I remember my BSM driving instructor telling me (1971) to "drop back and leave plenty of space between the car in front and us". And, if a car nipped in to that empty space? "Drop back and leave plenty of space between the car in front and us"... ad infitum.

Which I do to this very day.

Still amused by the signs on some motorways which say, "Keep two chevrons apart". I always imagine two small goats having a scrap and me having to sort them out.