Freeway Driving

Colorado has a law that you can't sit in the fast lane and cruise if there is space in the slow lane. In other words you need to be considerate of other drivers and stick to the slow lane if you can so that the moron in the WRX who has been 5 inches behind you for the last ten miles can get past.
So what's the appropriate spacing between your car and the car in front when the speed limit is 75, you are 25- 35 and have a 400 HP car? My answer is based on observation of actual events - not just some scientific crap. The answer is (apparently) five feet (or less).
So you're driving at 80 MPH (+5 on the speed limit) with a gap of about five feet to the geriatric in the Cadillac in front of you. Let's say an alien ship hits the Caddy with a tractor beam that stops it dead in the road in front of you. Your reaction time is about 200 ms (That's 0.2 seconds for those of you who missed SI units in high school). After your brain realizes that the Caddy has stopped, it waits for 200 ms to let you know: "Hey, hit the brakes or .....". So you hit the brakes. Let's say it takes another 100 ms for you to push down the pedal to the point that all four wheels are at max traction. (I'm assuming you have ABS so the wheels won't actually lock up). So to recap, the Caddy is stopped five feet in front of you and you apply the full retarding power of the brakes after 300 ms while traveling at 80 MPH. You're dead. Ha ha, so you thought I was going to do some sort of math here? No need, you're dead - you won't appreciate it.
OK - let's do the math. distance = velocity * time. d (miles) = 80 / 60 / 60 * 0.3 = 0.00666666666667 miles = 35 feet - or well past the Caddy assuming you have the mass (which in a WRX you don't).
Well, most of us (you, not me) didn't do physics at school and have only the rudimentary knowledge of math required to tie your shoe laces so perhaps you have an excuse for driving too close. I can oly hope that natural selection removes you from the gene pool.