What you can do when someone stops-short
Keeping your distance and other preventative measures
Conclusion
What you can do when someone stops-short
Unfortunately, other drivers frequently “stop short” when they are driving. They do so for a variety of reasons as well. Regardless, if you are driving behind them, you might not be able to avoid hitting them in the rear end of their vehicle. Unfortunately, if this does happen, you will be at fault almost every time. Even if you capture someone stopping short on a dash camera, they likely had good enough reason to do so. For example, if they stopped short because an animal ran into the road, then you hit them, a court and your insurance company will look at it as if you were following too closely and/or driving too fast.
If you are in a situation where you are driving and someone stops suddenly in front of you where you feel you will not be able to stop in time, there is not much you will be able to do. If you are in the furthest right lane and there is a clear shoulder on the side of the road, you could quickly turn your car onto that shoulder. However, never do this in the middle or left lane. If you suddenly jut into another lane without warning, you can end up causing a much more severe accident than if you just slowed down as much as possible prior to the fender bender. The only true defense that you will have against someone “stopping short” in front of you will be preventative safe driving methods.
Keeping your distance and other preventative measures
By far, your best defense against a collision when someone stops suddenly in front of you will be to always keep the proper distance between you and the driver in front of you. As a general rule, you should keep a single car length of space between you and the vehicle in front of you for every five miles of speed that you are driving. So, if you are driving fifty miles per hour, there should be ten car lengths between you and the car in front of you.
You can also use the “2 second rule.” This is a bit simpler in that you just pick an easy to see landmark on the side of the road such as a street light, and from the point that the vehicle in front of you passes it count two full seconds. If you have not passed the same landmark in under those two seconds, you are at a safe distance.
Other preventative measures will include:
- Driving at or under the speed limit
- Avoiding driving behind aggressive drivers
- Remaining completely focused on the road ahead
If you want to take staying focused on the road in front of you a step further, you can start slowing down and braking anytime you notice brake lights ahead of the driver in front of you. If someone is braking correctly in front of them and they are not paying attention, this can easily lead to a situation where they stop suddenly.
Conclusion
As a driver, you only have control over what you do out on the road. Unfortunately, this means that other drivers can drive in a less than safe manner. This definitely includes stopping suddenly and without warning. If that happens and you hit them from behind, you will be held liable for all of the damage. Do yourself a favor and keep the correct distance between yourself and the driver in front of you at all times. Use the “two second” rule as an easy reference to ensure you are a safe distance behind another vehicle and always obey the speed limit.
