According to a study performed in 1997 by Texas A&M University for the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council (available at their website) people driving at night using low-beam headlights cannot see a large animal like a deer at a distance of between 110 m. Another study performed in 1998 by the U.S. Army for the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated that 43 m is a good braking distance for a sedan traveling at 100 km/h and 50 m is a poor braking distance. If you were driving down the highway at 100 km/h at night using your low-beam headlights, how much time do you have to react to an animal in the road, assuming a braking distance of 45 m? In other words, how much time can elapse between the instant you first spot the animal and the instant you hit the brakes?
System: Your car will be treated as a point particle.
Model: One-Dimensional Motion with Constant Velocity. Although the car will eventually stop, we are interested in the time that elapses from the instant the animal is recognized until the instant the brakes are pressed. During that time interval, the car is coasting at 100 km/h.
Approach: