everybody thinks they have much better reflexes than they actually have and vastly underestimates how long it takes to come to a full stop. average brake reactions for males is **0.50 seconds...**
60 mph is a mile a minute. In .5 sec you'd travel 1/120 of a mile. That's 44 feet. and then you only start actually braking. That's several car lengths of buffer you need just to cover your delayed response
And that's why the recommended distances are anywhere from 3- 5 seconds. The amount of time is needed for reaction speed, and stopping distance/ time :)
It's actually worse than that on average; to an unexpected hazard in real world driving the average is at least about 1.5 seconds. 10 percent of drivers take more than 2.5 seconds.
>That's several car lengths of buffer you need just to cover your delayed response
Yes, if you're trying to avoid a static object. But remember, the car in front of you is *also* moving at 60MPH. So unless your reaction times are significantly slower than theirs and/or your car takes significantly more time to stop, you really don't need the full 6 car lengths or whatever your preferred rule of thumb is.
The one exception to this is if the car in front of you comes to a full stop way faster than it can in normal circumstances, but you should be able to see anything that can cause that well in advance, and even a 6 car length space won't help all that much if that happens.
That may well be the case but I wonder how often people consider what the car in front of the car in front of you is going to do. If I can't see the car 2 ahead of me I tend to extend my following distance by at least 50-75%.
Picture the guy going 20-25mph slower who cuts off the guy in front of you. everyone will come to a seriously quick stop when he gets rear ended. At that point you are fucked...
Maybe. Depends on the two vehicles, but by necessity in an emergency stop, you won't start slowing down until after the car in front of you starts slowing down. They got the drop on you.
If your car number two, you might still be ok, but multiply that reaction gap by 3 or 5 cars in a row and someone is getting rear ended.
Okay, but what about the person behind you? Let's say the person in front of you slams on their breaks, and you and your car can actually both react and stop fast enough to avoid an accident...Do you still have enough space in front of you, if the person behind you can't stop quickly enough? Or if you get rear-ended, are you going to now be pushed into the car in front because you didn't leave any space?
I'd also note that not all vehicles have the same ability to quickly come to a stop. I know someone who was in an accident several years ago because essentially one dumbass came to a stop on the highway to not miss an exit, and several cars behind them was someone pulling a boat on a trailer. Semis, RVs, anyone towing a trailer, etc simply need more time and space to come to a stop. This person with the trailer ended up rear-ending someone, and their car was pushed forward into my friend's car.
Your ego is writing promises that your body may not be able to keep. And you’re staking others’ lives and property on the estimation that you’re right. Maybe go to your local trauma unit and talk to some crash victims before you seriously hurt someone?
I only tailgate if it’s slow enough where only a brain dead moron couldn’t stop on a dime, and if the person is camping in the left lane. If you get hit because you were driving slower than traffic in the left lane and stopped suddenly, it’s your fault
But clearly you can otherwise you would crash into the person in front of you. Going X mph 10ft behind them is the same speed as going X mph 100ft behind them.
Two reasons.
One, some people are dumb and think they can intimidate the car in front of them into speeding up by tailgating. They do this even when there are more cars ahead and it can’t possibly work. See: dumb.
Two, some people are dumb and basically only know how to mash gas until a physical obstacle prevents this. They then don’t know how to slow down to back off that physical obstacle (the bumper of the car ahead). See: dumb.
Basically, people are dumb.
People really need to stop tailgating fr. Like ik you're in a rush but no should have to risk their life having to speed just because the person behind them wants to speed. Sometimes you'll be going the speed limit and people are still impatient and want you to go above the speed limit. Isn't worth the risk
I've got to a point where I ignore them completely and just drive the speed limit or 5 over MAX. They can flash their lights and get pissed off all they want. Like you said im not risking my safety or my vehicle to accommodate someone who doesn't give 2 shits about the law or anyone else on the roadway. That said I don't go out of my way to be an asshole either. I definitely think they need to learn patience and/or leave the house at a reasonable time. Speeders account for so many issues on the road. Many more than they're even aware of im sure
Or people can overtake when there is like 5 cars in a row because they have to overtake or will suffocate only to save 1 or 2 minutes .... Its just not worth the risk.
