The Four Second Rule

I was at the DMV this summer helping a friend with some car stuff. While waiting, I re-read the Vermont driver’s handbook. You know the one – it is the guide that you study so you can pass your written test and know all of Vermont’s rules of the road.

Most things looked familiar but I was struck by one item that seemed a bit different than when I learned to drive. I was taught to keep three seconds between the car being driven and the vehicle ahead of you, or roughly a car length for every 10 mph. That was in ye olden days, though.