Tyres and Tarmac is just a different way of saying give yourself a buffer zone!
There are 6 really good reasons as to why we leave a gap between us and the vehicles in front of us if we are sat in traffic.
Don't mistake this rule as the 2 second rule!
The 2 second rule is a rule we use when the vehicle is moving at different speeds to enable us to stay safe!
The Tyres and Tarmac gap is however slightly flawed, and by that I mean it subjective to who is driving the vehicle.
A driver who is tall against a driver who is short, in the same vehicle will have a different perspective.
However, putting that aside, if you drive considering a Tyres and Tarmac gap "FOR YOU" then this should give you adequate space between you and the vehicle in front of you for all of the reason mentioned below.
The core principle of a Tyres and Tarmac gap is that once stopped, you should be able to see the rear tyre of the vehicle in front of you and approximately
1Mtr of the tarmac of the road behind those tyres.
If the vehicle in front of you were to roll backwards, you would have a buffer zone between you and them.
Maybe you could honk your horn to notify them they are rolling as they may not be aware.
Should you happen to slip off the clutch with your car in gear, the car would leap forward.
If you were too close to the car in front it may cause damage to yous and their car.
Creating inconvenience and an insurance claim.
How would you be able to move off if you were sitting too close to the car in front of you should they break down?
If all the cars following you were doing the same as you and sitting too close, you would need to wait for all the cars behind to reverse a little before you could eventually move off.
Exhaust emissions carry a huge amount of toxic fumes.
One of them being carbon monoxide.
If you are too close to the car in front of you and your ventilation system was running, you'd literally be filling you car up with those toxic fumes.
Not the healthiest of things to be doing!
What might happen if the car travelling behind you misjudged their stopping distance?
Again if you were too close to the car in front of you, you might get bumped from behind and pushed into the car in front of you.
This would create a 3-way insurance claim.
And finally, it's always best to leave a tyre and tarmac gap between you and the vehicle in front so that should an emergency vehicle approach from behind, you'll have sufficient space to move forward and to the left to allow a clear space for them to get past you.