I have a strategy for when I get tailgated in the slow lane and it’s not brake checking because that’s what they expect. I’ll lock the cruise control to my desired speed. They get right up on my ass and don’t back off, I speed up putting space between me and them. At this point they’ll speed up and I’ll take my foot off the gas and let the car slow down back to cruise control speed. Repeat as necessary. The trick is to never touch the brakes. The driver behind me is alternating between speeding up and hitting the brakes. Eventually they’ll get tired of it and either pass or back off
Thanks I’m gonna try this
If you are on any U.S. highway, there is always someone who thinks the ideal speed limit is 10 mph faster than whatever the speed of traffic is in the left lane. They will tailgate you until you change lanes to let them pass, causing everyone in the lane to the right to adjust to the change in traffic, and then repeat the process for every car in front of them, or they will attempt to pass you on the right, creating dangerous traffic situations. Best of all, this person genuinely believes that, “If everyone drove like me, there would be no traffic.”
They don’t care about how quick they arrive (otherwhise they wouldn’t speed up to a redlight), they just wanna feel fast, in this case by driving faster than everyone else
Exactly. I just drove from New York to Boston, and no matter what the speed was, I’d run into a tailgater every 30 minutes. I’d be cruising at 80 to 85 mph, keeping a minimum safe distance from the guy in front of me, there’d be 5 cars in front of me doing the exact same thing, but some dick (usually driving an oversized pickup) would decide that wasn’t good enough. He’d tailgate until I found an opportunity to drop into the middle lane, let him pass, then I get back into the
rightleft lane and watch him do the same thing to the guy in front of me. It’s as if he thinks he’s gonna reach the, “front,” and then their won’t be any traffic.Did you get the lanes mixed up, or are you saying you’re moving into the faster lane to let them pass you on the right? Passing on the right may not be illegal in the US, but it’s definitely less safe and it’s illegal in parts of Europe. I would never move left to let someone pass, if they can’t figure out how to go around on their own, that’s their problem.
No, I’m saying I would be in the passing lane, going faster than the speed of traffic, then I’d get tailgated by someone who decided the flow of traffic in the passing lane was too slow and change lanes so they could pass, just to watch them do the same thing to the car that was just ahead of me. I think if I edit this sentence it would be more clear:
He’d tailgate until I found an opportunity to drop into the middle lane, let him pass, then [I would] get back into right lane and watch him do the same thing to the guy in front of me.
I’m confused about this part:
back into right lane
This implies you started in the right (non-passing) lane and moved out of it to let them pass. Unless you’re from a country that drives on the left, in which case sorry for the confusion.
Oh, lol, yes, I meant left lane. That was a typo. I made twice.
Just to confirm, does this imply you just drive in the left lane like normal without activley passing?
Are you implying that you break the speed limit just to pass people?
Absolutely. If you’re scared to do so when appropriate, you shouldn’t be on the road.
Why we need actual public transit so we don’t have to be concerned about this.
So you’re making an arbitrary value judgment about which legal violations are acceptable and which aren’t. That’s fine to do, for yourself. But you’re applying them onto others.
It would be one thing to debate someone about when it is and isn’t OK to break the law, but you’re not doing that. You’re just implying that someone else is wrong because they don’t share the exact same illegalist framework as you. And you’re resting your entire point upon that supposition.
I dunno bud, if you’re OK with people speeding to pass, maybe relax about people doing the speed limit in the left lane instead of insisting that it’s your way or the highway. Pun intended.
Lol the jumps in logic you make should be nominated for an award. My original comment was one sentence long and the follow up like three more, how do you know what “framework” I operate in lmao. The implications you make somehow about legality being a measure of contention and the crux of my argument is just wrong on its face.
If you’re going slow in the left lane and blocking others, you’re affecting others negatively direcly for no benefit to yourself. If you could get over a lane, continue going the speed you desired but not be blocking others wanting to go your speed and don’t, you’re just a dick. We can move in ways that allow others to move in theirs without the “I’m first, its my way” mentality. The law has nothing to do with it.
