I still think that if its a car you're following, then its not a stationary object, like Al's car was in the example...and therefor the car in front also has a distance its going to take to stop....
That example is more relevant in terms of a kid running out onto the road, as thats then a stationary object (in terms of distance from the car)...at the end of the day, the kid isn't going to jump out exactly 60+ meters away everytime, so all you can do is stay alert and prey that if the situation ever comes up, you can stop in time or avoid the kid/dog