Ideally, the last car in line should have space between them and the car ahead. This is so that if you (at the back of the line) get rear-ended by a car that doesn’t stop in time, you don’t immediately slam into the car in front of you, causing them to possibly rear end the car in front of than. It’s safer for you, and your insurance company can (will) hold you accountable if you’re “too close” to the car in front and rear end them, even if it’s because you yourself have just been rear-ended.

To prevent blocking the turn lane, you can pay attention to what’s happening with traffic before you get to the intersection and not IN the intersection. That way, you can safely stop without blocking traffic.