Tell me who's at fault?

So, taking into account reaction time, and the fact that many vehicles brake better than the 4Runner ( although, the brakes on my 4Runner about are about 7,000 times better than the brakes on my Chevy), what is a safe following distance at 70 mph?

I'm genuinely curious what other people think is okay. Because I get tailgated all the time. Apparently, most people think that their reaction time is 0.0 seconds.

 

I think it works better if we use time as the measurement rather than distance. I’ve seen two seconds being recommended as a safe minimum time between moving vehicles. Seems about right to me. 2-3 seconds might good also.

 

Looked like there was less than a second of following distance before the OP changed lanes. So, probably tailgating. In the right lane, no less.

 

Depends on many factors. What type of vehicle are they driving, what is their driving style, what condition does the vehicle appear, how much traffic is there (braking causes a chain reaction through traffic), how far ahead can I see (why may the person in front of me brake), what are weather conditions, is there a danger of unknowns such as deer in the area that would cause unexpected braking, etc. Driving is not that hard but can be complicated depending on conditions - tailgating is dangerous when people brake unexpectedly for no obvious reason. As long as you pay attention to what you're doing and try to predict what everyone else will do (assuming they're an idiot), most accidents can be avoided. But they are called accidents for a reason.

I just get annoyed driving in the US because everyone drives like a self-entitled asshole who thinks they deserve all the personal space in the world, even if they are doing 25 in a 40 for no obvious reason (road/weather conditions). Driving in other parts of the world can be a game of inches, at least I give people feet

This is why I don't believe in self-driving vehicles - computers will never rival the 5 senses and a brain to compute them

 

A 4Runner. So, not a sports car.

Pretty aggressive, apparently.

Enough to be congested, but not slowed down

decent visibility

looks like good driving conditions

Doesn't matter. An animal can run out in the city just as much as they can in the country.

FIFY

 

It's cool, we'll just have to agree to disagree. Everyone's definition of tailgating (safe distance) probably differs slightly based on the current driving conditions. I, personally, believe it's a necessary evil that would cause ridiculous traffic conditions in it's absence.

 

You can tell yourself that. But, if you don't have time to react to what the driver in front of you does, you're following too closely.

And, I've done the same myself. But, I always know that if I cause an accident by not giving myself enough room to react, it's my fault.

 

I'm also going to whip out my tape measure next time you're on the interstate at 70mph and if you aren't 183ft+ away from the vehicle in front of you, I'm going to give you a stern wag of the finger and headshake of disappointment

 

Go right ahead. I'll gladly admit when I'm tailgating.

 

I know I probably tailgate too often, and it is dangerous. But I don't tailgate just to be an asshole. If I'm not in the far left lane, I don't expect the flow of traffic to be of my liking. But if I'm on your ass in the far left lane, and you aren't doing the speed limit, and there's nobody in front of you... I'm going to inch closer until you get the hint

 

4 second rule? I don't think 5 people on the road these days drive like that. They all tailgate and drive like a bunch of rabid loco lunatics. Try driving the speed limit and see how you get treated by 95% of the drivers on the road. They think you are impeding traffic. Our world is crazy...

 

I prefer the 3 second rule.


https://youtu.be/bH1JThlQKe4?si=B2Lf866yfqU0hSGy

 

So you don't believe in a black assault rifle's right to choose?

 

I rarely drive to agressive anymore. What is the point, stress, anger, risk an accident all for what to save a few minutes? I can save the Insurnace increase and potential injuries.

If someone is tailgating me especially in a full size truck I just let off in the accelerator some more, surely they don’t want to scratch those expensive trucks intentionally. Or they will just get ticked enough to go around me which is great. They must have a greater rush to be somewhere than me.

But in Locos defense I used to have days where I drove to close and was too aggressive. So I am not without fault in the past. Let he who is without sin throw the first stone. Definitely not me throwing that stone

 

I would put the blame on the idiot in front of you that slams in the brakes for no reason. If they get scared from people coming up an on ramp they shouldn’t be driving at all. As for the accident it looks like you both changed lanes simultaneously and met in the middle. You probably changed lanes too quickly and he was probably driving too fast compared to everyone else. No fault.

 

I avoid driving behind rav4s and corollas because they drive so slow and defensively that they are actually dangerous and do not flow with traffic. So that’s your first mistake.

based on the video, I think it’s slightly more the other driver. He’s moving faster and you had more possession of the lane. I don’t think you were tailgating too badly. Maybe slightly. This is just and unfortunate accident, probably ruled a no fault. Glad every one is safe.

Merry Christmas

 

There’s a bunch of people who clearly don’t know how to drive on this thread.

@Borracho Loco was clearly way too close to the rav4. Also the rav4 didn’t just brake for no reason, they wanted to take the exit so they slowed down. And no they don’t have priority over the cars that are already in that lane, so they did nothing wrong here.