Not to mention I didn’t assume thats what was happening, and asked OP to confirm before I went on with my point. Something I suggest doing before assuming someone’s “framework”.
Bruh, chill.
Lol, ok kiddo.
Are you a cop?
I’m literally parodying the policing tone of the user I was replying to.
there is always someone who thinks the ideal speed limit is 10 mph faster than whatever the speed of traffic is in the left lane.
No, I very specifically called out people who want to drive faster than what the speed traffic is in the passing lane. How you think that implies going slower than the middle lane is beyond me.
Because you mention that you need to make other drivers slow down when changing into the right lane. If you are actively passing, when you finish passing you merge back into the lane to your right when you get to the gap you were aiming for, thus not needing to make anyone slow down. If you’re passing, you should have a plan of when you’re done passing, even when sometimes that gap shifts when cars change, and then you’re looking for a new gap.
Yeah, you should always wait until there’s a safe amount of space to change lanes, but realistically, you’re very rarely going to find a gap that has enough space to merge in with safe follow distance behind and in front of you (assuming 55-60 mph speed limit, that would be 100 feet plus the length of your car). You’ll probably find a gap with a little extra room, maybe 60 or so feet, match speed and merge with about 30 feet in front of you, then drop speed for a little bit until you hit 50 feet. The car behind you will do the same, and so on.
That happens all the time on the highway and it’s not a big deal, but if some asshole is forcing cars to do that every 2 minutes because they’re tailgating the left lane, that’s gonna start slowing down the middle lane. It’s also gonna cause people to start doing stupid shit like following to closely or jumping into the left lane at the earliest opportunity, even if there isn’t enough room to do that safely.
I’m confused by the assumption finding an appropriate gap is rare. You should have one you’re aiming for already, and generally it will be in the front of a line, so you just speed up a bit and merge into that space.
What you are describing is how people use the left lane during light traffic; a temporary labe to overtake one or several vehicles. During heavier traffic, most drivers don’t do that. They use the left lane as a, “fast lane,” rather than entering and exiting the middle lane repeatedly (which, strictly speaking, isn’t how you’re supposed to use that lane, but it’s how the vast majority of drivers use it). That’s usually when some asshole decides the, “fast lane,” isn’t fast enough and starts tailgating, forcing people to merge into the already crowded middle lane and slowing traffic even further.
Why is this passive aggressive “hurr durr found the left lane camper” comment on every literally post about left lane tailgaters?
Have you literally never driven in any Metropolitan area ever? I see it daily… lines 10+ cars deep of traffic maybe a single carlength apart, all doing 85 in the left lane, constantly passing middle lane traffic, as if that’s somehow going to make the 1/2 mile of traffic ahead of them go faster.
The number of aggressive tailgaters I see during my commute easily outweighs the left lane campers by 10:1
I’m in one of the biggest Metropolitan areas in the US and I see entirely the opposite. 50x the amount of slow left lane drivers, going the same speed as the car to their right, blocking all cars going the appropriate speed, than tailgaters.
I agree the no space in the left lane is crazy though. More often than tailgaters, when I’m activley passing in the left lane, and a car from the right lane cuts me off and continues to go the same speed they were in the other lane, making me have to break on the freeway (which is another thing you should avoid whenever possible, and just let off on the gas. You’re a multi-ton chuck of metal going 60+ mph, you’ll slow down quick by just not accelerating).
found the left lane camper
I asked for that >.<
you set it up so well it seemed rude not to knock it down 😘
If you are in the left lane, and aren’t actively passing someone, you are in the wrong and in most highways, breaking the law. Left lane campers are the reason people have to pass on the right dangerously, and if they did get to the right like they should and drive predictably, then it wouldn’t cause a cluster in the right lane traffic, because it is the expectation.
Not defending tailgaters, just shitting on left lane campers.
I get that, but these comments strongly imply two things that are generally false:
-The main reason that tailgating happens is because someone is camping in the left lane, and
-Tailgating is an appropriate response to someone camping in the left lane.