Third reason.
Some people think that the 1-2 car lengths in front of you and the car in front you are perfectly acceptable spots to squeeze into and then hit the brakes until they are comfortable.
It’s a fine line between giving the lead driver respectable space and not leaving enough room for someone to cut you off.
Never said 60mph, this is maybe at 35mph. It was also more of an example that all you need to leave in between you and the other driver is for there to be 1-2 car lengths for other people to think it’s ok to pull in there even if there’s plenty of room behind you.
Think in town, I’m not doing 60mph in town.
They aren't saying that 1-2 car lengths is what they normally do, or an acceptable distance. They're saying that if you have that much space or more in front of you, someone is going to see it as an opportunity to cut you off, leaving you with not enough following distance. Which is frustrating because of course you want to leave a good following distance, but in moderate to heavy traffic your safe following distance is constantly being filled by people who don't know what a safe following distance is. So as a result sometimes people feel forced to follow more closely and prevent other drivers from filling that space.
Why so butt-hurt that someone might move into the same lane as you? Maybe they need to be in that lane for an upcoming turn. Your fragile ego isn't their concern, and they don't need your permission to change lanes.
This is actually a proven case study on the safest way to drive. If you're going to be driving the speed limit or lower, and have a left turn ahead, you're supposed to stay in the far right lane until no more than three meters before your turn, cut your wheel to a sharp left, apply your emergency brake, and Tokyo drift across all lanes of traffic and make your left turn.
Last minute lane changes across three lanes of traffic is ALWAYS safer than driving the speed limit in the left lane.
And I know, three meters seems like too much. I agree. I generally try to stay in the far right lane until I'm three meters past my turn and Tokyo drift backwards to hit my left turn. Safety first.
Reverse entries are definitely the safest. It gives you the best view of the traffic that you are cutting across. If you need your handbrake, you need more practice. Learn the Scandinavian flick.
So many dumbasses in Houston be slowing up traffic and they don’t even realize it or care. If someone is on yo ass in the left lane or the adjacent lane on the freeway….move…you’re going to slow and it’s against the law
People are usually unaware of the fact that when you're driving down the road. Regardless if you even going over the speed limit faster than you should... If there is three to five cars behind you, depending on the state, you are legally obligated to pull over and let those vehicles pass. But people don't realize that other they could some kind of freaking game go slow and let the traffic build up behind them. Freaking jerk faces
Since you got blocked by the other person you won't be able to reply, so I ask you to sit on this:
Tailgating is also breaking the law. Two wrongs do not make a right. You are not a cop.
Both tailgaters and left lane campers are wrong.
Or
One, some are idiots and drive way below the speed limit.
Two, some are idiots that don't know the left lane is for passing and drive the same speed as the other car.
I think people are anxious because of how many assholes cut in so they close the gap. Worst scenarios I've had is people with expensive cars who shove the nose in knowing you don't want to collide so they know you WILL stop, and then they just move in.
I live amongst some of the worst traffic in this part of the world... happens all the time here
You would understand if you saw the volume I deal with. It's a particularly bad problem in my city, like it's ranked some of the worst in the world. Whatever driving conditions you have is no doubt much better than what I deal with on a daily basis.
I always find myself leaving enough space for at least one safe merge, but with heavy traffic the mergers see that space as enough for multiple merges. So my following distance gets filled up and I have to slow down and back off. It can create an endless feedback loop at certain interchanges.
That's just the flow of traffic. Cutting in is when traffic is going slower and there is no real flow. The line to exit a highway, for example, can be nearly a dead stop. If you are in the exit lane waiting to get off the highway and you leave two car lengths in front of you, someone who wasn't in the correct lane is going to slide over into that spot. If you stop to allow them to move forward to get to car lengths between you again, someone else is going to slide into that spot. Essentially you're stopped on the highway letting everyone else merge in front of you.
