Following Distance

The Highway Code gives guidance on following distance (the distance to the vehicle in front of you) as follows:

Stopping distances. Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.

You should

• leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it suddenly slows down or stops. The safe rule is never to get closer than the overall stopping distance (see Typical Stopping Distances diagram)

• allow at least a two-second gap between you and the vehicle in front on high-speed roads and in tunnels where visibility is reduced. The gap should be at least doubled on wet roads and up to ten times greater on icy roads
• remember, large vehicles and motorcycles need a greater distance to stop. If driving a large vehicle in a tunnel, you should allow a four-second gap between you and the vehicle in front

Some additional reasons to increase the following distance to the vehicle in front of you.

• Vehicles ahead of you are themselves travelling too close together. If they are unable to stop and an accident happens you will need more reaction time and space to take evasive action.
• The vehicle behind you is travelling too close to you. If you increase the clear space in front of you then you will be able to take longer to slow down and give earlier warning to the vehicle behind you.