Nobody, literally nobody, ever defends left lane campers, but for some reason the immediate reaction to calling out tailgaters for their dangerous driving is to strawman the caller-outer as a left lane camper.
That’s fair. I agree, tailgating is inexcusable. Both left lane campers and tailgaters suck, tailgating adds another level of danger, so they are worse for sure.
Unfortunately, I have family members that defend left lane driving. The dog shit argument is that if a deer were to jump in the road, there would be more time to react from the left. The false implication is that deer can’t come from the otherside, which I have a buddy who hit a deer that came from the median, so anecdotally, that’s bs. They both say that they get over when someone is coming, but that is also a shit statement, because I know that it’s not true 100% of the time, and the person coming up doesn’t know if they’re going to move, so they are put in a position of unpredictability.
It’s like none of these people have taken road trips before. Depending on traffic density, you can be passing cars continuously for hours on a 4-lane highway (2 each direction). If there’s room to move to the right without slowing down, then yes, move over and cruise on the right lane. You don’t need to weave in and out of the passing lane every single car you pass. If you can’t stay in the right lane longer than 30 seconds before needing to pass again, it’s really not worth switching unless there’s someone behind you going even faster.
-the main reason tailgating happens is people driving slow in the left lane. Not the only reason, but the main one.
-tailgating is NOT an appropriate response, but its not about who is in the right, when the one that can fix it for both parties is the one going slower and not passing. They have the power to get back over a lane (which they should be anyway if not passing), and immediately eliminate the issue, and everyone goes on their way. The tailgater can’t do that.
Also, I’m not sure what you experience is, but I see 50x the amount of people driving slow in the left lane than I see people tailgating.
Yeah, I literally said, “10 mph faster than whatever the speed of traffic is in the left lane,” and still got a, “tHe PaSsInG LaNe iS FoR PAsSInG,” reply. Unless you validate the idea that the left lane allows you to drive as fast as you want under any circumstances, someone will accuse you of being a left-lane camper.
You also said people were trying to pass on the right. If there is enough room for them to pass on the right then there is enough room for you to move over and let them pass.
No, I said, “they will attempt to pass you on the right, creating dangerous traffic situations.” I’ve had to slam on my breaks because some idiot decided they were going to pass me on the right even though there were barely two car lengths worth of free space.
Also, I’m describing a hypothetical situation that happens frequently on U.S. highways; I’m not describing a specific situation that happened, and I’m saying what you should always do in every situation. Often times, pulling into the middle lane and letting the asshole pass you is best. If traffic in the middle lane is too dense, changing speeds/lanes to get dangerous close to two other cars or into the blind spot of a tractor trailer is worse than being tailgated for a while. In any case, how you handle the asshole doesn’t change the fact that they are using the left lane inappropriately.
Totally right, considering there is traffic in front of you. If there’s only one car in the left lane however they should still move over to the right for a faster driver behind, even if they’re already going 30+ over the limit.
Had one doing that while I was going the same speed as the 10 cars in front of me on the highway during traffic time. He was flashing his lights and when there was an opening on my right he changed lane and then I saw… The guy was in a full size truck and was pulling a 20’ trailer and was trying to pass me on the right and squeeze between me and the car in front of me so he would have been stuck behind them instead. I didn’t give him enough space, he got back behind me even more angry than before and 3km later reached his exit so he wouldn’t have saved a single second if I had let him through.
Was driving on the highway and it was packed. It wasn’t stop go, but we were under the speed limit with cars lined up as far as you can see.
I look in my review and I can’t even see the headlights of the guy behind me over my bumper. (I’m in a sedan, not a high bumper by a long shot). This is a dangerous situation so I ease off the gas and move over as soon as I get a chance.
This guy then proceeds to pass me, move in front of me, and slow down. I’m sorry, I thought you were in a rush considering how much you were riding my ass, but looks like you have plenty of time to be an asshole.
Next gap in the left lane and I pull over and accelerate, he doesn’t have room to get in front of me, and doesn’t have room to get behind me again due to all the cars.I have no idea how long he had to wait to get back into the left lane, but for someone so impatient he was very effective at wasting his own time.