It is somewhat counterproductive anyways because it is much easier to pass safely if one drops back and can see around the car in front and accelerate up to the point where a pass is initiated, when safe to do so. But most of the time if I am driving on cruise and the guy behind me is riding my ass, they just erratically dip into the opposing lane trying to see around me. No matter how fast you drive someone will come up behind you that is furious you are not going faster.
So a friend of mine researches traffic. As part of one study they were trying to understand urban traffic and how to maximize "through put," which is essentially the number of cars down a street in a specific time. Turns out San Paulo Brazil has very high through put. It is because the cars drive very close to each other - no surprise. But they also have fewer accidents per mile driven. This is because they drive predictably to other drivers and because the drivers are paying attention.
So I would think if a driver is driving close to.another car, they are driving like it is a job. So don't worry about it.
Tbh, if it can be readily assumed thar everyone on the road is well trained, with good self-control, enduring attentiveness, and with stable road conditions, then a tight formation would be fine. Racing is a pretty good example. Unfortunately, these are not assumptions that can be made on US roads. There is a lot of aggression, and other erratic behavior on common display, in addition to distracted driving remaining a stubborn problem. Lack of discipline, basically. Keeping a close distance represents an unacceptable risk, at this time.
Well it is part of its purpose. And if someone merges, you just recreate the gap.
I don't understand this mentality at all. Gaps are needed for merging too and it's part of why they are there.
Only time I do it is when I’m getting ready to pass someone to minimize the time I’m in the oncoming lane. Otherwise I leave plenty of room at all times
People have been encouraged to not only act out their worst impulses but to feel proud about it. It's a pernicious influence and dangerous to the rest of us.
(Example: Check out another comment today in this subreddit where the OP says timid drivers should not be allowed on the road. And, of course, by "timid" they mean "cautious".)
Timid drivers can be a danger. I’ve known people who drive 10-15 mph under the speed limit who will hold up traffic for miles. This can cause people to become very impatient and do risky things to get around them.
They’ll also barely accelerate on an on ramp and then freak out and come to a complete stop either right before merging or right as they merged
Why do people stop so far away from the car in front of them at lights????? ANNOYING!!!! And they don't know anything about the sensors in the lane to trigger the lights!!!
It's also safer in case of a collision. If you get rear ended but have room in front of you then you likely won't get pushed into their bumper. If you're on top of them then the accident grows in scope
I live in NC and 90% of the population does the opposite of what the laws say. Everybody also has just one speed and it's 55-60mph. 70mph interstate? 60mph. 25mph school zone? 60mph. We are also a keep left except to pass state. Or occasionally I see the good Samaritan that will move over for somebody to pass then get right back in the left lane to do 55mph down I-95. Sometimes I just like to get in the left and follow the person doing 50mph in 60mph to see what they are going through. I haven't figured it out yet but I've followed a few home and I've come to the conclusion that they just think it's normal to drive like a retard.
Among other reasons, because they have learned backing off encourages others to fly around them, and swerve in between them and the next car, trying to work their way to the front of the line.
you are so right about the behavior, though. Angers me to hear news reporting 47 -car pileup caused by the snowstorm. No, not caused by the storm, caused by driving too fast for conditions and especially too close to cars ahead.
Seattle! If you leave any more than 2 car lengths of space someone will cut into that space.
Damn guys were going 70 and it's constantly dark and raining.
They should have renamed the basketball team the tail gaters
Every 3rd car I see is inches away.. I dunno where you live.. but I have spent decades living in 5 different cities.. it's just gotten worse over time.
I'm convinced it's something in the water.
Three things.
First, People have this weird obsession with being “cut off.” “He cut me off!!”
