The rule is that a driver should ideally stay at least two seconds behind any vehicle that is directly in front of his or her vehicle. ... The two seconds is not a guide to safe stopping distance, it is more a guide to reaction times. The two-second rule is useful as it can be applied to any speed. You should allow more than a 3 second following-distance in rain, fog and on icy roads.
- 25 mph --- 2 sec. 72 feet
- 35 mph --- 2 sec. 102 feet
- 45 mph --- 2 sec. 132 feet
- 55 mph --- 2 sec. 160 feet
- 60 mph --- 2 sec. 176 feet
