Tucker Paving worksites aren’t the only place where we require our employees to act in a safe manner. The US Department of Transportation maintains there are over six million vehicle accidents every year, and we don’t want our workers to be in any of them. Tucker Paving has over 30 years of experience in construction; our work is generally concentrated within an 80-mile radius of our headquarters in Winter Haven, Florida, but we will travel as needed. Consequently, we have workers traveling all over Central Florida roads and beyond on a daily basis. Just like we have safety guidelines for our employees to follow when on a jobsite, we also have guidelines for our employees when driving to and from a jobsite that include maintaining a safe following distance in traffic.

Safe Following Distances in Traffic

There are a lot of opportunities for accidents when driving, especially with the high speeds and heavy traffic often seen on Florida highways. In addition to minimizing distractions like texting, maintaining a safe following distance is one of the best ways to avoid accidents.

Measuring the distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you is simple. Choose a stationary object along the side of the road, like a sign, light pole, or even a tree. Start counting as soon as the vehicle in front of you passes the object; make sure to count “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand/ one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi/ etc.” to count full seconds. Stop when your own vehicle reaches the object. Most recommendations for safe traveling distances maintain that anything under three seconds is an unsafe following distance.

Tucker Paving advises our employees to follow these rules concerning following distances when driving:

  • Maintain a minimum of four seconds of separation between you and the vehicle traveling ahead of you in a car.
  • Maintain a minimum of five seconds of distance when driving in our company trucks. 
  • Maintain a minimum of six seconds of distance when driving in CDL trucks or heavy hauls. 
  • Add an extra second to the above distances if it is raining. 
  • Add another second if you are having a bad or distracting day. 
  • When you are stopped, stop back far enough to be able see the tires of the vehicle ahead of you touching the ground.
  • Adding distance gives you a space cushion and more time to react and even plan. 

 We have been serving Central Florida since 1994 in the asphalt and concrete paving industry, and safety is our first priority! We have completed projects for residential, commercial, and municipal clients. Contact us by calling (863) 299-2262, or use our contact form online. How can we help you with your next construction project?