physics question! please help im so lost!?

Because the faster you are traveling, the longer it takes to stop.

.

Reaction time is the same, but reaction distance increases with increased speed.
Braking distance increases.

Add them to get the stopping distance. If you did it right, the stopping distance is increases at speed, so you need to keep extra distance

Let's look at an example.

Say you're going 50 mph and it takes you ONE second (1/3600 hr) to hit the brake.

 In that time you travel ( d = rt ) ------ (50)(1/3600) = 0.01388888 miles or 73.3 feet.


If you're going 60 mph, in ONE second you travel 88 feet.

If you're going 70 mph, in ONE second you travel 102.7 feet.

and

If you're going 80 mph, in ONE second you travel 117.3 feet.

Go look at see what these distances look like. May not see like it, but they are a long ways when you're about to crash into the back end of another vehicle. And these distances are ideal......great tires, great road surface, DRY road surfaces.

To give you an idea a car is about 14 feet long, on average, so traveling just 73 feet is about 5 car lengths.

So.....don't follow too closely to other vehicles.....it's very risky.