.

MarTTy4653 hellsop • 26 minutes ago

Right, that would have been my second reason. ;0)

zzoott• an hour ago

Personal Electronic Device Attention Lag Syndrome (PEDALS) - in your illustrated answer, texting - is but one of the issues that results in these unsightly gaps. Another, indeed, comes from what seems to be current (if misguided) teaching, at least from some driving instruction schools, to leave 1, 2, or 3 car lengths between cars at stops. My high-school academic instruction (when that still existed here east of the Pecos) was when stopping in traffic - signal/line/traffic/etc. - one should be able to see the lowest part of the bumper of the car ahead, and no closer. Big gaps, especially, say, at light-signal intersections where folks are waiting to turn left, can lead to all kinds of issues in said intersection.

Michael_Mackey• an hour ago

First and foremost, I do not do anything with my phone and attempt to drive simultaneously. Not only is it illegal in Illinois, it's just plain stupid to think you can watch a four-inch screen and operate a car going 70 at the same time. (Climbs down off soap box). Now, personally, I hang back from the car in front of me at stop lights in the event I am rear-ended. By doing this, I lessen the odds of hitting the car in front of me. As I have learned, if you are rear-ended, even through no fault of your own and your car hits the car in front of you (also through no fault of your own), you are responsible for the damage done to the lead car.

Dr.Jose• an hour ago

While texting may be the reason in many cases and perhaps even the majority of cases, one should ALWAYS leave some room between the car in front of you when stopped at a light. If you glance in your rear view mirror and see a cement truck coming at you sideways, you're going to want room to maneuver. The rule I remember is that you should always be able to see the rear tires of the car in front of you. On the other hand, maybe you want your bumper nudged up against your neighbor to absorb some of the shock. Three car lengths might be somewhat extreme, though.

•cwatkin• 3 hours ago

I guessed texting before even reading the answer! I see this more and more, both with moving and non-moving cars. I once pulled up to a stop sign and several other drivers in front of me had to drive around a car sitting at the stop sign. I then did the same and noticed a woman texting and completely unaware they were blocking traffic. Even worse is the person who is completely unaware they almost ran you off the road. I am getting a dash cam for this reason. Also if someone did cause an accident they first thing I would request is a court order for their cell phone records at the time of the crash.

My experiences and official stats show this is just as bad as drinking and driving so the laws need to reflect this and violations need to be handled just as harshly as a DUI.