Social distancing while driving…it’s not so new
Our society has changed so much in a short period of time. We’re now experiencing social distancing while in public. If you haven’t heard this term before (I would be shocked if you haven’t), it means increasing the space between you and another person. This all seems new to many people and can be rather difficult, but it’s certainly not new. This is something many drivers have done for many years.
Many drivers put their lives in the hands of other drivers. They stay directly beside unsuspecting drivers expecting everyone will stay in their own lanes, but that doesn’t always happen. Many drivers also stay so close to the driver directly in front of them and that doesn’t have to happen either. Social distancing while driving has many benefits and can be quite easy to do, it just takes an understanding.
The first part of social distancing while driving is to consider yourself driving with a space bubble around your vehicle. You want space on both sides, the front and behind your vehicle as often as possible. While driving, if another driver comes up beside you and stays there in that position, ensure you do all you can to ensure they pass you or you pass them to regain that space again. Your goal is to drive beside space. In heavier traffic, it just means you’ll need to work harder. Trust me, it’s worth it.
This social distancing to the sides gives you room to move if the driver in the next lane gets distracted and scared enough they swerve their vehicle toward your lane. Ignoring this space and letting another vehicle stay beside you won’t give you the time you need to consider moving your vehicle out of the way before a collision. Adjusting speed or changing lanes if there are more lanes to choose from can be done quite quickly and smoothly. Plus, it gives you room to move if the need arises and you have to avoid a problem in your lane. Now let’s talk about social distancing from the driver ahead of you.
The most reported crash in North America is a rear crash. Sometimes that involves the driver 
hitting someone already stopped ahead of them at a traffic light. Other times we see it happening on our heavily traveled roads or when there’s a crash on the freeway/highway. It’s rare that only one vehicle is involved in these types of crashes. It’s normally two or even three vehicles involved in this crash. The cause; not social distancing enough. The second and third vehicle involved in the crash were following too close to the vehicle ahead of them.
Following distance is not measured in car lengths as many drivers may believe. It’s measured in seconds. It takes time for your brain to realize brake lights are on the vehicle ahead of you. Yes, it’s only a fraction of a second, but during that time your vehicle is still traveling at speed toward a stopping vehicle. It then takes time to allow your brain to let your foot know to move from the gas pedal and over to the brake and hit it hard. This time doesn’t include the time it takes to physically stop the vehicle. All of this takes time. Keeping away from the vehicle ahead of you won’t slow down your arrival time to reach your destination. However, having social distancing in front of your vehicle will help you avoid being in contact with the drivers ahead of you if they stop quickly.
It’s our responsibility to keep space around your vehicle and employ this social distance while traveling the roads. It’s our health and the health of those around us that is at risk. Just like the other reasons we’ve learn why social distancing is so important, it’s not always just about us.
Have a quick listen to the “Speed Bumps” podcast with how we can keep space while driving.
Drivers that choose a following distance that is too close or drive beside, or worst, in another vehicles blindspot, are basically saying to themselves “I can stop as long as nobody makes a mistake”. Not good enough!