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Detecting Tailgaters With Lasers
stoolpigeon writes "Police in Arizona are using laser range finders to detect and ticket tailgaters. An officer can now measure not only the speed of passing vehicles but also how close they are to one another. The detectors described in the article are built by Laser Technology Inc., a company that provides lasers for traffic control, engineering, and even tactical/military solutions. The article mentions how tailgating is connected to many accidents and incidents of road rage; this observation fits my experience."
Tailgaters aren't that bad, I can live with them behind me.
It's the fuckers that are really close in front of me I can't stand. How the hell am I supposed to be able to stop in time going 80mph when that guy is just 10 feet in front of me?!
Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
I always wanted a little TV in my car's back window, so I could show video of cars smashing into each other, bloody bodies flying into the air, etc which could be played when people follow me too closely. Either that or a pneumatic arm with a ballpeen hammer on the end to put holes into the hood of cars following too closely.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
It seems like they could spend money on so many different things. . . . They need to catch speeders more than tailgaters."
:)
Umm, no. Tailgaters are worse. There can be a smart speeder. There is no such thing as smart tailgater. Becauses, it is not speeding that causes accidents, it's the person speeding needs to take extra caution. It can be done, even if it usually is not. Tailgating in-and-of-itself is dangerous.
"I've seen people at 0.04 seconds. That is less than half a second," he said.
Talk about enlightening comments.
Some of the comments there say that someone else will just pull ahead of you. Ahem, they will then get tickets. That's the point. Then they complain that they're close for a minute and get tickets, well, this complaint and the first complaint are opposites.
I hope these tickets work. Next we can take on gawkers.
Have you read my journal today?
Wow, what a name. Wonder how they came up with it? I guess they're just creative.
ADVENTURERS! - ANTIHERO FOR HIRE - CARDMASTER CONFLICT
Like they say, there are only two types of drivers:
The assholes in front of you, and the assholes behind you.
You're supposed to allow 1 foot for each 10 MPH of speed, you inconsiderate clod. And an extra 10 feet if you're watching a movie on the DVD player in the dash, and 10 more feet if it's a porn movie.
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
They can just ban the SUV. No fancy lasers needed.
Monstar L
Bad traffic in Phoenix has significantly less to do with illegial imigrants who can't read English (sheesh...) and much more to do with the facts that:
(a) Phoenix is too broad for it's own good. People live 30-40-50 miles from where they work.
(b) Phoenix freeway and surface street infrastructre has lagged behind our phenominal growth (see above).
(c) Phoenix is a melting pot. Nobody's actually FROM Phoenix. We're made of EX-somethings. Sure, there's a few natives, but it's NOT the norm.
(d) We have a significant snowbird population (also, see above).
Combine the overloaded bad infrastructure with a nation's worth of driving customs and a constantly supply of new (and seasonal) people, and you're looking at the bulk of what's wrong with Phoenix traffic.
Speeds of 85+ are the norm on I-10 (and 17 and 101/202/60/51) when congestion permits it.
The speed limit is the same for BOTH lanes of the road. And "the appropriate 10 mph+ over the speed limit" is a bunch of crap. The only APPROPRIATE speed is to follow the limit as given.
Let up on the accelerator there lead-foot.
Especially BMWs.
(I have a tow-ball.)
I try to be a safe driver. So, I drive with the intention of leaving a couple of car lengths between me and the car in front. What happens? Someone sees that as an invitation to merge on over!! Next thing I know my "safe space" is down to inches. Best thing to do then...I upset the guy behind me and slow down opening up more of a gap trying to manage between not letting someone over and making sure I have some room to stop.
My idea was a flashing neon sign that says, "back off!"
Problem is, everybody thinks they're a perfect driver, and get very weird when anybody tries to tell them otherwise. Hence all the road rage incidents connected to tailgating.
My strategy is to slow down, but subtly, so they don't register that I'm pissed at them. I don't even brake, I just don't push the accelerator as hard as a normally do. Invariably the tailgater gets impatient and passes, without registering any change in my driving.
It is, of course, frustrating to see bad driving and not be able to communicate your concerns to the other driver. But frustration is better than being targeted by a psycho.
It's not tailgating, it's drafting! Have you seen the fuel prices these past few years?
I just flick boogers.