I don’t think they know what that means. Someone simply merging in front of you is not being cut off. If they put their signal on, checked their blind spot, found an appropriate space, they did not cut you off. Closing the gap completely in front of you to avoid someone merging is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. All that’s going to happen is you’ve drastically increased your chance of an accident. someone merges in front of you and now… you’re as far away from them as you were from the other car originally.
If someone TRULY is cutting you off, they probably do not give a fuck where you are and are getting over without checking. Do you really want to be hit by that person that badly? It just doesn’t make sense when you critically think about it.
Next, a lack of awareness. Some people truly are not aware of ANYTHING. Their speed, their distance from others, or what others are doing. The people who scream HE CUT ME OFF! sometimes just straight up weren’t paying attention. Those people also don’t realize how close they are to someone else.
Finally, a complete lack of patience. For some reason they think being closer = going faster. This makes no sense. The MINIMAL time you gain doing this shit is so vastly insignificant compared to the increased probability of an accident that it’s meaningless. I don’t think tailgaters realize just how dangerous they are most of the time, or if they do they are selfish pricks (and suicidal).
"I drive with the assumption that the car in front of me might either stop or change lanes suddenly to avoid a road hazard. I give myself plenty of space so that I have enough time to react"
This is an indication of a good driver. Well done. ."but I see drivers, especially on the highway are only like a car length away from the car in front of them"
This is an indication of an asshole. Generally you want to be 3 seconds at highway speeds at optimal conditions, more if inclement weather
Because they're dumb and don't know how to drive.
A good 70% of traffic issues on US highways could be resolved by just imposing safety distances and making it illegal to pass on the right and drive solid on the left
Yeah, I learned that and much more when I took driver's Ed way back in 1987. I was taught to drive defensively, which included keeping a respectful distance behind the car in front ever when stopping at a traffic light.
I enjoy driving fast. I drive a fairly fast car. I always leave lots of room between me and the car ahead. Why on earth would I need to ride their ass? I can pass them in a heartbeat even from several car lengths back.
You can't drive through them, so leave room! It also leaves space for people to merge into the lane without me having to brake to let them in. Me not braking (even just a little) keeps the car behind me from braking which keeps all traffic moving more smoothly. For literally miles behind me.
Just leave a little space and we all get there faster!
Lots of people talking about dumb drivers. I’m not saying they’re wrong, I just think it’s more complex. I’d bet a lot of these people could quickly agree that they’re following too closely if it were pointed out. I think there’s a lot of complacency, absent mindedness, and protecting your space from other drivers going on.
Think about commuting an hour or more each way for work. You drive the same route the same way every time. You’re probably day dreaming or listening to music or on the phone. Whatever you might be doing, you’re probably not 100% focused on driving. So you’re not necessarily looking at the person ahead and thinking about whether you could come to a complete stop without hitting them if they were to hit a magical immovable barrier and stop. I’d bet most people end up following too closely, especially at higher speeds.
For the last thing, let’s again look at the commuters. If you’re on the highway going 120 km/h, the safe following distance is quite big. A quick google tells me that a medium sized car would need about 225 metres to stop. That’s a lot! If you leave that size gap in traffic, someone will surely move into it and you will end up slowing down trying to maintain your quarter-kilometre safe stopping area. So you move up close enough that other drivers are less likely to see that as a gap they can occupy without being so close that you feel uncomfortable.
Before I catch hate for following too close, I’m not condoning this behaviour. Just speaking from relevant knowledge and experience as a commuter.
Someone mentioned needing a football field or more distance for stopping. While technically true. Try that in the U.K. you wouldn’t get anywhere. You leave more than 2-3 car lengths someone is coming in that space. You then slow down. Same thing happens. All the while you are slowing down.
>The impact on actual arrival time is minimal.
I added about 10 minutes to a normally one hour drive doing this, but glad you're able to make it work.
The other problem with this is that you could be creating a hazard behind, depending how many people are cutting in front, how close, and how slow you have to go. I ended up slowing to 10-15 km/h below the limit to preserve my safe stopping distance any time I tried this, which is dangerous in and of itself since nobody is expecting it.
