driver-qualification-handbook-english

3Keeping a safe distancefrom other vehicles: revisionThe ‘space cushion’ conceptThe more space that you have betweenyour car and other vehicles the moretime you have to detect and respond tohazards that might arise when driving.To stay safe, you need to manage thespace around your car to the front, sidesand to the rear. The best way to do thisis to imagine an invisible ‘space cushion’around your car as shown in the picture.As you drive down the road, this cushion needs to be maintained by adjusting yourspeed or position on the road. For example, if the vehicle ahead slows down, youwill need to slow down too.You may also wish to visit the HPT section of RMS website (www.rms.nsw.gov.au/hpt.htm) for an interactive demonstration of safe following distances.Maintaining a ‘space cushion’ to the frontManaging the space to the front of your vehicle is the most important part of the‘space cushion’ for all drivers. Remember more than a third of new full licencedriver crashes involve running into the back of another vehicle (see section entitled‘Five most common crash types for new full licence holders’, section 1 ofthis handbook under ‘Crash patterns for Provisional and full licence holdersin NSW’).Maintaining a ‘space cushion’ to the front also gives you more time to spot otherhazards that may arise.To maintain an adequate ‘space cushion’ to the front you need to:• Control your speed to suit the road and traffic conditions.• Keep a safe following distance between your car and the vehicle in front.These topic areas are revised briefly in the following paragraphs. Some newinformation on the risks of speeding is also covered, together with some importantnew information on following distances.Driver qualification handbook 73