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
You can replace "Phoenix" with "Atlanta" and you'll get exactly the same situation. I drive 25 miles to work, and the right-most lane goes around 70mph in a 55mph zone. I'm not a slow driver, so that's not a problem for me. However, I do keep my distance. As a result, I get constantly cut off by others, and it usually takes me a few seconds to regain my distance. If during that time I'm clocked as being too close to the car in front of me, I could easily get ticketed even though I didn't tailgate. (Almost said that I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm not that sure about that. A judge told my friend to drive closer to the car in front of him after a driver tried to cut my friend off and he tapped the driver's back corner, sending him into a spin. According to that judge, it is wrong to give people the opportunity to cut you off.)
Somehow safety and the issuance of tickets are related? Tickets are primarily a revenue generation system. Any traffic improvement is a mere secondary consideration. If this laser device costs X then ticket generation will increase till the moneys generated are at least X times 10. Then and only then will the program be deemed a success.
- Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
Tailgating at night is particularly bothersome. I drove a subcompact car, and an SUV or truck on my tail with its headlights in my eyes is blinding. That's a really dangerous situation on the country roads, where I need to have enough vision to be able to watch for deer, fallen branches, etc.
My usual approach is to just slow down to the point where I'm not overdriving my vision, but since this tends to anger the clueless fuckers behind me, they will often respond by getting even closer or turning on their brights, which just forces me to slow down even more. I don't know why they don't pass; apparently it takes an appreciable amount of intelligence to figure out that the guy who is currently driving at 30 but was going 55 when you first got on his tail is probably not going to speed up and it's easier to just get ahead of him if you really absolutely have to be driving 65 at night during deer season.
sample question from the driving theory test in the UK (paraphrased):
"You are travelling at the spped limit. A car comes up behind you and flashes their lights at you requesting to overtake. Do you:
a) Speed up
b) Slow down
c) Maintain your speed
d) Sound your horn"
The correct answer is c. Frankly, when you go about trying to blind the person infront of you by flashing full beams into their rear-view mirror (particularly at night) for doing nothing more than following Driving Standards Agency advice, you deserve everything you get. Up to and including a stinger missile.
FGD 135
Take the number of people driving below the speed limit to the number of people who are tailgating. My estimate is that this ratio is about 1:5000.
Ben Hocking
Need a professional organizer?
On divided highways, tailgating rules should not be enforced in the fast lane if the state law requires slower traffic to keep right. In such cases, people holding up traffic in the fast lane should be pulled over and cited.
In all other cases though, I support the enforcement of laws against tailgating.
Like this one?
In heavy traffic, if you constantly change lanes, tailgate anyone in front of you, shake your fist in fury, you will get most places a lot faster.
In traffic, leaving more than a single car length between you and the guy in front of you gets you cut off. It's an invitation for some asshat in the next lane over to cut in. You know the type.
I tell ya... roof-mounted laser gun turrents. "We've got a Jetta at 3 o'clock! Get in there and keep him occupied until I can engage the damned lightdrive!"
That and enemy symphathizers - traitors. You rode that bumper like an animal in heat and kept the Jetta out of your lane. But what's this? The Jetta pulls ahead and that weak-willed pansy Corolla two cars ahead lets him in, after all your work! "Dammit man, we're trying to hold a line here. Get on that fucking bumper and ride it for all you're worth you fucking pussy!"
Where did these people learn to drive? Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood?
I'm not tailgating, I'm Drafting. The extra 5% gas savings, is awesome, AND I have the benefit of saving the planet from greenhouse gases.
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
A better strategy is to just vary your speed by +/- 2 MPH in a continuous cycle. Then even if they don't pass, they have to give you more room. Try it. :-)
Currently hooked on AMP
>> Is the ticketting reducing the number of accidents?
y /documents/page/dft_rdsafety_029193.hcspo n_15.html
if you are referring to the tailgate-detector tickets, nobody knows yet as there hasn't been enough time to find out.
if you are talking about speeding tickets and red light camera tickets. the answer is absolutely. many studies have shown that with higher enforcment of speed limits and red lights people DO change their driving habits, slow down, and obey signals. Further it has been proven that whith the slower speed of traffic not only are there fewer collisions*, but they are also less likely to involve injuries and death. I know the public perception is that it's a tax, but this is a really simple tax to avoid, don't break the law, and you will NEVER be caught doing so.
reference:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafet
http://ip.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/4/302
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/05048/index.htm
http://www.esafety-effects-database.org/applicati
and others... (google is your friend)
*I won't use the word accident in this context because the majority of the time it is no accident and any intelligent person can see exactly why it happened
How? By running the red light and T-boning crossing traffic? Or by ploughing through the pedestrians on the cross-walk?