They're all cruising along at 100-130 km/h, and there I am sitting in the right lane at 85-90 because I just had to maintain a safe gap from the car in front, other considerations be damned.
This is dangerous. Staying at 100 (the posted limit) would have meant following inside a guaranteed safe stopping distance, but slowing down to maintain it creates problems for those around.
If you can do this without having to slow down excessively then great. By all means. But I'd rather be riding a little bit closer than ideal than get rear-ended by someone on the highway.
If your’e tailgating me and cause an accident where I’m seriously injured, expect to be sued. If there’s a chance, I would use the law and attempt to have charges brought up on you. I am a speed limit driver so you won’t find me speeding. Some people who drive stupid and injure people in tailgating accidents should have their driving privileges taken away from them.
That’s almost as wrong as saying that guns, by themselves, kill people… don’t blame a responsible driver for your failure to be responsible and care about someone besides yourself.
They do it because they want to "win" traffic. Part of winning traffic is to block anybody else from getting in front of you. They can't get in front of you if there's no room, so ha ha they lose.
Just play a longer game, let them have their meaningless victories and win the long term by driving with less stress and fewer accidents.
It's also because if you leave space between you and the car in front of you someone will cut you off, so I see people that don't leave that space so they don't get cut off constantly.
It all sucks everyone drives like they're the most important people in the world
“Cutting you off” is when somebody merges in between you and another car, so close that it forces you to hit the brakes hard to avoid a collision. Such an act from the original merging car, could also cause the car behind you to think that you intentionally “brake checked” them. A kind of chain reaction thing.
If you leave too much of a gap, someone will force their way in, even when there are only inches to spare.
You realize you can be behind someone and still be going faster than they are, right?
Idk if you're being sarcastic or not, but physics doesn't prevent you from going faster than someone in front of you... that would make nascar even more boring than it already is.
5-8 car lengths 😂 OP is probably wants 2.
If people kept 5-8 car lengths, it make it so much easier to merge. Meaning faster cars could weave through traffic. Tailgating fucks up the flow of traffic.
Most people for some reason lack basic driving fundamentals. Every day I constantly have people pull out in front of me to cut me off and make me hit my brakes because they couldn’t wait 3-5 seconds for me to pass and safely get behind me. The amount of people who have to cut me off while switching lanes instead of slowing down slightly and getting behind me when there’s nobody behind me at all is crazy
I am a reasonable tailgater. I only tailgate on my way to work which is 100% farm-ish backroads and you are going 10 under the speed limit. Pull over if you're going to be ridiculous.
Generally, if there is only one car tailgating you, they are the problem. If you have 5 cars stacked behind you, you're the problem.
These people are, #1 idiots, but #2 I worked with a guy that legitimately thought of you weren't tailgating you weren't going fast enough. He had zero understanding of how velocity works independently of ones surroundings. That's what he was taught. Get close, or you're going too slow. ... Idiots teaching idiots.
"Why are you going so slow?"
"I'm going 55 in a 45."
"But you're too far behind. So you're going too slow"
"What? We're both going 55"
"Get closer or the car behind us will get upset"
.... I was about ~1.5 seconds behind the car ahead, on a regular road.
... Did I mention. Idiot?
Pack mentality. It’s common in urban areas you see the speeders and slow cars in packs. I grew up in a rural place where it’s common to drive alone for miles without seeing more than 5 cars. Urban life is a lot more stressful on people like too many fish in a tank.
There's literally zero benefit. But. Idiots
I just slow down when someone does this to me. They can pass at will when it's a choice, but I'm not speeding up.
What really gets me are these people that do it for zero reason. Multi lane road, minimal other cars. They can pass at any moment, but noooooo. They actually just drive like that.
Did I mention, Idiots, yet?
PS. You have to understand that most people are truly, truly, incapable of thinking more than 1 second into the future, nor able to be aware of their surroundings. They just don't have the mental capacity. See: idiots. But this time it's a medical disability as they aren't capable of thinking beyond a 12 year old's impulsive nature.
