DRIVING - STOPPING DISTANCE
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DRIVING - STOPPING DISTANCE
STOPPING DISTANCE
Before your vehicle comes to a stop it will have travelled a certain distance before you yourself have reacted to the need to bring it to a stop and, even after you have applied the brakes, further ground will be covered before it stops. Your actual "stopping" distance is therefore a combination of reaction distance and braking distance.
The following table (which is purely illustrative) gives an indication of the approximate distance needed before coming to a stop at various speeds.
|
SPEED |
REACTION DISTANCE |
BRAKING DISTANCE |
TOTAL STOPPING DISTANCE |
|
30 mph |
10 yds |
15 yds |
25 yds |
|
40 mph |
13 yds |
27 yds |
40 yds |
|
50 mph |
17 yds |
42 yds |
59 yds |
|
60 mph |
22 yds |
58 yds |
80 yds |
|
70 mph |
27 yds |
82 yds |
109 yds |
The table is based on a dry road, a good car with good brakes and tyres and an alert driver and is the shortest likely stopping distance. The stopping distance increases sharply if roads are wet or slippery, or if brakes/tyres are defective or if the driver is tired.
The basic rule that should be followed is to leave enough space between yourself and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it slows down or stops suddenly. The safe rule is never to get closer than the overall stopping distance shown. On an open road in good conditions, a gap of one yard for each mph of your speed may be sufficient. On wet or icy roads the gap should be at least doubled.
The following table (which is again purely illustrative) shows approximate stopping distances on a wet smooth surface.
|
SPEED |
REACTION DISTANCE |
BRAKING DISTANCE |
TOTAL STOPPING DISTANCE |
|
30 mph |
10 yds |
22 yds |
32 yds |
|
40 mph |
13 yds |
46 yds |
59 yds |
|
50 mph |
17 yds |
73 yds |
90 yds |
|
60 mph |
22 yds |
115 yds |
137 yds |
|
70 mph |
27 yds |
177 yds |
204 yds |
Note that both examples refer to cars. Larger vehicles such as buses or trucks may require 50% more stopping distance on dry roads and perhaps 100% more on wet/slippery roads.
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