Was the driver going too fast or following too closely?

By Jacob Alford

A driver can be below the speed limit and still be going too fast for rain, traffic or visibility. The driver also needs enough following distance to stop safely under the conditions. To understand a wreck, look at the speed, the gap between vehicles, what the driver could see and the time available to respond. A rear impact alone does not answer those questions. Texas Transportation Code §545.062(a); §545.351.

Looking up a code? 22: Failed to control speed · 44: Followed too closely · 60: Unsafe speed · 61: Speeding over limit

Does “failed to control speed” mean the driver was speeding?

No. Code 22, “Failed to control speed,” does not necessarily mean the driver exceeded the posted limit. TxDOT separately identifies unsafe speed below the limit as code 60 and speeding over the limit as code 61. Following too closely has its own code, 44. TxDOT CR-100, pages 135–141.

A report code does not supply a measured speed or settle fault. Check whether it appears in the Contributing or May Have Contributed column, then examine the evidence behind it. The code reference below preserves the separate definitions, related law and qualifications.

How much following distance is enough?

Texas law requires enough distance for a safe stop, considering the vehicles’ speeds, traffic and highway conditions. It does not set one number of seconds for every following situation. Texas Transportation Code §545.062(a).

Chapter 8 of the Texas Driver Handbook gives these driving instructions:

• At 30 mph or less: at least two seconds under good road conditions.
• Above 30 mph: four seconds under good road conditions.
• In poor conditions: allow more time. The handbook also recommends four seconds for beginning or less experienced drivers.

These are handbook instructions, not fixed statutory time limits or a guarantee that a particular gap is safe. Texas Driver Handbook, January 2026, chapter 8, printed page 45.

The time gap is the interval between two vehicles passing the same fixed point. It is different from the time a driver has to react after a hazard appears. If a driver alleges that another vehicle entered the gap, investigate how much room existed before the reported lane change, how much remained afterward and what the following driver did next. A complete recording may show a sequence that an impact-only clip leaves out.

What if the other driver says I stopped suddenly or cut in?

If you are the driver being blamed for a sudden stop or lane change, your lawyer can test the other driver’s account by working through what that driver actually saw and did. The label “sudden” needs a sequence behind it.

Start with the evidence. Preserve the full recording and seek advice about relevant vehicle and lighting evidence before repair or deletion. Jacob Alford’s Guide on InjuredTexan.com organizes the questions around what the other driver saw and did—from first seeing the vehicle through braking and impact. That sequence helps you and your lawyer evaluate a sudden-stop or cut-in allegation.

• When did you first see my client’s car? Where was it, and how long had it been ahead of you? What could you see before the movement you describe?
• Did you see a turn signal? If so, when? If not, where were you looking, and what view did you have of the signal?
• Did you see my client’s brake lights? When did you see them? If you did not see them, what first alerted you that you needed to slow down?
• Did you apply your own brakes? What caused you to do that, and when? What happened between that moment and the impact?
• What brought your car to a stop? Had your brakes stopped it before contact, or did the collision with the back of my client’s car contribute to stopping it? What do you remember about the impact and its force?

If the driver says your car was first noticed at the last moment, ask why it was not seen earlier, how much time remained and what braking was possible. If the driver says the impact stopped the car, ask what the driver can acknowledge about that impact, including its force. Those answers can be important without providing a measured impact speed or force, or establishing an injury.

A driver’s failure to remember seeing brake lights does not establish whether the lights were on, whether they worked or whether the driver was inattentive. Compare the testimony with the recordings, vehicle evidence, sight lines and timing. Facts supporting the other driver’s explanation must be examined too. The purpose is to test the allegation, not supply answers the evidence has not established.

What if the driver blames rain or poor visibility?

Ask what the driver did when the conditions changed. Did the driver slow down or leave more room? What could be seen from the driver’s position, and when did the danger become apparent?

The handbook says: “You should always be able to stop within the distance you can see ahead of your car.” It also says: “You should adjust your speed and following distance according to your physical condition and the conditions of the vehicle and road.” Texas Driver Handbook, chapter 8, printed page 45.

