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A case · you decide
Marcus's first drive in the rain
Marcus, 16 — a new driver on his first solo trip after dark, and it has just started to rain
Marcus has his licence a week. It's raining, the wipers are on, and the car ahead is close enough that he can read its plate. His usual instinct is: it's fine, I brake fast.
On a dry day at 30 mph, a full stop is about 109 feet — 66 of that is just the car moving while he decides to brake. Wet, the braking part alone nearly doubles because the tyres grip about half as well.
The plate he can read means roughly a two-second gap. The rule is three, and rain wants more than that. Two seconds is not 'a bit close' — it is not enough distance to stop if the car ahead brakes hard.
The car ahead is two seconds away and it is raining. What does Marcus do?
A green light is 200 feet ahead and turns amber. Marcus is at 45 mph on the wet road.
Marcus did not become a better driver by reacting faster. He became one by leaving more room — because the physics of a stop is bigger, and slower to unfold, than any gut feeling about it.
A case · you decide
Aisha and Marcus and the tailgater
Aisha & Marcus, 16 — sixteen, riding with Marcus on a wet highway when a truck sits close on their bumper
In the rain, a truck is a car length behind them. Marcus is nervous and his foot hovers over the brake.
The Three-Second Gap: count three seconds from the car ahead passing a sign to you passing it, and add more when it is wet.
The Tailgater: if you must brake hard, the car behind may not stop in time.
What should Marcus do?
You manage the car behind you by never needing to stop suddenly.
A case · you decide
Leo and Marcus and the ball in the road
Leo & Marcus, 16 — sixteen, learning to drive on a street lined with parked cars near a park
The street is posted at 25 but everyone does 30. Parked cars line both sides, and there is a playground on the right.
The Stopping Distance: going from 25 to 30 mph is 20% faster, and braking distance grows by about 44% (1.2 × 1.2), on top of the extra distance covered while you react.
Rolling Ball: a ball bouncing into the road means a child may follow it.
What speed should Leo drive?
The hazard you slow for before you see it is the one you stop for easily.
The hazards you learn to read
Hazard perception is a skill, not luck. Five recurring hazards — each one a pattern you learn to spot early.
- Rolling Ball — the develop you act on early — between parked cars, a child follows the ball
- The Door — brake lights just went off on a parked car — someone is about to open a door
- The Gap — a gap in slow oncoming traffic a turning car could dart across
- Glare — low sun ahead hiding a cyclist in the wash of light
- The Tailgater — a car close on your bumper — braking hard becomes risky
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Brain break
What next? Pick a door
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