It’s crazy to me how many pickup trucks with trailers drive so recklessly, it’s like they don’t know they are hitching something. I see other cars being accommodating to them by slowing down more than usual to let them merge in.
I’ve seen one stuck sideways on the highway with his trailer flipped on its side and another driving in the middle of the night in the fog without any working lights on the trailer… Maybe they should require an exam before you can tow…
In Europe, its either a BMW or a Porsche, like this behind you. Blinking their lights, ever there is no space for you to move.
They can flash their lights as much as they like, when I am cycling I don’t have mirrors so I won’t even see it. Then they start revving. Yeah I don’t care. I am here, won’t kill you to wait for the children to finish crossing the road.
The trucks will often flash their lights as well, often blinding drivers of sedans and smaller SUVs due to height difference and poor regulations for headlight height.
I’ve been in situations like that, where I was more than happy to pull over and let them pass, but I missed all the safe spots because I couldn’t see them while being blinded. I had to drive slower because they made it harder to see ahead on dangerous mountain roads, too. Bloody idiots.
I want a mirror whose only purpose is to force SUVs to turn off their high beams. Somebody’s gonna be blinded either way; better it be brief than constant.
I find the night mode on my rear view does okay at reducing the high beams light, but my side mirrors become blindingly bright if they get hit at the right angle.
The closer you get the slower I drive
Edit: in the right lane. I ain’t no fucking hammer lane cruiser
I love this.
And if they start honking and flashing their lights to pressure you?
If you know, you know
Please explain 💀
I second this. This is a BMW turbo but I don’t understand the context
The “odɿυT” sticker on the front of the car is written in mirror writing, so that when you’re one the Autobahn and somebody pulls up behind you with their BMW 2002 Turbo you’ll be able to read “Turbo” in your mirror and free the way for them
They got sued because of that by the german state btw
I was driving a rental when I visited the Czech Republic. On the highways there the speed limit was about 70 mph (whatever that is in kilometers), but Germans frequently use the Czech Republic as a shortcut to Austria and forget (or don’t care) that they’re not on the Autobahn any more. There were many times when I would glance in the rearview and see empty road behind me for five miles or so, then seconds later I’d glance again and see the grille of a BMW right behind me with headlights flashing even though I was already in the right lane. Truly scary shit.
Haha that is neat
Clean ur windows
Well they’re obviously letting me know that my windshield is dirty, so I fire up the washers. So considerate!
I ignore them and pick my nose when they angrily pass. Keeps me from engaging.
Clearly they are warning you of danger. Best drive extra vigilant, which might imply driving slower :P
🥱
Same. I just take the cruise control down slowly until they back off. If they get off my ass, we can go back to the speed limit.
The left lane is for active passing. It’s not a long distance cruising lane. If you have someone behind you, be courteous and let them pass. It’s not that hard.
If you think this post is about being tailgated in the passing lane, instead of the crazy amount of (usually truck) drivers that tailgate in every lane and on every road, then it’s very likely you are the problem being discussed.
Not every street has multiple lanes
If I’m on a road that isn’t the highway and someone is tailgating me I literally just pull over and wave them by. Same with people blasting me with their high beams. It is infinitely safer.
don’t know why you’re getting downvoted for this. probably because lemmy is full of children that never learned how to drive.
bro still thinks hes on reddit
Yes, in theory, everyone should be in the middle lane at all times except when actively passing the car in front of them, and they shouldn’t use the left lane as a, “fast lane.” In practice, virtually everyone uses the passing lane as a fast lane, and dropping in and out of the right lane over and over again is going to create more traffic than just staying in your lane.
Sure, if someone is barely going faster than the middle lane, and there’s no one in front of them, then they’re being a lane hog and need to move over. But if there are multiple cars in the passing lane, all going significantly faster than the middle lane, then that’s just the speed of traffic and you need to accept that. Just because the passing lane isn’t passing as fast as you’d like, that doesn’t mean you’re justified in forcing a car to change lanes every 50 feet.
