When traveling by car, and especially in summer, a series of elementary and essential precautions must be taken to minimize the risk of suffering a mishap. In addition to those usually remembered, such as putting on the seat belt or respecting the road signs, it is worth doing Emphasis on the necessary respect for the safety distance. The safety distance, as defined by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) is “that distance between vehicles that allows stopping in the event of sudden braking without colliding with the vehicle in front, taking into account, for this, the speed of circulation and the conditions braking and road grip.
The driver must adjust his speed, regardless of the established ones, depending on how traffic is developing and the physical characteristics of the road, so that he can react and control his vehicle at all times in the face of any incident or circumstance.
In fact, according to the agency, the safety distance between vehicles is a vital protective separation, the ‘shield’ to avoid a collision due to sudden braking. And to avoid a range, at least two seconds of difference between vehicles are necessary, which can compute by saying ‘1101, 1102…’ relative to a fixed point in the way. but be very careful: two seconds may be insufficient when braking very hard, in bad weather or on wet asphalt and, in these circumstances, it must be extended to three or more seconds.
In the case of driving on roads with one lane in each direction, without the intention of overtaking, we must also widen the frontal separation, to allow safe overtaking of the one following us. On some stretches, where a multiple collision can be disastrous, adequate separation is even more necessary. Inside a tunnel, for example, the safety distance must be extended to at least 100 meters or a 4-second interval when overtaking is not intended.