-EvilMagnus
So, either keep out of Illinois or take off that stupid paper hat, get off your high hobby-horse and get your sorry slavish-speed-limit-obeying butt into the right lane.
Comments should be like skirts. Short enough to keep your attention, but long enough to cover the subject
I hear a lot of my friends complaining about nocturnal tailgaters - particularly, as you say, the SUV-type things. And yet, a lot of them give me a blank stare when I suggest that they use the anti-dazzle feature of their rear-view mirror.
"You see that thing for hanging the furry dice off of? Flick it."
"Wow..."
Unless they're lucky enough to learn after work in a high-latitude winter, most people will never drive in the dark with an instructor. Which is pretty scary, when you think about it.
As someone else pointed out, it's a form of drafting so it saves fuel.
Plus, sometimes, if you're trying to help somebody out, you come at their bumper from an angle and then just a light tap and you slide into the lane. You spin the other guy out, and it he's any good, he can probably avoid hitting anything deadly.
It's a normal part of driving. If you can't handle it, you have no business on the road.
Mod -1: Asshole. You are the problem.
--- Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity
When I run into a tailgater, I (... and don't criticize me if this seems wacked out or dangerous) I pull to another lane. Then they go on by.
And if I'm on a road that is 2 lanes, and I get a guy 2 inches from my bumper I (... get this...) I pull off the road for two seconds as soon as I can and let some other person deal with them as they rush on past..
Seriously, I want to concentrate on driving, not whether some nutball in back of me is going to slip up and ram into me because he's got anger management issues.
To my way of thinking, guys who slow down in front of tailgaters have the same mentality as the tailgaters, they only express it differently.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
Ah - I usually get the bastards so close that I can't see their lights in the side mirrors!
I've been doing some limited experimenting with Pavlovian conditioning.
Basically, you tune your speed to the amount of space between you and the tailgater. You slow down until they back off (usually they do), then you speed up. You stay fast until they start tailgating you again, at which point you let off your gas.
One key is probably not to use your brakes, which makes this too obvious. I don't really want them consciously thinking about the fact that I am actively braking. That'll just piss them off.
I'd say this works about half the time, and probably won't trigger any road rage. But the flip side is that it does fail about 50% of the time.
I also don't know if I'm really "conditioning" that 50% or not, but as an engineering-type I say who cares if the logic is right if it works? 50% is still an improvement over 0%.
Do you think all the other people behind you who weren't tailgating deserved to be punished too?
Driving doesn't have to be about making the other fucker pay. That attitude is why I hate driving so much. It even affects me sometimes. I've had that angry feeling boil up and done stupid things several times, but I'm not proud of it. The thing I'm least proud of is the tailgater who got me so angry/scared that I popped down a gear causing him to rear-end me. Yeah, he totalled an expensive car and was 100% "at fault" but I felt kinda bad about it. I do wonder if he still tailgates so badly.
Man, you really need that seminar!
Good points. But it's not the "fast lane" ... it's the "passing lane". If you're not passing in the "passing lane", you're obstructing the right of way ... this is a traffic violation in most states, regardless of speed.
A good countermeasure that I've heard of (but haven't tried yet) is to hit your windshield washers. If they're close enough to catch the overspray it generally will clue them in to get back further.
Have you read my blog lately?
Creative application of a photo flashgun is often effective at ridding oneself of tailgaters!
Tailgating an 18-wheeler is one of the safer forms of tailgating. The truck can't stop faster than your car.
Actually, a lot of 18-wheelers can. Especially if they are not fully loaded. I don't remember what they call the brakes, but they are a different beast than on your car or air brakes like you see on a bus.
Even if the stop should catch you off guard and you impact, it won't likely throw the truck off the road (due to mass), or your car (due to being pinned under the trailer).
Yeah, people get killed because their car wedges itself under the trailer and cleaves the top off the passenger compartment. I think most trucks are supposed to have guards that are low enough to prevent this, specifically to prevent this from happening, but I don't think all do because I still hear about it happening from time to time.
