Originally Posted by
Hornblower
Maybe this is a good time to interject something I learned from local motorcycle cops. When coming to a stop behind cars, they leave quite a bit of distance between them and the car ahead. By quite a bit, I mean a full car length or 2. Then, as cars are approaching them from behind, they keep a lookout in their rear view mirrors. With this kind of extra spacing, they have several options if it appears someone is not going to stop in time. They can go left or right or, for that matter, even make a u-turn if they receive an emergency call while they are stopped. I don't always remember to practice this but I'm convinced it's a really good idea.