> Make sure your following distance is such that you have enough time to react to completely oblivious driving behavior from other drivers.
While I fully endorse this ideal, the reality of driving in high-traffic cities is that it's impossible. Every time you adjust to leave proper space, someone will come along and appropriate your safety buffer. When you slow again to allow enough space, the pattern repeats.
Tragedy of the driving commons. In such situations I just drive slightly under the distance I would normally keep, but then just back off those that do barge in.
While I fully endorse this ideal, the reality of driving in high-traffic cities is that it's impossible. Every time you adjust to leave proper space, someone will come along and appropriate your safety buffer. When you slow again to allow enough space, the pattern repeats.