The enemies of Democracy are
avoid them... avoid them... on a dark country road.... ya ain't from around hyar, ar ya boy?
Your ignorance astounds me, but I won't let it bother me. I'll exercise the right I have in Colorado to pass on the right to get past you. Many people here insist on driving in the fast lane 5-10mph below the limit because it's easier for them - they don't have to deal with people entering the highway in the right-most lane.
Even though it may be legal in your state to drive at the speed limit in the left lane, it's not clever. If you are doing it solely to annoy other drivers, then you do not deserve to have a licence. You are a danger and a nuisance.
To correct you, the fast lane is for overtaking, and is an additional lane to use when the others become full. That is all. You have no business being there if the other lanes to the right of you are empty.
I've done this a few times. And I've been stunned by who often it is that's tailgating. Word of advice--ignore them.
I live around Lancaster, PA. Last year, westbound on Harrisburg Pike through East Hempfield, heading toward Salunga, had this car with his high beams on just riding my bumper then backing off, so I'd get blinded, then not.
I got pissed, figure I'm not driving the next few miles to Mount Joy this way, so I pulled off the road to let 'em pass. First time I've ever done this. Know who passed? I'm gawking at the police car that guns past.
Had a similar thing occur on Oregon Pike/Rt 272 heading north going through Manheim Township. No back and forth by the vehicle behind, but right on my tail and acting like he's going to pass, moving to the center line. I get sick of the behavior, so I pull over to allow them to pass. It's a police vehicle.
There are other instances (I do a lot of night driving; late work). My suspicion is that's police officers doing their night rounds will often tailgate you in order to get you to speed up. If you are on the speed limit or under it by 5 mph, the more they do so. So be careful with the fast/slow approach, esp. in states that allow VASCAR, even if you are still under the speed limit (they'll use your speed up as an excuse to get a faster mph reading).
Also, besides the 2 experiences above, Manheim Pike/Rt72, heading north to Maheim, had a large pickup trucking blinding me. I pull over, it bullets by. I resume. Up the road, pickup lights can be seen disappearing, still pulling away. Up the road, after a bend (where the pickup's rear lights were last seen), turns out to be a speed check, pickup apparently wasn't picked up. I'm doing the speed limit the whole way, I see a vehicle rapidly approach from the side that is clearly in a rush to get behind me (late night, sort of obvious), it does and then tailgates me for 2 miles. Vehicle turns off and I confirm in my rear view--it was a police vehicle. Subcompacts/compacts/small cars are targets not only for the abusive SUVers (there are many good SUV drivers, just that they are overshadowed by the asses) but also by police (small car, probably young, targetted as less likely to lawyer up (lack of funds by you means more funds for them)).
You can take a bus, plane, taxi or just walk. Driving is not a right.
Actually according to the law of several states (MI, TX, and MD to my knowledge), the only APPROPRIATE speed is to go with the flow of traffic -- even if traffic is going over the speed limit! It is drastic deviations from the speed at which traffic is moving that cause the most problems. You should be going the speed limit, but if the limit is 65 and everyone else is going 90 you will only be making things worse by staying at 65. Actually, when I was in MD I travelled a stretch of highway where this was exactly the case. Nobody did less than 80 MPH, the middle lane was 90 and the left lane was for those who wanted to go fast. Sticking to the speed limit would have been insanely stupid, and any fool tootling along muttering "well I'm obeying the law" was, in fact, wrong. And dangerous.
The enemies of Democracy are
The correct answer is also (e): if you're in the fast lane, move the fuck over and get out of the way!
At least around here, I'd say the single biggest traffic problem is caused by people forgetting this.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
I'd suggest in addition to this metamoderation. If you mod too many drivers unfairly you don't get as many mod points. Drivers with excellent "carma" could drive at +2.
Man, you really need that seminar!
The road is a bubble sort. Assholes get to bubble forward, sensible drivers pull back. This is good because, coincidentally, forward is where all the accidents are.
I have discovered a truly remarkable
The assholes in front of you, and the assholes behind you.
...and here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
Its not so much that people drive too slow, its that people like to ride their brakes, or brake for stupid fender benders on the side of the road. Try this little applet out for size to see the effects of it.
