def get_distance(highway_now: list, car_index: int) -> int:

    distance = 0
    cells = highway_now[car_index + 1 :]
    for cell in range(len(cells)):  # May need a better name for this
        if cells[cell] != -1:  # If the cell is not empty then
            return distance  # we have the distance we wanted
        distance += 1
    # Here if the car is near the end of the highway
    return distance + get_distance(highway_now, -1)