A Matter of Seconds Our sport is inherently dangerous and we can only minimize the risk. Sometimes a close call or a disaster are only a matter of seconds. Here is some information I gleaned from a magazine article I read some time ago.

One Second - When riding in a group the length of time you should wait before pulling away from a stop after the bike in front of you moves out.

Two Seconds - The MINIMUM following distance from the bike directly in front of you. That means your distance increases as 'your speed increases'. I urge you to also increase the following distance to three seconds if you are over fifty years old, if you are distracted by other thoughts or if you are not feeling up to snuff - 100%.

Three Seconds - and I stress strongly 'The MINIMUM time needed to apply brakes smoothly before a bend. The idea is to efficiently transfer weight onto the front wheel and then return it to the back wheel. That takes time and when it's done effectively the brake light typically remains lit for at least three seconds.

Three/Four Seconds - is the frequency you need to check your mirrors in heavy trafic. Four seconds minimum site line for a corner and the miximum amount of time to execute a pass on two lane road...GET 'ER DONE.

Five/Six Seconds - Normal mirror checks and the interval between signaling and executing a turn or interstate exit.

Twelve Seconds - Normal scanning distance. The ideal distance you would like to see ahead in your path of travel.

The way to determine these distances is to practice counting. While maintaining a constant speed pick a spot on the road or a fence post and then count, 'one thousand and one, one thousand and two'. Then practice, practice and then practice some more. Like everything else with the aging process, speed and distance judgement head south, so practice becomes more important with every passing day.

Rear-end collisions account for nearly a third of all crashes. The main cause is traveling too closely behind another vehicle and/or looking away for just a second at the wrong moment.

The MINIMUM safe following distance can be estimated by using the two second rule. Pick an object ahead (a sign, a crack in the road, etc.) and begin counting as the vehicle in front of you passes that object. Count Slowly; 'One thousand and one, one thousand and two'. You must be able to finish counting to one thousand and two comfortably before you pass that object, otherwise you are not driving at a safe distance. I would like to stress, once again, that two seconds is valid only if you are a twenty-year old athelete, with great reflexes, who is paying attention to what is going on. If you are over fifty then I would strongly suggest that three seconds would be a better, safe following distance for you.

The chart below shows the distance traveled, in yards, for various speeds at two and three seconds:

	YARDS	YARDS
	TRAVELED	TRAVELED
	IN 2	IN 3
SPEED
SECONDS
SECONDS
70	68	103
65	64	95
60	59	88
55	54	81
50	49	73
45	44	66
40	39	59
35	34	51
30	29	44
25	24	37