So this has been annoying me lately; drivers leaving excessive spacing when stopped for a red light. I get it, you don’t want to be right on the next guys bumper, you should leave space to escape if the guy in front stalls or somebody tries to carjack you. But 2-3 car lengths? It really bugs me when they do it in a left turn lane causing a back up to the travel lane resulting in overall congestion. Or, if they’re first at the light, they don’t pull up far enough to reach the road sensors that trigger a light change. I haven’t been able to isolate to a specific demographic, seems to be young, old, black, white, you name it. Maybe they’re just stoned at the wheel. I’m tempted to roll down my window and ask ‘wtf’? I’m in the Northeast US. Has anybody else witnessed this?

  • snooggums@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    That works for small cars with hoods that slope to the ground like sedans and station wagons. It is outdated and useless advice for anyone in an SUV, pickup, or the vast majority of vehicles on the road today in the US.

    It should be far enough back to be able to turn and move out if the car in front of you stalls, which should be easy to estimate for anyone who can parallel park.

    Everyone should be able to parallel park, it is part of the driving test.