Driving habits

[kozm]

I moved to Canada from Europe and noticed an interesting detail - there are quite a few drivers who allow _at least_ a full car length between their front bumper and the vehicle in front of them; sometimes there is enough space for a tractor-trailer Not a rant or anything, but is there an explanation for this? Is this what they teach in driving schools here?

[gherikill]

In young drivers and other defensive driving schools they teach you to leave a car length for an escape route. They want you to leave space so that if someone rearends you or is coming close you can move up and avoid a chain reaction.

In Toronto in heavy traffic I find most people don't leave as much space.

From my travels in Europe I noticed that you guys park extremely close to one another. Is it considered OK to tap bumpers in Europe?

[urameatball]

europeans can parallel park really close because they've been doing it everyday for their entire lives. They occasionally nudge a bumper but they all drive manual so it won't even leave a mark or set off an alarm.

[Pete_Coach]

I believe the rule of thumb is one car length for every 10 km/hr of speed you are traveling. Lots of folks abide by that. On certain highways they even have lines on the road that are "guides" as to how far you should be away from the other car.
European drivers and highways. I wish to give kudos to both. The highways are generally terrific and the drivers are far more abiding and courteous than here. You will never see a person hog the left lane. They will always move to the right after they have made the pass. The law here requires us to do the same but most folks seem to think because they pay taxes, they can take their part of the road from any section or lane they want. I love driving in Europe.

[kozm]

I moved to Canada from Europe and noticed an interesting detail - there are quite a few drivers who allow _at least_ a full car length between their front bumper and the vehicle in front of them; sometimes there is enough space for a tractor-trailer Not a rant or anything, but is there an explanation for this? Is this what they teach in driving schools here?

Thanks to everyone; a lesson for me to formulate my thoughts better.

What I meant to say was that the car length is left when they are stopped AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT.

[Piro21]

We're usually taught to stop at the point where you can see the other car's rear wheels over your hood. People are driving more SUVs and cars in general are getting taller, so that distance is increasing.

[Talamasca]

Thanks to everyone; a lesson for me to formulate my thoughts better.

What I meant to say was that the car length is left when they are stopped AT THE TRAFFIC LIGHT.

It's in case someone is coming up behind you and doesn't look like they'll brake in time. The one-car gap allows you to move up and hopefully avoid the collision. I was taught this in driving school.

[SkylineR34X]

Welcome to Toronto...

soon enough you will notice ****** that you don't see in Europe

e.g. of ****** include:

People drive 90km/h on a 100km/h highway hogging the left lane
You get honked at an all way stop sign by someone who did not see their stop sign
People hitting parked cars
People slam on the brakes in the middle of a green for no reason
People who drive shietboxes like batmobiles in the middle of a snow storm

[masterballer]

Welcome to Toronto...

soon enough you will notice ****** that you don't see in Europe

e.g. of ****** include:

People drive 90km/h on a 100km/h highway hogging the left lane
You get honked at an all way stop sign by someone who did not see their stop sign
People hitting parked cars
People slam on the brakes in the middle of a green for no reason
People who drive shietboxes like batmobiles in the middle of a snow storm

okay number one happened to me a few days ago, old lady stopped at a green light just before it turned yellow! WTF

and the second one made me lol

[skidz88]

People who drive shietboxes like batmobiles in the middle of a snow storm

I laughed so hard I cried.

[Jucius Maximus]

Not a rant or anything, but is there an explanation for this? Is this what they teach in driving schools here?

I want to YD driving school (arguably the best) and they taught us to stop with at least 3 cars distance between you and the person in front of you. This space can shrink if there are lots of cars behind you.) This is to protect you from getting into a rear-end chain reaction. If you are rear-ended and it causes you to hit the car in front of you, it is YOU who are at fault for following too closely and not providing enough space in between cars.

Therefore it makes sense to stop with a lot of space in front of you. It provides protection.

[Rehan]

Once you realize how some of us drive around here, you'll want to keep your distance from us too!

We're usually taught to stop at the point where you can see the other car's rear wheels over your hood.

Yup, that's what I was taught as well.

there are quite a few drivers who allow _at least_ a full car length between their front bumper and the vehicle in front of them; sometimes there is enough space for a tractor-trailer

If you're seeing this in the left turn lane, then it may be someone trying to activate the inductive sensor for the advance green light. They're usually placed a couple car lengths back of the first-in-line spot.

[HBP]

HAHAHA!

Yah, that came in handy during a snowstorm a few years ago.

I left 2.5 car lengths at a red light, and the guy behind me was sliding, he totally misjudged the road conditions. Luckily I was watching my rear view, and had room to move up, without endangering the car in-front of me; otherwise he would have hit me.

So OP, really leave some space. I hate jackasses almost touching my bumper at a light.

Especially when you're on a hill, driving stick.

europeans can parallel park really close because they've been doing it everyday for their entire lives. They occasionally nudge a bumper but they all drive manual so it won't even leave a mark or set off an alarm.

Umm... because driving manual makes your car super?

[ES_Revenge]

The law here requires us to do the same but most folks seem to think because they pay taxes, they can take their part of the road from any section or lane they want.

It's all about enforcement and driver training IMO. Here cops are only concerned with speeding and little else. The government doesn't care who gets a license as long as they pay the related fees. Driver's tests are a joke and test little other than your wallet... They even privatised driver testing in ON

Consider that the cameras on the 407 (even before privatisation) have 10x the technology of red light cameras and cost far more. Money is clearly better spent on collecting revenue than increasing safety, in the eyes of the province.

Then, driving enforcement is also about collecting revenue, not about making roads safer. You have big political statements about "street racing" put far ahead of any real safety concerns, just to satisfy the popular/"big" concerns put forth by the media. Idiots like Wooley going on TV all the time yelling about little other than "slow down" instead of the more appropriate "learn how to drive, follow the rules of the road".

When you put $$$ and politics ahead of safety this is the invariably ******** result.