How Long Does It Take For A Car To Stop?

It Takes Time To Become A Good Driver

Good driving takes time and the development of a lot of thought processes. Like how long it takes a car to stop and how much space they’re going to need ahead of them to achieve that stop in a safe (and successful) manner.

On the average residential main road with a speed of 60 kms per hour, it can take up to 25m for a car to come to a complete stop. But you must remember, that this distance is not set in stone. Depending on your tyres, the responsiveness of your car, and weather conditions, this number has a certain amount of variables attached to it.

Even with a good understanding of all those points, everything would change as soon as you were in somebody else’s car. If for any reason, you hired a car or borrowed one from family or friends, you cannot just jump into the driver’s seat and expect everything to have the same quality or responsiveness. Even from new car to new car, you will not have the same reactions when you need to stop in an urgent situation.

Things that would affect your stopping distance:

  • Tyres
  • Health of your brakes
  • Your personal response time
  • Weather conditions
  • Road surface

Even though it is not always possible to do so, having a newer car with features like ESP braking (which works at reducing skidding by locking wheels individually), is something to consider when you are choosing a car. 

And, if you do happen to change cars, for any reason, remember to take it slow. Don’t expect everything to be the same as it is in your own car. Also, if you have been sensible in continuously adapting your distance from the car in front of you, you will be able to give yourself extra thinking and reaction time and to hopefully stop safely in an emergency stop scenario

How long it takes a car to stop

Learning the length of time it takes for a car to stop is not something you can simply write in the learner’s handbook and be done with it. Besides, you would have to know it before the time comes for it to be an urgent matter. Young drivers are still the most vulnerable people on the road, not because of any fault of their own, but because the road is a place where everyone does the ‘real’ learning

How We All Become Good Drivers

Good driving takes time and the development of a lot of thought processes. Like how long it takes a car to stop and how much space they’re going to need ahead of them to achieve that stop in a safe (and successful) manner.

On the average residential main road with a speed of 60 kms per hour, it can take up to 25m for a car to come to a complete stop. But you must remember, that this distance is not set in stone. Depending on your tyres, the responsiveness of your car, and weather conditions, this number has a certain amount of variables attached to it.

Even with a good understanding of all those points, everything would change as soon as you were in somebody else’s car. If for any reason, you hired a car or borrowed one from family or friends, you cannot just jump into the driver’s seat and expect everything to have the same quality or responsiveness. Even from new car to new car, you will not have the same reactions when you need to stop in an urgent situation.

Things that would affect your stopping distance:

  • Tyres

  • Health of your brakes

  • Your personal response time

  • Weather conditions

  • Road surface

Even though it is not always possible to do so, having a newer car with features like ESP braking (which works at reducing skidding by locking wheels individually), is something to consider when you are choosing a car. 

And, if you do happen to change cars, for any reason, remember to take it slow. Don’t expect everything to be the same as it is in your own car. Also, if you have been sensible in continuously adapting your distance from the car in front of you, you will be able to give yourself extra thinking and reaction time and to hopefully stop safely in an emergency stop scenario.

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