Husband’s driving puts wife into a skid

Dear Amy: My husband and I have been married for over 30 years. We hardly ever fight, except for when he is driving. Whenever we travel together forvery long, I am usually such a wreck, I want to cry.

Is it too much to ask that he just ease up a little bit? What does it hurt to only go 10 miles over the speed limit, instead of his customary 15 mphover?

All I ask is that he widen the gap a little between us and the car in front of us.

Right now, he is pouting and going 10 miles below the speed limit in the right-hand lane and not speaking to me. Honestly, it’s the first time traveling that I feel calm. Am I being unreasonable? — AnxiousWife

Dear Wife: Your husband should appreciate the fact that you value your life, his life, and the lives of other drivers and passengers.

A very helpful article I read on Edmunds.com (the car rating site) breaks downhowdangerous tailgating is: “There’s more involved in braking than the actual time your brakes are applied to the wheels (called ‘effective braking’). In particular, ‘perception time’ and ‘reaction time’addconsiderabledistance to stopping your car.

“When you combine perception and reaction time, a full 132 feet will pass before your car even begins to slow down from 60 mph. So, from the time you perceive a braking situation until the time your car comes to a complete stop, a total of 4.6 seconds elapses. During that time your car travels — it bears repeating — a total of more than 270 feet. That’s almost the length of a football field. Of course, the faster you go, the more time and distance it takes to stop.”

I can only hope that your question will inspire readers to reconsider their own driving. Drivers — please — leave at least three seconds between your car and the vehicle in front of you.