In addition to looking for applications that can be profitably examined algebraically, numerically and geometrically it is also helpful to use ideas that typical students might find interesting. Most secondary students are eager to obtain their driving license and part of becoming a good driver is understanding how long it takes to stop your vehicle and being able to use this information to make safe driving decisions; but what is the relationship between speed and stopping distance? This article presents some of the basic mathematics nested in a discussion of stopping distances and illustrates how you can make use of this information to engage students in an exploration of both linear and quadratic functions.