Exactly. There’s a difference between ideal operation and practical reality. In reality, three-lane highways induce three lanes full of cars. And if I’m going 80 in a 60 in the left lane, the guy behind me going 90 can fucking relax. Likewise I’m not getting bent out of shape by the guy in front of me who is also going 80. We’re all going really really fast, as is.
Yeah, and if you want to be even more technical, most states only allow you to go 10 to 15 mph over the speed limit when passing, and then expect you to return to the middle lane and resume driving the speed limit when done. Some don’t even allow that exception, which means you can (presumably) only use the left lane if the car in front of you is driving slower than the speed limit. No one uses the lanes this way, least of all the people who justify tailgating because, “the left lane is for passing.” If the left lane is going significantly faster than middle lane, as you said, “fucking relax.”
The driving lane is the rightmost lane. All other lanes on the left of it are for passing. Do not just cruise in the middle lane. You exacerbate the problem.
No, that is not correct. The rightmost lane is for slower vehicles and exiting. The middle lane is often called the travel lane because it’s the one you’re meant to be in when cruising.
Yes so then in areas of height limited lanes where there are 3 lanes, a semi-truck can only travel in the middle lane unless exiting or entering? Makes total sense…
I suppose on a 2 lane everyone travels in the left lane, because the right one is to exit and enter too. Yup. No existence of a merging lane designed to get up to the speed of flowing traffic. Nope.
In areas of height limited lanes, you should follow the directions regarding height restrictions no matter what. That’s common sense. In most states, 2 lane highways treat the left lane as the passing lane and the right lane as the travel lane (though people seem to mostly just travel in the left lane anyway). On a three lane highway, the left lane is for passing, the middle lane is for cruising, and the right lane is for vehicles that are exiting, entering, or otherwise need to go below the speed limit. The right lane should not be used for cruising when there are three or more lanes. Check with triple A if you don’t believe me
No wonder NA has traffic issues 😂
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they give white women in SUVs a run for their money
(disclaimer am white woman. don’t drive SUV tho. moped/ebike)
Why the hell is speeding so normalized?
Because on a lot of highways the speed limit is a joke. The 4 lane one I take to work is completely straight for like 30 miles and they have it set at 60mph. Many vehicles can (and do) easily go 80-90 on that without an issue. Proper lane usage and adhering to a safe following distance are far more important in terms of safety. There shouldn’t even be a speed limit in my opinion considering the wide variety of vehicles on the road. It’s pretty simple, drive as slow as you want just do it in the correct lane unless you’re passing. Signal. Pass in the passing lane. Don’t tailgate.
If they need to write tickets for revenue they can get people for cruising in the wrong lane all day long.
I’m pretty sure those who have set it at 60mph have calculations you didn’t consider.
Maybe there are places on the road where someone may suddenly appear, be it human or a wild animal? Maybe the road can get slippery? Maybe the cars going above 60mph create too much noise in the neighborhood? There are many more reasons one could set a road at that, and many may not even come to your mind.
And no, this is almost certainly not about tickets. If it is - screw them and follow the rule!
I wish vehicles made it harder to go above 65 MPH.(Like a mandated regulation to have the foot pedal feel harder to push past 65). Like I want to save money in this economy. Going above 65 is mostly a complete waste of money and will more likely than not save less than a minute or none at all because we all will hit the same red lights on the city streets. I hate how normalized we all become to it. I now mostly drive city streets with either electric vehicle or electric bike. Rent is criminally expensive, people really expecting me to waste money driving 75 on the highway? Fuck that
Maybe if you have a short commute. I can knock 15-20 minutes off my driving if traffic is light. That time is more valuable than the extra pennies I’d save on gas by driving slower. Why do you need the medal to tell you when you are pushing past 65? Just watch your speed.
Plus saving pennies on gas? Sorry but that is the nature of a gas vehicle. They have a really short window of mpg between granny driving and rocketing at 75+.
I calculated it plenty. when driving 65 MPH, the air resistance is good enough for you to get 28 to 30 mpg. Let’s keep it simple and just say 30 mile trip. At 75+ MPH, your efficiency starts taking a major hit. You will likely be traveling at 25 MPG. That is a +20 percent increase on gas consumption. If you think of it, that is a consistent 18% to 20% loss on gas.