Gawkers should have their driving privileges revoked.
I got nothin'
Just start ticketing people who brake for no reason on the highway.
In fact, there's hardly ever a reason to brake on the highway.
If you have to brake on the highway, either you did something wrong, or the person ahead of you did.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
You'll just register as one long vehicle.
Squirrel!
I'm going to be the contrarian here. Most tailgaters I see (including myself, of course) have legitimate gripes. If you have nobody in front of you and a queue of cars behind you, chances are you are going too slow!
I always try to be aware of my surroundings, including looking in the rear-view mirror. If I'm in the left lane and there is someone approaching from the rear, it's easier and safer to reserve moral judgement about their character and do the smart thing--pull to the right at the earliest possible opportunity and let him overtake me. Why can't everyone manage to do that? See, when I happen to be the one in an unusual hurry, 9 times out of 10, the guy in front of me in the left lane is totally oblivious of my presence. To wake him up, I either have to drive dangerously close, pass on the right, or hit him with a few high-beam blasts. It's a no-win situation for both of us.
Same with a single-lane road. If you simply must drive slow and enjoy the view, have the courtesy to pull to the shoulder when people approach who actually have a destination they are looking forward to reaching.
Sure, there's the occasional idiot who gets in the left lane and tails everybody within inches, making them all pull over one by one, but these tailgaters are in the minority.
Please hang up the phone, be aware of your surroundings (especially the people behind you), and keep up with the flow of traffic. In short, drivers should be participants, not obstacles.
In Germany, people (tend to) get over as soon as they see you behind them, especially (but not only) on the highways. And on the highways, they don't wait for you to get right behind them, THEN try to find a spot to move over. If you're zooming along at 130 mph and they're only going 100, if they haven't moved over already as they're legally required, they'll get out of the way fairly quickly as soon as they see you.
[SIGH] I miss that place.
Did you ever notice that people driving slower than you are idiots and that people driving faster than you are maniacs?
My reaction would be: am I in the far outside lane, which is where I should be if I am not passing? If so, I should do nothing; keep driving in the same lane and at the same speed. He can switch lanes and pass. If not, I should move over and let him pass. I should keep to the outside, as I am the slower traffic.
/usr/games/fortune
The "slow lane" is for people who aren't actively passing people. The "fast lane" should more appropriately be called the "passing lane", and is for people who are passing. They should move over, pass, and get back into the "slow lane" until they catch up to the next person that is driving slower than them.
/usr/games/fortune
One trick is to quickly brake ever so slightly and throw your rear fog lights on at the same time making it look like you've slammed your brakes on hard. That tends to sort the men from the boys.
Also, I've seen plenty of 'weavers' turn into pacers (and stay steady with the car to the right) when they get to the front of the pack, as it seems that their biggest concern isn't keeping a good speed, but being 'first'.
I do this (American btw), and I usually stick to the right 2 lanes to do it. My goal isn't to be first - it's to have the most options available in front of me. I don't like sitting in someones blind spot, I also don't like properly pacing my lane and getting trapped in by your "weavers".
If being out front means having more response options available to you - then I'm out front.
totally agree with this - here in the UK there seems to be a serious lack of understanding about the basics of motorway driving that creates a lot of the traffic problems and road rage.
i could go into a long rant but thought it better to share the link to the Association of British Drivers that has an excellent resource about these kind of issues: http://www.abd.org.uk/
I hear in several european countries, they bring out a big curtain to put around traffic accidents, to keep gawkers from slowing down traffic and causing a bigger mess
Then you have really stupid people. A few years ago we had some paintings on a building by one of our highways (the kennedy expresway). I saw people stop their cars on the damn expressway, literally zero miles an hour in a traffic lane, to take a pic. The areas was close to a curve as well, so not a lot of long distance cisibility.
Besides, not only is the de facto speed limit the relevant one, but furthermore, people who are driving more slowly in the left lane than cars passing them in the right lane are the ones who are the issue - and I'll promise you that those drivers are doing the wrong thing, according to a very similar question from the driver's handbook.
If they're doing the speed limit, why would you need to overtake them?
I have noticed that.
But, fortunately, about 99% of the people on the highway with me tend to be driving at about the same speed.
If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.
