• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

60 feet of following distance

Marcoose

Marcoose

50-50
Joined
Jun 24, 2009
Location
South Beach, SF
Moto(s)
'07 BMW F800s
Name
Marc
BARF perks
AMA #: 2818042
60 feet behind a vehicle. Is it enough?

It's somewhat easy for me to tell 60 feet vertically. It's the height of 6 stories, it's the height of the old meteo towers I installed in the Midwest, it's the height of some stacks (w/o the FAA lights), etc. But it's misleading. Some buildings have 8 or 12-foot ceiling height. From the ground, the 50- and 60-foot meteo towers look very similar. So it's more guesstimation than real measurement.

Some horizontal distances are also somewhat easy. 100 meters of track and field, 50 meters of an olympic swimming pools, 100 yards of a football field, etc. But none of those are 60 feet. And I confess I'd be easily fooled if you showed me a 90-meter track. How would I know without a measuring tape? How do I you know I'm 60 feet behind a vehicle? 6 times the length of the bike? For me it's guess work.

But is 60 feet enough anyway? 60 feet at 35 mph goes by in 1.17 seconds. At 45 mph is a quick 0.91 second. At 60 mph is a minuscule 0.68 second. Anything happens to the vehicle in front and I'm history.

Why do I hear 60 feet as a safe distance? Go figure.
 
Why not just count the seconds? It's good practice to stay at least three seconds behind the vehicle in front of you. This means when the rear of the vehicle in front of you hits a certain spot, it should take three seconds for the front of your vehicle to hit that same spot. Much easier to measure distance using this method.

But then again, I'm a tailgating asshole, so what do I know about measuring proper following distance. :dunno
 
People that use "rules" scare me.
Is it really overly difficult to access the ever changing conditions of the situations...and tell your bike what you want it to do?
 
Where are you hearing that 60 feet is safe? I've never ever heard of a specific distance being thought safe considering that following distances are dynamic and determined by speed.

I always shoot for a minimum of 2 seconds but 3 seconds is the norm. I'm constantly watching 12 seconds ahead when able. I will admit, in my area traffic is such that a 2 second space is pretty easily maintained and not always going to have someone diving into it.
 
InNoHurry said:
60 feet behind a vehicle. Is it enough?
...
Why do I hear 60 feet as a safe distance?
Click to expand...
Never heard that. Stated as a distance without regard to speed or to forward field of view it doesn't make a lot of sense. To me, it sounds like the rationalization of someone who tailgates but doesn't have the slightest idea what the risks are. In fatal rear-end crashes in the US, motorcyclists who die are TWICE as likely to be the rear-endER as the rear-endEE. Most riders Get It, but some obviously don't.

Sometimes it's preferable to follow closely to thwart space-cushion thieves. But ONLY if you have an adequate view beyond the vehicle in front of you.

I like open space ahead of me, and if I don't have enough of it, I'll pass or split to get out of a knot of traffic to reach it.


The Top Ten Things I Like About Following Distance​

  1. It compensates for reaction deficit. When traffic slows suddenly, it gives me time and space to react and avoid a rear-ender.

  2. It compensates for attention deficit. Even if my attention is momentarily diverted when traffic slows suddenly, it still gives me time and space to react and avoid a rear-ender.

  3. It compensates for braking deficit. If the vehicle ahead can brake more effectively than I, it gives me more space to slow.

  4. It improves my forward field of view. The farther I am behind the vehicle in front of me, the smaller the visual obstruction to traffic ahead.

  5. It eases traffic transitions for others. When streams of traffic are converging or diverging, it gives other drivers room to merge so they're less likely to cut me off.

  6. It eases traffic transitions for me. When I'm entering a new flow, it gives me more options when choosing a place to merge safely.

  7. It enables me to spot debris. If the vehicle ahead of me runs over something, it gives me time and space to react when the hazard becomes visible to me.

