I try to keep a decent distance whenever I can. Sometimes stomping on the brakes is still needed. But even then I rarely get close enough that if I am rear ended I will end up rear ending the car in front of me. I did the bike rider course nearly 30 years ago and it taught me, you need to constantly be on the look out. Especially with idiots that think using a mob while driving is ok.
Below is a pick of what happened to a poor lady who was T-Boned when someone was on their phone. Person didn't even have time to hit the brakes.
I definitely agree that having a car with inadequate brakes ( which is being kind to EH's), teaches you to give yourself lots of space to brake. About twice as much as any other car. Those brakes were truly dreadful, even when working as intended.