Texas law requires reasonable and prudent speed under the circumstances and an appropriate reduced speed for specified hazards. The handbook helps turn that duty into concrete questions about what the driver saw and did. Texas Transportation Code §545.351(a)–(c).

A lawyer can establish the safety practice the driver agrees was reasonable, then compare that agreement with the driver’s conduct and the evidence. The investigation must also consider whether a hazard appeared without a reasonable opportunity to respond.

Why do reaction time and braking distance both matter?

A vehicle keeps moving while its driver notices a danger, recognizes it and responds. After the brakes are applied, the vehicle still needs distance to stop. Both parts of that sequence matter.

The handbook’s approximate stopping-distance chart uses 1½ seconds to think, react and apply the brakes, with good brakes and tires on dry, level pavement. Those are the illustration’s assumptions. They do not establish every driver’s reaction time or a particular vehicle’s stopping distance. Texas Driver Handbook, chapter 8, printed page 45.

If an insurer says a driver should have stopped or swerved, ask what evidence shows when the danger could be perceived, how much response time was available and what safe path was open. The handbook cannot supply missing measurements. A technical reconstruction may require a qualified expert and vehicle-specific evidence.

What changes when the vehicle ahead is a motorcycle?

The handbook recommends at least four to six seconds when following a motorcycle. At signals, crossings and intersections, it separately recommends leaving a full vehicle length behind a stopped motorcycle to help protect the rider if the following vehicle is rear-ended. The moving gap and the stopped buffer address different risks. Neither is a guarantee against a collision. Texas Driver Handbook, chapter 9, printed page 53.

A rider may slow or change position within a lane because of potholes, gravel, weather or a slippery surface. Identify the actual condition, the rider’s movement and the room the following driver allowed before assuming that movement was careless. Texas Driver Handbook, printed page 52.

These recommendations concern a vehicle following a motorcycle. They do not create a universal four-to-six-second legal rule or prove that a particular motorcycle could stop faster than a particular car. The actual vehicles, conditions and timing still matter.

What evidence should be preserved before it disappears?

Preserve the sequence leading up to the collision, along with the source of each fact:

• The full recording. Keep the original video, including the approach before impact, and information about where it came from. A short clip may omit a changing gap or an earlier impact.
• The actual conditions. Preserve available photographs and witness information about visibility, lighting, road layout and the road surface. A later daylight photograph does not establish what a driver could see in rain or darkness.
• The vehicles and available data. Seek advice before repair, salvage or disposal if brakes, tires, lights or vehicle data may matter. What was recorded differs by vehicle. Do not access another person’s vehicle or records without authorization.
• The order of events. Record which vehicle moved or struck first, whether another vehicle entered the gap and what happened next. Separate what you personally remember from what you learned later.

Preserve relevant evidence, but do not assume every possible lead needs an expensive investigation. In a rear-end case, a lawyer can help decide which additional inquiries are useful, proportionate and worth pursuing. Preservation and disclosure duties still apply when a lawyer decides further investigation would add little.

Keep unfavorable material as well as favorable material. If asked about speed, seconds or feet, say what you actually know and identify uncertainty rather than guessing. Do not recreate the wreck in traffic or test a damaged vehicle yourself. Early help can matter before a recording is deleted or a vehicle is changed.

What do the four crash-report codes mean?

TxDOT’s CR-100 supplies the reporting definitions below. The Texas Driver Handbook supplies practical driving guidance. Read each alongside the applicable law and the evidence.

The CR-100 manual does not permit codes 22, 60 and 61 together for the same unit, across either contribution column. Following too closely has its own code, 44. That reporting rule does not mean legal duties cannot overlap. CR-100 v29, page 134; page 136.

22. Failed to control speed

Meaning in the report: The driver failed to control speed to avoid a person or vehicle lawfully on or entering the highway, with due care.

