An uproar over an annoying driving habit has divided the internet as people debate whether stopping far back from the traffic lights is bad behaviour.
In a now-viral Reddit post, a user shared a snap of two cars stopped more than a metre behind a set of traffic lights in Kogarah, southwest Sydney.
The original poster wrote, “What’s the advantage of stopping a car length behind the white line? Or am I an habitual ‘line stepper’?”
Many claimed the habit was a “disadvantage” to other fellow drivers and that it messes with the sensors that aid the lights.
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“I only see this as a disadvantage. The traffic lights don’t know there are any cars waiting because they haven’t stopped on top of the sensor,” one user commented.
Another wrote, “Completely agree. I’ve never actually seen anyone do this and I’m quite sure they would be abused if they did. Many short-tempered drivers out there!”
One user claimed the habit caused them great inconvenience when they were “stuck” at the traffic for 10 minutes all because “the car two spots ahead was too far back”.
“Luckily the guy in the car in front got out and told them to move up to the line. People are dumb,” they wrote.
On the other hand, one user claimed driving instructors have been telling their students to stop almost a car length from the line “to prevent being knocked into an active intersection if rear ended”.
The verdict from the government?
The NSW Road User Handbook instructs to leave a “three-second stopping gap” between you and the car in front and to avoid a hit, drivers must be “as close as possible to the line” when stopping at the lights.