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How do YOU deal with tailgaters?

#61
Bryan316 said:
I was traveling home from an event with four passengers with me. A driver merged onto the freeway, and cut across all three lanes to get to the fast lane, and was still going considerably less than the speed limit, and CERTAINLY far slower than the flow of traffic. He cut right in front of me, and I had no option but to try to slow down. He then decided that I was a tailgater, and started braking. I slammed into the back of him. He slows down all the way to a complete spot, obviously thinking he's gonna confront me. He pulls off the road and onto the left-hand median, and I BLEW RIGHT BY HIM. And so did probably 20 other pissed off drivers behind me who were also inconvenienced like heck because of his arrogance and driving snobbery. I'll bet that idiot was trapped there for 20 minutes waiting for that lane to clear long enough for him to merge back in. Heh heh heh. "I'll show him! I'll slam on my brakes!" He didn't have the last laugh.
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Are you admitting to a hit-and-run?

:eyebrow:
 
#62
Rattman said:
This is bad advice. It is illegal to drive that fast, not only are you being a danger to yourself and others in ajoining lanes, but you are seriously wasting fuel.. and to what end?

Hopefully you'll NOT learn this the hard way. Nothing is that important anyway that you need to drive so fast in the first place... just enjoy the ride and the fuel-savings too. :smug:
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So, are you one of the people that impose this utopian vision of travel, and obstruct the fast lane, ignoring perhaps the most important traffic flow directive; slower traffic keep right?

I hope not. You are not the police. Speed limits are simply not realistic (thus disregarded by 98% of drivers), and are set ignoring the very conclusion put forth by numerous DOT studies (sadly ALL ignored) that indicate that road speed limits should be set at the 85th percentile of travellers on that road.
 
#64
Basshole said:
Slower traffic keep right. PASS ON THE LEFT. I don't care how fast I'm going in the left lane, if someone wants to go faster, they have the right of way, IMHO. I move over. I am in constant awareness of what is behind me.
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+1, I'm surprised how many people "fail to stay right" which is illegal in most states.

I drive as far right as I can, and move left only to pass people. If I'm the only one on the road, I'll drive in the 2nd to the right lane (especially at night, just in case someone's in the shoulder and doesn't have his four ways on)

If you want to zonk out on the road, let someone else drive. If you don't wish to pay attention driving a lethal weapon at 65 mph, you shouldn't be on the road.
 
#66
tplyons said:
+1, I'm surprised how many people "fail to stay right" which is illegal in most states.

I drive as far right as I can, and move left only to pass people. If I'm the only one on the road, I'll drive in the 2nd to the right lane (especially at night, just in case someone's in the shoulder and doesn't have his four ways on)

If you want to zonk out on the road, let someone else drive. If you don't wish to pay attention driving a lethal weapon at 65 mph, you shouldn't be on the road.
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That would be great... You should drive the 15 out to Vegas. Two lane highway, everyone driving everywhere bumper to bumper at 90 mph... Yay...:rollno:
 
#67
Basshole said:
I hope not. You are not the police. Speed limits are simply not realistic (thus disregarded by 98% of drivers), and are set ignoring the very conclusion put forth by numerous DOT studies (sadly ALL ignored) that indicate that road speed limits should be set at the 85th percentile of travellers on that road.
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People travel as fast as they do because they are in a hurry constantly. Fewer and fewer people are leaving with adequate time to get from point-A to point-B, so instead of getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier, they'll go 15 MPH over the speed limit.
And it doesn't matter what brought the law into place, or how it was made. It's the LAW. You OBEY it. It's that SIMPLE. If you can't obey it, then you shouldn't be trusted with whatever that law is governing. That's why you get fined. That's why you lose your license in some cases. It's that simple.
 
#69
TheEmptyCell said:
If someone's got the audacity to try and tailgate me, especially in this horrid U.P. winter weather (black ice, snow, poor visibility), then I'll slow down or brake check them until I'm either stopped or they hit me. I've got no problem collecting their insurance money to have my $300 hunk o' junk replaced.
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applause.gif


BRAVO! Job well done! Thank you! How can people risk their lives in bad weather????
 
#73
Basshole said:
I hope not. You are not the police. Speed limits are simply not realistic (thus disregarded by 98% of drivers), and are set ignoring the very conclusion put forth by numerous DOT studies (sadly ALL ignored) that indicate that road speed limits should be set at the 85th percentile of travellers on that road.
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Flawed logic. Traveling 70mph, hell, even 80mph, is already a fast enough speed that even small reactionary, emergency changes to your driving will ensure a devastating result. At that speed, you cannot guarantee that your ability to react in traffic is not exceeding your car's ability to perform such defensive maneuvers.

