Speed limits, safe following distance and hazard awareness
Speed and space
The posted limit is a ceiling, not a target. Urban streets in Iraq are commonly signed 40-60 km/h, rural roads 80-100 km/h, and divided highways up to 120 km/h; always obey the plate in front of you and any lower limit for lorries or bad weather. In rain, dust or darkness, reduce speed and increase the gap.
Following distance
Use the two-second rule in dry daylight: pick a fixed point, and ensure at least two seconds pass before you reach it. Make it four seconds in rain, dust, night, or when following a heavy vehicle. At 100 km/h, two seconds is about 56 metres, roughly fourteen car lengths.
Worked example
You are doing 80 km/h on a dry road behind a lorry. The lorry passes a lamp post; you count 'one thousand and one, one thousand and two' and reach it at two seconds. That is the minimum, not a safe margin, because the lorry blocks your view. Drop back to four seconds so you can see and stop.
Traps
Quoting the two-second rule in a dust storm; confusing stopping distance with thinking distance; and believing ABS shortens stopping distance on loose gravel - it mainly preserves steering.