At $3.50/g(my current market) with an additional 20% increase of fuel usage so, $3.50 * 1.2 = $4.20
For a 15 gallon tank, you are burning $63 worth of fuel on average.
While on electric vehicle, it depends on types of charging. If you have solar then it’s free, I don’t. If you have simple home charger, my current rate is 20 cents per kWh. If you fast charge, then it is 50 to 60 cents per kWh.
Most of the time I am getting between 3.5(above 65 MPH) to 4.5(below 65 MPH) Miles per kWh. With 30 mile trip that is 8.57 kWh to 6.67 kWh usage. This helps translate to cost of gas because 1 gallon at 65 MPH is about 30 miles. So if I do only home charging that is $1.70 to $1.33 for electric. Fast charging that is about $4.70 to $3.67 for just the 30 miles.
15 gallons of gas can get you 375 miles at 25 MPG, or 450 at 30 MPG. Remember $63 for driving at 25 MPG vs $52.5 for driving at 30 MPG. With electric driving, to get 375 mile at 3.5 miles per kWh or 450 miles at 4.5 miles per kWh. we can translate them over.
(Above 65 MPH) 375/3.5 = 107.15 kWh * $0.20 = $21.42
(Below 65 MPH) 450/4.5 = 100 kWh * $0.20 = $20.00(Above 65 MPH) 107.15 kWh * $0.55 (fast charge) = $58.92
(Below 65 MPH) 100 kWh * $0.55 = $55.00See now how crazy expensive that becoming for gas while electric is barely taking a hit? Makes little difference for electric vehicles, but gas? That is not pennies.
Let me tell you I was being very generous with the MPG figure. I looked at family members MPG tracker on their car and they are getting 20 to 25 MPG, but I was being generous because isolating highway only driving is mostly a generous driving situation for a gas vehicle.
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I tested this on my car as well. I gain about 3 MPG by using the cruise control and adhering to the speed limit vs. Just driving how I want. It’s not worth the difference. Changing to shitty tires was a bigger hit to my MPG than that.
Ha, what kind of commute are you doing cross country? That is a wildly long commute. If you find that you need to do 50 to 60 mile commutes then it’s not the norm here. Most of my commutes are within 5 to 25 miles. Driving on the highway at 75 saves as I said, with 1 minute or none at all just because I will hit the same red lights at the same time as others, mind you I do notice when someone flies past me on the fast lane and we reach the same exit ramp stop light.
The pedal isn’t telling you, it’s basically making it so that you have to consciously push harder to go faster.(A natural deterrent to those who like to just push the car faster and faster without feeling).
Sorry if you like going fast, and your unnaturally long commute is required. I rather save money instead of living like I never can save any money. Prices went up, I felt the economy lose control. You think Trump is going to lower them? Not really confident in that myself.
I will hit the same red lights at the same time as others, mind you I do notice when someone flies past me on the fast lane and we reach the same exit ramp stop light.
Maybe over a short distance you will. Even then they’d be at the front of the line instead of stuck behind who knows how many idiots that are going to be staring at their phone when the light switches and cause you to get stuck behind it for a second time.
We are now discussing what ifs, and honestly that is valid. Still not worth it in my book. Rather blame the traffic controllers who don’t check to make sure all cars are going through the light or straight up there is just too much traffic which isn’t solved by everyone driving 75+ MPH. It is solved if we instead offer better public transportation. At the end of the day we have different views here. I firmly believe in my own and do not think it is going to change anytime soon.
The nice thing about my view is that it doesn’t preclude you from adhering to yours. Everyone can go exactly as fast as they want as long as they utilize the different lanes properly.