I do 75mph because a tailgating speeder has no excuse to blame me, cuz I was already speeding, and that means he's REALLY speeding!
 
#74
Matt Till said:
THAT IS ****ED UP!! I can't believe how terrible a lot of people are at driving, and willing to admit it!
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No, the amazing thing is that these people are admitting how bad they are at driving, but they *don't* know that they're admitting it. They believe that they're the greatest drivers on the planet and that everyone else is an idiot (going slower than they are) or a maniac (going faster than they are).

[rant] People who don't follow the law deserve whatever fines or other punishment they get. People who get p'ed off that others aren't breaking the law, too, are just arrogant idiots who believe they're better than everybody else and that the world revolves around them.

Bad news, arrogant speed-freak reckless-driving idiots: YOU are the danger. YOU'RE the one creating a hazard on the road. If you seriously believe that everyone should either follow your example or get out of your way, then you shouldn't have a license. You should have your driving privilidge taken away and be forced to walk everywhere.

Oh, that brings up another point: If a pedestrian is crossing the street too slowly in front of you, do you just give him a "love tap" with your bumper? Or, do you just go ahead and kill the idiot for going too slow.

Arrogant, reckless people really tick me off. Or, couldn't you tell? [/rant]
 
#75
Ray Salamon said:
People travel as fast as they do because they are in a hurry constantly. Fewer and fewer people are leaving with adequate time to get from point-A to point-B, so instead of getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier, they'll go 15 MPH over the speed limit.
And it doesn't matter what brought the law into place, or how it was made. It's the LAW. You OBEY it. It's that SIMPLE. If you can't obey it, then you shouldn't be trusted with whatever that law is governing. That's why you get fined. That's why you lose your license in some cases. It's that simple.
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The LAW in this case is irrelevant to the real world, I'm sorry.

That's simply the REALITY...not the Disney version...what actually takes place on this planet, on US roads, is that 98% of drivers do 10-15 over. Proven time and again by more studes that I can remember in the 30 years that I have followed such matters.

To prevent accidents, the same studies suggest that the best tool to reduce congestion, increase safety, and reduce accidents, is to diligently enforce the primary rule of proper traffic flow:

SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT. KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS.

This is ALSO the LAW in most states.

By violating this rule of traffic flow (or LAW where applicable), you are putting a GREAT NUMBER of the drivers behind you at risk. You are lowering mean traffic speed, and thus in most cases, increasing CLOSING SPEEDS, the cause of MOST freeway accidents.

You are not helping by obstructing traffic, you are in fact risking the lives of MANY others behind you - MORE THAN anyone driving faster than you.
 
#76
soulgeezer said:
[rant] People who don't follow the law deserve whatever fines or other punishment they get. People who get p'ed off that others aren't breaking the law, too, are just arrogant idiots who believe they're better than everybody else and that the world revolves around them.
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My driving is far from perfect. I catch myself being the slow guy in the fast lane, and then get the heck outta there so I stop pissing people off.

But I usually follow the flow of traffic, and don't bother hauling butt just to save that precious 5 minutes. If I'm late, I'll still be late.

And I drive a very large, very top-heavy truck. I know better than to dart in and out of traffic like these ricers and BMW's and hi-po kids love to get away with.
 
#78
Basshole said:
To prevent accidents, the same studies suggest that the best tool to reduce congestion, increase safety, and reduce accidents, is to diligently enforce the primary rule of proper traffic flow:

SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT. KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS.

This is ALSO the LAW in most states.

By violating this rule of traffic flow (or LAW where applicable), you are putting a GREAT NUMBER of the drivers behind you at risk. You are lowering mean traffic speed, and thus in most cases, increasing CLOSING SPEEDS, the cause of MOST freeway accidents.
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I thoroughly subscribe to this belief. If you drive fast, fine. But if you impede drivers by camping out in the fast lane, you are the cause of the problem, not them.
 
#79
Bryan316 said:
My driving is far from perfect. I catch myself being the slow guy in the fast lane, and then get the heck outta there so I stop pissing people off.

But I usually follow the flow of traffic, and don't bother hauling butt just to save that precious 5 minutes. If I'm late, I'll still be late.
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Agreed. The one great lesson I've learned in my driving life:

I arrive at the same time whether I drive fast or slow. In fact, sometimes, I can actually save time by driving slower and more consistently. This doesn't seem to make sense, but real-life experience bears it out -- I can't explain it, it's just the way things are.
 

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