  8. It allows me to compensate for a tailgater. If I'm being tailgated, it reduces my braking requirement in the event of sudden slowing and, thus, the risk of being rear-ended.

  9. It allows me to gap a tailgater. If I need to slow to make a turn or enter a driveway, it gives me room to accelerate briefly and gap a tailgater, giving him more time and space to react to my slowing.

  10. It helps me avoid someone else's crash. When riding in a group, it gives me time and space to react and avoid joining the stack of motorcycles if someone screws up.
 
baseball been berry berry good to me...

If 60' (& six inches) was a safe distance, then everyone could hit a 90+ mph fastball.

There's your visual metric. From the mound to the plate on a baseball diamond. For those that haven't, that distance and a 9" leather sphere tossed your way is what separates the men from the boys at about 12 years old or so.

Reaction time? Not enough for most youngsters, so they gravitate to less stressful endeavors. For those railing behind another vehicle at highway speeds a mere 60 feet, I'd have to ask...

"How did you fare at the plate when the curveball spun your way?"

Knees buckle? Then give a little ground and live to see another game.

4. It improves my forward field of view. The farther I am behind the vehicle in front of me, the smaller the visual obstruction to traffic ahead.

Good point and why tailgaters get increasingly impatient, as they can't see what's slowing down the vehicle in front of them.
 
Last edited:
Depending on the speed you're travelling and also your visibility.
I learned about not "over riding my headlights" at MSF and that keeps me alive. If I'm travelling at high speed, I always make sure I can see 10 seconds ahead. If I can't, I don't speed.
 
DMV used to suggest 1 car length for every 10 MPH. At this distance during the commute people will constantly cut you off, potentially creating a worse situation then following too close. You need to keep the big picture in mind for each circumstance.
 
I count seconds. I've been in situations where 5 feet was perfectly adequate and situations where 60 feet would be reckless.
 
SFSV650 said:
I count seconds. I've been in situations where 5 feet was perfectly adequate and situations where 60 feet would be reckless.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this. I thought actual distance went out the window a while ago and it was replaced by seconds...
 
i just give myself more than enough space to stop with room to spare...this goes for the space behind me...but, this is all according to speed....if a vehicle behind me is approaching faster...i'll share/split past the vehicle in front and eventually allow the faster moving vehicle to pass me...i'll follow and create my cushion again...if i can't create this space cushion with the front and rear vehicle for some reason, i'm sharing/splitting...65 mph or 75+ mph...in most rush hour freeway rides, this is the case and i ride near the #1 and #2 lanes at all times (only move over for faster motorcycles behind)...no vehicles front or behind me when i'm sharing/splitting...i just have to worry about the lane hoppers...
 
Last edited:
No.
You have it wrong.
Acceptable following distance is 60 seconds, not 60 feet.
I read that on a Prius forum.
 
DataDan said:
Never heard that.
Click to expand...
We frequent different circles of squids. :laughing

I liked the 10 points! :thumbup

On the twisties like 35, 84, Pesky, RWR, Calaveras, etc, my rule is one bend of following distance. On motorways, I'm often on the right lane; the least used lane in the US. In town is tricky, but I keep my escape routes in mind.

On a personal/family note, my brother rides so close that you ask him to clean and lube your chain.
 
Reaction time is the only way to set a proper safety gap.

Whether you are going 15 or 95mph, if you do not have enough time to react to traffic, turns, and obstacles, then that's it for you.

However, I do set my gap based on distance, because I am able to evaluate my speed and the right distance gap. Obviously experience matters here.
 
gixxerjeff said:
Acceptable following distance is 60 seconds, not 60 feet.
I read that on a Prius forum.
Click to expand...

:rofl
i will admit that i follow people too closely sometimes..
however i definitely give extra distance for when i can't see traffic in front of the car i'm following (big cars) and for people who like to change lanes / brake a lot

what really makes me nervous is passing someone (especially like the prius driver mentioned above) - it's effectively decreasing the following distance and giving yourself less time to react should the driver try to switch lanes
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top