Distance where going 75mph vs 65mph is 15min faster:
(d / 65mph) - (d / 75mph) =.25h
75d / 4875 - 65d / 4875 = .25
10d = .25 * 4875
d = .25 * 4875 / 10 = 121.875 mi
Pretty long commute
in a multi lane highway, nobody expects you to be blazing when you’re on the outside lane. people only get pissed when you’re driving limit on the inside lane. if u wanna drive comfortably, just use the right lanes so people can pass you if they want. if it’s a single lane highway, don’t give a shit about others as long as you’re not way under the limit. there are almost always overtake sections of those highways where you see the “slower traffic use right lane”.
plus, there are roads with limits higher than 65 all over the place and there are recreational things you might want to do with your car.
This.
I drive by the limit, and every time I say this a bunch of folks jumps in saying I am the problem when I stop my lane and poor poor speeders have to adapt and not crash into each other.
Speed limits are there for a reason. Speeders love to say shit like “they’re outdated”, but this is also wrong, they are up to date with vehicles on the road.
Drive. By. The. Damn. Limit. Those who installed them are more informed than you about risks and dangers on this track, and no, your car brakes are not as good as you think they are (and also there’s likely someone behind you with worse ones).
Technically speaking, speed limits are set for worst conditions.
As in very rainy, very windy, poor visibility, etc.
So no, in your day to day life in ideal conditions — you do not need to follow the speed limit. Am I saying go double the speed limit? No. 10 miles above the speed limit is fine, though.
That being said, people who tailgate others can go fuck themselves. There’s never a good reason to be so close behind another car.
For worst conditions, it’s a common recommendation to slow down even further.
You do not want to drive by the limit when the road is slippery, the side wind blows your car away, and visibility is 10 feet.
Nah. Drive by the flow of traffic.
Unobservant people who are “following the rule” in dynamic situations usually create more danger than people adapting to the situation.
Especially when they get all the way in the left lane to drive 65mph while others are passing them on the right.
The danger is created in the first place by normalization of speeding.
I am aware that, technically, if I’d drive by traffic at any given time, accidents will be less likely. But this danger of variable speed is not created by me moving too slow, it’s because of others moving too fast, because speeding is normalized in the first place, which introduces the problem that wouldn’t otherwise be there. The lane speed should be within bounds of speed limit, the rest is not and should never be my problem or fault.
Now, don’t get me wrong, if my actions can prevent an actually imminent accident (such as speeding up to let someone return to lane before reverse traffic traps them) - of course I will. But for regular driving, I strictly adhere to the rules and regulations. If this gets someone who breaks the rules in an accident - that’s on them, maybe it’ll teach them a lesson.
The “normalization of speeding” is because human beings didn’t evolve to travel at the speeds available to anyone with a driver’s license. In other words, you’re asking for a revision of human nature, which is simply not a practical solution. What would be practical is a system of public transportation that makes individual cars moot, or at least less of an intrinsic necessity, but in the US, there are moneyed interests who will fanatically push back on any alternate options. Car makers, insurance companies, bars and restaurants, and even the “healthcare” industry all profit from people having to own a car and use said car to navigate living in this country. You’d need to provide a broad and low-cost alternative, while dismantling those entrenched interests to make a new paradigm stick.
So, in the meantime, it sounds like your driving habits are stick-in-the-mud and you likely create impediments to the flow of traffic, as others adapt around your unwillingness to modify behaviors to the situation. The fact that you see yourself as some kind of shining example of driving purity and hope that other drivers get into an accident as some weird punitive recourse is really troubling. Maybe you should talk to a professional about your moralistic judgementalism and anger issues.
No, I’m asking drivers to follow the rules designed to make driving safer, which is something a human is fully capable to do - and does whenever repercussions appear, like near the speed cams. If controlling that means installing speed cams at every corner, I’m all in. As long as it’s not that, we have what we have to enforce those limits.
I also fully support and actively use public transportation and only engage in driving when necessary (which is actually quite little).
And please, do not jump to the conclusion about someone’s mental health based on a comment on the Internet, this is rude and likely inaccurate. All I strongly state there is that it is insane to blame someone who follows the rules on the road instead of those who routinely break them out of habit and convenience.
Hmm. Well, I can explain it to you, but I can’t comprehend it for you.