What needs explaining: Consider the lawful presence and due-care language in the definition. The manual prohibits combining 22, 60 and 61 for the same unit. What was the approaching hazard, when could it be perceived, and what stopping or avoidance opportunity existed?

Limits and qualifications: This code does not necessarily mean the vehicle exceeded the posted speed limit or supply a measured speed.

Related law and scope: The specific collision-avoidance duty appears in (b)(2), while (b)(1) separately requires reasonable and prudent speed under actual and potential hazards. The other person/vehicle must be on or entering the highway in compliance with law and each person’s duty of due care.

Sources: TxDOT definition, page 137; Transportation §545.351(b).

Further care: Lawful presence and due care remain part of the definition; a collision alone does not establish this factor. The manual makes 22, 60 and 61 mutually exclusive for the same unit; that is a reporting rule, not a declaration that statutory duties cannot overlap.

44. Followed too closely

Meaning in the report: The following gap did not permit a safe stop without striking the vehicle ahead or veering into another hazard.

What needs explaining: Assess the available stopping distance with speeds, traffic and road conditions. What was the time and distance gap before braking, and did another vehicle change that gap?

Limits and qualifications: This is not automatically a fixed-number-of-feet rule or a conclusion that every rear impact has one cause.

Related law and scope: Maintain an assured clear following distance allowing a safe stop, considering vehicle speeds, traffic and highway conditions, without hitting the preceding vehicle or veering into another vehicle/object/person on or near the highway.

Sources: TxDOT definition, page 140; Transportation §545.062(a).

Further care: The conditional facts, including whether this was a following situation, matter. Rear impact alone is not the statute’s full analysis.

60. Unsafe speed

Meaning in the report: The driver did not reduce speed enough for traffic, pedestrians, weather or road conditions.

What needs explaining: The manual says this is under-limit speed and prohibits combining it with 22 or 61 for the same unit. What conditions made the speed unsafe even if below the posted limit?

Limits and qualifications: A lawful maximum is not a guarantee that every lower speed is reasonable for current conditions.

Related law and scope: Section 545.351(c) requires appropriate reduced speed consistent with (a)–(b) for intersections/rail crossings, curves, hillcrests, narrow/winding roads and traffic/pedestrian/weather/highway hazards.

Sources: TxDOT definition, page 141; Transportation §545.351(c); Transportation §545.351(a),(b) (related provision).

Further care: Under-limit is a TxDOT reporting instruction on manual p. 135, not a statutory exemption from reasonable/prudent speed. Factors 22, 60 and 61 cannot be used together for a unit under the manual.

61. Speeding over limit

Meaning in the report: Travel above the posted limit contributed to the crash.

What needs explaining: Connect both the over-limit speed and its contribution; do not combine with codes 22 or 60 for the same unit. What limit legally applied and what evidence supports the vehicle’s speed?

Limits and qualifications: The factor is not a radar reading. Distinguish estimated speed, posted limit, applicable legal authority and causation.

Related law and scope: Section 545.352(a) makes exceeding an applicable statutory/altered limit prima-facie evidence of unreasonable, imprudent and unlawful speed. Section 545.353(h) and (h-1) authorize 75-mph limits and 80-mph limits for specified I-10/I-20 counties, respectively. Other relevant provisions include (h-2) up to 85 mph and (k) variable limits.

Sources: TxDOT definition, page 141; Transportation §545.352; Transportation §545.353(h-1); Transportation §545.353(h); Transportation §545.353(c),(h-2),(k) (related provision); Transportation §545.354 (related provision); Transportation §545.355 (related provision); Transportation §545.356 (related provision); Transportation §545.359 (related provision); Transportation §545.365 (related provision).

Further care: Subsections (h) and (h-1) authorize certain speed limits, rather than provide a comprehensive speeding-offense description. Verify the actual applicable limit, signs, location/time, vehicle class, valid alteration and any emergency exception. Posting is not the sole source of speed law. Municipal/county/tollway provisions may apply; the manual’s three citations are incomplete as an all-purpose list.

Attorney reviewed by Jacob Alford · November 11, 2026