Your shiny vehicle, your treasured and dependable transporter of those you love, travels 45 feet (at 30mph) when moving your foot from the gas to the brake.
Forty-five feet! Is that too much distance covered? Does that allow you to be hit by someone running a red light or stop sign?
Yes! Even for drivers reading this who have wisely trained a fast foot reaction from gas to brake…it is too late. There is no intersection wide enough to save you.
Running reds has become the “cool” thing to do for an increasing number of people. “Health Day Reporter” wrote (Aug. 29, 2019) that there was a 28% increase in people killed in red light running crashes in a recent 5-year period.
We often drive in straight paths, don’t we? A good section of our daily drive is often in a non-deviating, almost lulling roll. As driving goes, it is comfortable.
Why Should I Stop……Ever?
Yet, today, there are those out there who would selfishly and diabolically smack you out of that comfort. To them, stopping is not “cool.” And, after once running a red or stop sign, they conclude “Why ever stop?” Sadly, they are out there.
To avoid being hit, you must have your foot hovering over the brake as you approach lighted intersections. It is the only way you can stop in time to avoid the disaster of being hit by someone running a stop.
Foot above the brake, pounce downward. We are driving in these crazy times of people callously, murderously driving through stops.
Should we re-classify the legal designation of this activity?
You must defend yourself and loved ones in this fallen world in which we see ourselves. Covering the brake, preparing to push it down, is the only viable way to stop in time when a vehicle from the side violates the law.
Timed Properly … There is no Loss to your Driving Time
Here is a cost-benefit analysis. Do we lose speed when putting the foot over the brake? Not significantly. Not in the first second or two, aside from ascending a hill. Cars are set not to lose speed just as you release the gas pedal. Covering the brake wins this cost/benefit analysis.
Do this and it becomes a life-saving, smooth habit. Look LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT early as you cover the brake. Looking should be completed by the time you enter the intersection. Then put your foot to the gas pedal.
Practically speaking, you could cover the brake approaching all intersections. Think as they think: they, who feel privileged not to stop at reds, stops, yields, and how perturbed they feel when they are blocked from driving through without stopping. It could happen at any intersection.
We, then, are wise to hover over the brake at any intersection for which you cannot adequately preview as you approach.