Here's an idea, let the weavers assholes be themselves. Why would you purposely close the gap or actively prevent someone from getting in front of you? If you are driving too slow for them, let them be in front of you and eventually they will do it to someone else and be gone and you can go about your own business and not have to worry about them at all.
I've often wondered why people play that gap closing game myself. If someone whats to weave in and out of traffic, let them go, as others have stated, in heavy traffic, it is not an effective means of making better progress anyway. You may feel they are being unsafe and maybe this is your chance to exercise your 4000LB weight around too as an equalizer? Closing a gap and disrupting the flow of a weavers is NOT safe either. If you want to play it safe, maintain your existing speed and gap and let the weaver go about his business. The weaver is not being as safe as he could be but closing the gap is not the safest thing you could do either.
On that note... I live on a corner with a hidden intersection on a semi rural 2 lane state road. I see people pull out in front of cars all the time. One time a car pulled out in front of someone and that someone slammed on his brakes and laid on the horn until he came to a complete stop. After he came to a stop, he started yelling at the other person that pulled out in front of him as that person was driving by him in the other direction, the need for a complete stop was completely unnecessary. Hey, shit happens, get over it. Well now that he was at a complete stop and half way around a hidden corner and attempting to make his point known to a car that was no longer within hearing distance, he got rear ended by a third car coming up behind him on that hidden bend. Okay, technically he was not at fault because he got rear ended but his blatant actions had put himself in a very unsafe situation regardless of what the law states. I see a lot of people trying to be "safe" and educate other drivers on the road but in reality, they are being unsafe themselves. Just like the guy that hits his brakes when someone is tailing him. If you don't want to be tailed, move the hell over. I know a car is a big powerful glob of various metals and plastics but using that psychological power to force your driving ethics on others is NOT safe. Considering that the person is not going to change their habits because of your gap closing you have absolutely NOTHING to gain. Gee, I've been driving like a weaver for 20 years and today someone closed the gap on me. I learned a lesson and I am never going to be a weave again!
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
Jerk, the PRIME reason you are being tailgated is because you are driving slower than them. Reasons to tailgate: --You are too slow in the fast lane (slower traffic keep right) --You are directly responsible for not allowing them to pass (rolling roadblock) --You pulled out in front of them and did not accelerate reasonably (you cut them off!) --You changed lanes in front of them without checking THEIR speed, and for no apparent reason --You are talking on your cellphone or to your passenger and have no idea what you are doing. It is not about CONTROL people, everyone wants to get to where they want to go, so just let them pass, give them some room, it's not that hard. Also do not do the +/-mph thing, use a steady rate of speed, it makes you more predictable and safer to be around. Also I live in AZ, first time I've heard of this and it is ridiculous. We have 'snow birds' here. Retirees that come here in the winter from the colder weather and our traffic is fcked up for months, it is very irritating especially when they do anything in the list above.
Except for breaking, as all the cars are stacked up behind you, perhaps many of then tailgating each other, sure in a pile up you'd have the 'best' chance of surviving, unless a semi plows through the lot of you. Besides, we really do see you blocking up traffic, and I'll bet that you've seen more than a few people pull out in front aggressively, it's not 'random' you've pissed them off for the last 5 miles. Classic deadly Road Rage is most often a response to poor/inconsiderate driving such as yours, the left hand lane is the 'passing lane' which means one should never 'keep pace' with a car to their right. Stacking up traffic behind you is a pile-up waiting to happen, sure you 'might' not be involved, but other drivers feel this danger, and will then act aggressively against you when they can. Some fearful people cocoon to threats, others swing out in rage. Ironically, it's likely you see it as 'they did not see your car, further reinforcing your 'rule', however it's a wonder you have gotten shot yet.
Personally, I get a little 'spooked' when some does try to pace me, in particular the 'open' highway, if something like a deer runs into the road, it likely that we'll both try to avoid it by a combination of steering and breaking, and what are the chances that we'll do that at the same pace? I try my best to stay at a steady 10 mph over, moving over to the right to let faster drivers pass, and when I know that I won't be trapped in the right hand lane. Unlike others I really don't mind someone else passing me, but if I pass them again, I try not to let them ahead of me again.
The force that blew the Big Bang continues to accelerate.
Quickly Circle! Stop writing anything interesting!
"Da ist ein Technölüst in mein Unterpanten!"