Loco, not only you were too close to that car, but also you didn’t take enough time to check your blind spot. Remember, putting your turn signal doesn’t mean you have the right to just switch lanes, and if you took the time to turn your head before switching lanes, you might have been able to avoid this small accident.
With that said, good on you for owning up to it. No one is perfect and we’ve all done something stupid before. We were just lucky there wasn’t a car at the wrong time in the wrong place. On the plus side, looks like minor damages to your truck.

 

Worst fucking defensive driving. You know ppl will want to merge left from the on ramp.. so you close the gap, to get a couple car lengths ahead, instead of making room, anticipating the merge.

lesson here is not purely from an at-fault determination. You need defensive driving mindset.
Terrible driving. Demonstrated substandard traffic intelligence. No different than some dumb ass teenager with a drivers permit.

 

I'm late. But glad it wasn't worse brother and yall are uninjured.
Now the accident, it's hard to tell from the front facing video but i think insurance would split responsibility and just leave it to fixing their own clients ride.
As you said it's still drivable so maybe not an immediate issue to worry about until later?

Stay safe man.

 

There wasn't an exit ahead look at the sign in the video and the lane markings. The cars on the right were getting on the freeway but in their own lane. Rav4 driver set off the chain of events by not knowing how to drive.

 

It’s very clear to me that the Camry was at fault. You were fully in your lane. Then he changed lanes onto you plus he was clearly driving wrecklessly and way faster than traffic.

 

This has lots to do with things! The car in front of you is driving defensively, anticipating the cars to the right of him making a lane change WITHOUT a turn/merge signal, him slowing up doesn't help your situation, you're too close to him now, so it appears you want to maintain a certain speed and to do so you'll have to get around him, maybe without checking your mirror you go for the lane change, faster traffic, (the guy you had contact with) decided at the same time you did to go for the same lane. Quite a situation! You probably have a little more at fault than the other guy, but what a bunch of "everybody is in a hurry"! Accident = Unforeseen, unplanned incident. Not trying to pee on your parade Borracho Loco... Happy holidays.

 

We couldn't see if you had a turn signal on, but the Camry driver did. Looked like an impatient lane switch on your behalf. Camry driver knew what he wanted to do - he just wasn't expecting you to be there and vice versa.

 

A safe following distance in my dump truck would be: 1 second for every 10 mph. Example: 55 mph = 5.5 seconds. That takes into account reaction time, mechanical wear, large vehicle and/or load. Cars/pickups/suvs I imagine are "tighter" due to the fact they are more responsive to brake and steering input. At 70 MPH you're traveling 102 ft. per second, does 75 ft. sound like too much? I get tailgated in the truck like always... I feel your position.

 

I don’t have a login to YouTube so I can’t see the video. That said, this *whatever second* rule can be misleading. As can the term braking distance. “Normal human reaction time” is 1.8 seconds. That’s the time it takes a fully functioning, normal person, to detect an issue and react. Not if they’re drunk, or have terrible, uncorrected vision, etc. it’s just the time it takes a normal person to detect and react. That reaction isn’t hitting the brakes. It’s just when the brain recognizes a problem and tells the body to react. That reaction might be taking one’s foot off the gas, or jerking the wheel to one side. But it’s only a contributing factor to braking distance. 60mph is 88fps. Thus if one is going 60mph it will be 158 feet before one even reacts to a threat. At that point all of the other issues will affect braking distance. Things like wet roads, gravel, worn out tires or brakes. And, or course, if traffic is moving in the same direction there might be a buffer for stopping distance. If, on the other hand, it’s dark and there’s a deer or person in the road without lights or reflectors, it’s raining, and the driver is somehow impaired, stopping distance becomes less predictable.

loco, thanks for the reminder that I need to chill behind the wheel. Glad no one was hurt.

 

There was an exit to the right. It's the on ramp to Loop 12 (north or south bound). Most people that were approaching always choose to get over a few lanes and stay on I-30 West bound, and the ones on I-30 West bound choose to merge into that lane to get onto Loop 12.

A lot of drivers will come to a dead stop ON THE HIGHWAY and then wait to get over, instead of zipper merging. I'm pretty sure that's what the Rav4 was doing. I was trying to zipper merge; but I started following too close and the Rav4 braked hard (you can see in the video nobody was in front of them). Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming them. It my fault for following to closely. If I wasn't then I could have avoided this completely.

 

Looking into my rear view mirror would not have mattered. The Camry was almost beside me, not behind me.

 

Thanks. I never knew that. If that's what our insurances use to determine fault, then I'm 100% at fault.

 

Get 'em fixed and drive on! Happy Holidays!?

 

Man I don’t n know what’s the deal here. You changed lanes. Someone else goes for the lane after you’ve changed lanes and also hits you while clearly driving way too fast for the speed of traffic. Not sure how that’s your fault.