Much of what we have talked about involves the reality that cars travel at different speeds. In doing so, drivers must develop some method for determining a safe following distance. Developing and sticking to this rule is absolutely critical to collision free driving. If you always have a large distance between you and the car in front of you then the game of driving becomes much easier and far less risky. Let us think about it for a moment, if I have a large following distance then I would have more time to react to whatever happens in front of me. I could easily see it, make a judgment and then calmly decide what to do. The standard following distance currently being taught is only 2 seconds. This is based on the observation that it takes the average driver 1 and ½ seconds to move their foot from the gas to the brake and for the car to feel the effects of the brakes. This rule really only leaves the driver a ½ second of time to minimize any mistakes on the driver's part. Some of these mistakes include being distracted or slow to recognize the problem like many beginning drivers tend to be. Even if the beginning driver recognizes the problem they often do not know what to do. If the beginning driver would simply increase their following distance, they would give themselves more time to react and respond safely instead of having to react suddenly. Remember, the car should always be handled soft, slow and smooth. Every movement of the car should be gradual so other cars around you can have time to respond.