What is the average reaction time behind the wheel?

DMV manual says .75sec

Reaction time varies with the age of the driver and if the driver is paying attention. It also depends on many variables. The DMV does say .75 seconds which equates to 1 car length for every 10 mph. But realisticily it can be up to 1.50 seconds or double what the DMV lists. And that is just the time it takes to put your foot on the brake. It also takes time for the brakes to activate and actually start applying force to the brake pads which can be another .3 second. So assuming a person is driving 55 mph and sees a pedestrian in the road, figureing reaction time, and stopping distance it will take 279.5 feet to come to a complete stop. That is 120.9 feet for the 1.50 second reaction time, 24.2 feet for the brakes to engage, and then 134.4 feet for the car to stop. This is probably about average. Some will react quicker and some will react slower. This is all assuming the road is dry. Add water or snow and this distance increases dramatically.