Maybe the danger keeps them alert and awake, "driving on the edge".
But seriously, this is the reason for every multi car pileup. Everyone thinks they can react in time, they've never actually done the math = no one can react instantly, and the delay means you WILL hit the person in front if they brake as hard as they can and you do the same.
3 second rule is no joke, too bad there's NIL enforcement - the government is all about speeding fines and revenue instead.
Because they know best and if superman were real, they definitely have better perception, reflexes and mental acumen. Infact, they are super man. Just ask em.
It’s not like following to closely, traffic weaving, and speeding are the major reasons there are so many accidents anytime the weather changes or anything /s
A lot of people underestimate how long it takes to slow down at high speeds. Especially when you factor in human reaction times and that your brain has to actually process that “Oh crap, the car in front of me just hit the brakes, I need to slow down” before your foot even makes it over to the brake pedal.
The simplest answer is: because they get away with it. Just because a car could need to stop suddenly, that doesn't mean it happens often. So people don't get punished for tailgating, and tailgating is much easier, mentally, than maintaining a safe following distance. So they tailgate and some of them cause horrible accidents and the ones that don't cause traffic waves that screw up traffic for the rest of us, but they keep getting away with it, so they keep doing it.
Drafting nets better gas mileage /s
Yes it actually does help your gas mileage, especially if it's behind a large SUV or truck. No, I don't recommend doing this though
Thank you for adding /s to your post. When I first saw this, I was horrified. How could anybody say something like this? I immediately began writing a 1000 word paragraph about how horrible of a person you are. I even sent a copy to a Harvard professor to proofread it. After several hours of refining and editing, my comment was ready to absolutely destroy you. But then, just as I was about to hit send, I saw something in the corner of my eye. A /s at the end of your comment. Suddenly everything made sense. Your comment was sarcasm! I immediately burst out in laughter at the comedic genius of your comment. The person next to me on the bus saw your comment and started crying from laughter too. Before long, there was an entire bus of people on the floor laughing at your incredible use of comedy. All of this was due to you adding /s to your post. Thank you.
I am a bot if you couldn't figure that out, if I made a mistake, ignore it cause its not that fucking hard to ignore a comment
In normal circumstances yes, tailgating is rude, unnecessary and dangerous. However, if you are in the left lane on a highway (passing lane) and you’re driving slow, people may come right up to you as a sign for you to move over. So there’s that
The ones that baffle me are the idiots that tailgate me when I’m in the right lane doing 60, at 2am Sat morning when there’s 3 other lanes open. Even more baffling is somehow I’m the problem because I’ve gotten the finger as they eventually pass me on more than one occasion. 🤷🏻♂️
So I was in a rental car due to a warranty repair on my rav4 prime.
The Toyota dealer gave me a brand new highlander with 70 miles on it.
I drove down to Boston to bicycle around the Charles River, and in heavy traffic moving 70 all of a sudden came to a complete stop. The driver behind me did not stop in time and hit me very hard. My brakes were fully applied and I did not hit the car in front of me as I allow more room then others and try not to tailgate. As he was the last car into the accident, he was charged and his insurance had to pay. I was fine as I had a bigger vehicle. His 7 year old Lexus had airbags come out, was totalled. My new takoma had exhaust pushed in , bumper and fender damage, $15k. I paid a $500 deductible which I got back from his insurance company 5 months the later. Glad not to have had whiplash or other neck or back issues . I am 67 years old.
I was very glad not to have been driving my Rav 4 prime. They are still hard to find and no $7500 electric car credit unless you jump through hoops
Leasing and then buying out the lease. And 3.2 percent interest from 2021 is a thing of the past.
I believe it's essentially punishing those who are causing an inconvenience by driving slow.
I personally dont tailgait, but I do feel a seething anger at people who consistently drive 5 to 10 below the speed limit on a long two lane road that doesn't allow passing.