...it's either idiots who were never properly instructed on driving/passing etiquette, or assholes who just refuse to get the fuck out of the way.
Lesson 1: The leftmost lane is for passing. All those signs on the freeways that read SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT weren't painted and posted for your edification...they're the law. When you just drive along in this lane, you are just as guilty of criminal activity as someone exceeding the posted speed limit.
Lesson 2: Someone blipping their high beams a couple times as they approach you is NOT being a prick. They're politely informing you in the most expeditious manner available (it's not like they can walk up and tap on your window, you know) that you are obstructing the flow of traffic.
The fact that they had to flash their lights at you in the first place is a testament against you. It means that you either didn't have enough situational awareness to spot their approach before they flashed you, or that you saw them coming and (for whatever reason) you decided that you weren't going to move aside. At this point, you're looking like an idiot, or a prick, or both.
So, what to do now? The ball is in your court...either speed up or move aside and let them pass.
I simply cannot understand why some people refuse to yield the way. You don't get brownie points for trying to prevent other drivers from speeding. Furthermore, you have absolutely NO idea what is motivating the driver behind you...there could be a medical emergency involved, and your prissy ass might be impeding their progress to a hospital. Why take the risk to yourself, your vehicle, and possibly others' lives? If you just get the fuck out of the way already, the tailgating "problem" disappears.
Long rant cut short: there is NO SUCH THING as a tailgater. There are only pious, self-righteous assholes who refuse to get out of the way of people who have the audacity to move faster than them.
I don't stop people from passing me altogether, but when traffic is stacked up, the space between me and the car that I am following is the minimum space I like, a nice 'safe' two car-lengths (nearly three if I'm doing over 60). You weavers seem to think that is a invitation to make my 2 car lengths of space into a half a car(or less). Tell me how that is safer? I see it as a choice between 1 car-length behind a car which I 'know' or 1/2 behind some new driver. Unless there is a pacer in front of me it doesn't last long, and most know what I'm doing. If there is a pacer, I tend to just slow down as traffic will get dangerously stacked up, sometimes I'll even consider the next exit for a stop, as pacers are the trigger for most weavers.
Despite my best effort sometime people do get into that space and I give them the proper space require in front of me, but it slows down traffic behind me, I can't tailgate them. Sometimes they still do get ahead of me, and since my primary job is to keep myself safe, I slow down by 5 mph, what's the difference, well, times that by the number of cars which they 'force' to give space. It slows down traffic, thus making more people more aggressive, and increasing the number of weavers. Have you ever wondered why on some road traffic is either going 70 mph or crawling along: Often it's the number of people switching lanes ahead of you, and others giving them the proper space that they need to be safer.
Perhaps your breaking reactions are perfect, and you can perfectly time a car's speed, but the rest of us have two choices, either over-break, or slam into the other car. Also, you might not realize it yet, but some people who are put in a situation where they come to fear for their lives, react aggressively. Most people who commit deadly road rage acts are not the original offender, but someone who over-reacted to what they saw as a threat to their lives, it's actually a natural human response to a threat.
The force that blew the Big Bang continues to accelerate.
No, I haven't.
You can drive slower than me and not be an idiot: don't hog the passing lane, don't match the speed of the drivers in the lanes who are right next to you (thus creating a wall), and be going at least 60 mph when you merge onto a freeway.
You can drive much faster than me and not be a maniac: just take the first opportunity to go around me (I probably won't be in the left lane, or will quickly vacate it when I see your speed) rather than tailgate, and don't change lanes close enough to me such that I panic.
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
Bounce a "D" cell battery off the road, into his radiator. The road slow it down on the first bounce enough to put a nasty dent into something, if not the radiator.
-William
God is everything science has yet to explain.
On the other hand, don't tailgate if you aren't in the passing lane (I get these morons quite a bit - I'm not in the passing lane, the passing lane can even be open, and they prefer to ride my bumper. I don't get it). If you have to be in the right hand lane because your exit is coming up, deal with it. Don't tailgate someone in the passing lane if there is another car in front of them moving at the same pace. There is nothing the car in front of you can do to move faster, and tailgating them is simply dangerous and stupid. Also, if someone is using the passing lane the way its intended, but a little slower than you would like, don't tailgate them, because they intend to move back over when they are done passing and you'll be on your way. Tailgating them just pisses them off, and accomplishes nothing.