Stopping:
Let's go over some basics. The condition of being stopped implies NO motion. If you are rolling you are going slow, you are not stopped. It is not called a Slow Sign, it is a STOP sign,
Once you see a red light or stop sign, there is little benefit in accelerating. If you are still far away then you should maintain speed but if there is no one behind you, there is great benefit in coasting up the stop. Less wear and tear on your car, better fuel economy, even a more relaxing drive are all benefits from slowing down early. If you are coming up to a stop light, there is even the potential of the light changing before you get there and you don't have to stop at all. Compare this to screaming up to the light and just as the car stops, the light turns green - not a real happy feeling.
As you were probably taught in driver's ed, the correct way to stop is to apply increasing pressure to the brakes until the last few seconds and then let off just a bit so the brakes do not grab at the end. This is the limousine driver technique, although I call it the grandma procedure. The idea is to provide a stop so smooth, you passengers don't even realize you have stopped. Every car is a little different and this was more of a problem with the over-boosted power brakes of the 60's and 70's.
Where should you stop. Well the legal word is before the stop line - with the front of the car, not the driver's seat! If you are behind a car, probably 4 or 5 feet is the minimum. My father's saying was to stop so that you can see the car in front of you rear tire, and while this is a good rule of thumb, on some cars this might mean 20 feet and others 2 feet! The best answer is to leave enough room so that you can get around the car if for some reason it stalls or becomes immobile - without having to back up.
Okay - so now we have covered the basics, next time we will look at the real world and see how that fits in with what we know.