You believe that you are right, and can’t, or won’t consider that you could be applying an overly rigid perspective to a problem that requires a great deal of flexibility. Moreover, you seem fixated on punishing those who “break rules.” That’s simply not a very effective way to affect change across human society.
Best of luck to you.
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Because most speed limit zones have little to do with public safety and more to do with enforcing monetary ticket infractions.
But tailgating is and will always be a dick move
And why the hell is effectively running stop signs and red lights so normalized too?
I haven’t seen this in Sweden, while speeding is fairly common.
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This but me going the legal limit on an e-scooter on a road-bikelane with a truck riding half of the lane right behind me.
I’m a school bus driver and I love to be tailgated … because I can’t even see a fucking car when it does this. I don’t know what these dipshits imagine they’re accomplishing.
this always makes me think about logic and math.
speed limit is 70. that INCLUDES the passing lane. if I am passing someone who’s going 65, at most I can go 70.
I am NOT camping in the passing lane. I’m just not willing to get pulled over and possibly shot. Guy behind me can deal with it.
Would probably be best for overall traffic efficiency and safer for you too to slow down to that 65 than pass going 70
sure in the same way it would to just stay home.
I meant more in the traffic situation but if that’s an option for you then sure why not
no see i meant the ass who expects me to speed to pass someone because they drive like they gotta poop and are holding a mug of hot soup at the same time.
stop. speeding. washing your blood off the road is keeping me from sleeping back at the station.
i meant the ass who expects me to speed to pass someone
In the situation you described that’d be pretty much everyone. 70 vs 65 would be a bit ridiculous.
right. if i am going 70, passing someone going 65, and someone zoops up trying to do 80 they can wait until I move back over.
It’s just that passing so slow and when the limit is 70 makes it a bit dangerous to you (and others) since you know that others aren’t going to be traveling at that speed or passing that slowly.
Would be less of an issue if someone was going 50 and you were passing at the speed limit at 70.
Especially when there’s a free passing lane.
Move out da way
I do not miss driving. Public transit forever.
But when I did drive, after my reckless youth, I’d usually just chill in the right lane. I don’t care. Fly by at 120mph. I’ll be here going with the flow of traffic, or about the speed limit if I’m alone.
I do remember one time in the suburbs when I was visiting my parents, I was driving to the grocery store. It’s a short drive (because it’s the suburbs, you can’t safely walk to the supermarket), no highways. About 10 minutes to get there from driveway to parking lot. Some guy behind me started absolutely losing his shit, screaming, and passed me dangerously by driving onto the shoulder. He pulled into the same parking lot. I parked well away from him because I didn’t want to deal with crazy.
I’m not good at math, but if the entire trip was about 10 minutes, I feel like the time difference between me going about the speed limit and me speeding is, at most, what, 2 minutes? 5 minutes? The guy probably took more than 5 minutes off his life being so angry.
In an ideal situation you’d save maybe a minute. But in the real world with stop lights and signs you’d probably be closer to 20-30 seconds.
It’s a short drive (because it’s the suburbs, you can’t safely walk to the supermarket)
It’s funny that suburbs get touted as safer, but you can’t even expect your kid to walk to the supermarket alone until they are well into their teen years. Usually because it’s over a mile away and across a state highway (and likely one without any nearby crosswalks, either).
It’s like pedestrian safety isn’t considered safety at all.
Sure, it’s safe enough for a young kid to walk or ride their bike around their cul de sac, sure…but it gets exponentially less safe the further you travel out from there…and that’s where their friends and everything else are…
My childhood home was 1.2 miles away and across such a state highway from literally anything. No sidewalks or crosswalks along the entire path.
I could walk to a bus stop without crossing a state highway, but I’d be walking along it with no sidewalk for most of it…and after 5.5 miles, I’d get to the bus stop. And I did do that a couple times in the summer before I got my license, to get to work.
If I was raising kids, I absolutely would not want to do it in the suburbs. It’s isolating and limiting. I was always so jealous of the kids I knew that lived in the city. They could do things. I was stuck indoors , or walking for like 90 minutes to get anywhere.