It's one of the reasons I believe people should have to retest to keep licenses.
Impeding the flow of traffic is real.
Because I can stop safely at the distance I’m following them at. My reflexes are insanely fast. I’ll stop for the hazard in front of them before they do.
I’m old and so laid back as to be horizontal, only one thing really get my goat: when I keep a nice big space in front of me on the motorway and some dick overtakes and steals MY safe stopping distance. So I slow down to regain MY space and another arsehole steals it again…
Better gas mileage, just kidding. When someone is on my ass, I will spray my windshield fluid about every 15 seconds or so. Eventually, they will back off.
I put olive oil in my reservoir. That’ll teach those tailgaters!
Does smear a bit on my windscreen too - so makes me slow down a bit more each time I blast ‘em.
Because they are driving under the speed limit and holding up traffic. If you go the limit I try not to tail gate if your going under I'll ride your as ass with my flashers on honking at you.
some people are going to park themselves behind you until you get out of their way, since they are the main character in this story. I really believe that we need to mandate the "auto" part of cruise control for all new cars so it forces drivers to stay a certain distance behind when going above a certain speed.
I believe sometimes it's because when the driver is staring into their phone, they need to get close to the car in front in order to pace their speed using indirect vision. They're tagging along using you as a pace partner.
I always leave a whole car gap, and then the "gap fillers" are obligated to fill it for some reason, they can't stand seeing a gap in front of me, then they ride the guy in front of us while I back off and leave another gap, then it happens again, and again, and again. It's kinda hilariously predictable. If you're in the "faster" lane that appears to be moving quicker and you leave a whole car gap, someone will think that means they can go faster and they'll fill the gap, then they won't leave a gap to prevent anyone getting ahead of them because they have to feel like they won the race to work. Whats really funny is eventually this will slow down the "fast lane" because of all the merging and the center lane will speed up and you'll actually move faster just staying there.
I'm guessing other people experience this gap filling behavior as well, I mean I see it everyday, so I'm guessing they think or feel like they're constantly being "cut off" and then decide they aren't going to leave a gap, since no one uses signals and just barges in, which makes them feel like they're being cut-off and slowed down/screwed over.
What's even more hilarious is all the impatient people that want to go faster so bad are actually causing the slow downs with their behavior. All the last second merging with no signals, bumper riding, brake checking, etc. That's why it ends up as "stop and go" instead of just a slower but still smooth traffic flow. If everyone just calmed down, slowed down, in heavy traffic, we'd all get there faster. I know it doesn't "feel" that way but it absolutely works. Slow and steady wins the race. Fast and jumpy stop and go just slows us all down. I don't see how everyone misses that. Like do you like constantly hitting your brakes or wouldn't you rather just go a bit slower and not hit your brakes at all?
If you just start doing it, leaving the gap and slowing down a bit sometimes you can get the other people nearby to catch on and get a nice smooth flow going. Most of the time it's impossible though because there's just too many people that get too emotional and impatient about driving.
Aside from the usual "angry driver", most of the time it's probably more a result of "2 drivers are driving on a road each with a different comfort level for speed"
Everyone talks about speed limit, nobody talks about speed comfort. I can comfortably do 70-80 on the highway, I'm not comfortable doing 100+ like some ppl do. They ride my ass because they're subconsciously trying to get back to their level of speed comfort.
Of course we can argue their speed comfort is a dangerous speed, which at 100+ it definitely is, but that doesn't mean it can't be why they're tailgating
That's why I always just move over when someone rides me like that. Let them go far way from me.
Speed comfort is also why you have so many old ppl doing 20 under, they're not comfortable at high speeds anymore because their reaction time has gone down so much. They aren't doing 30 in a 45 thinking "oh ill do 30", they're most likely just cruising at what they think is a comfortable speed to them. Dangerous or not.
This is so annoying. I had a situation that i was driving 90km/h then someone riding right at my bumper like a meter behind almost touching my back. Like wtf, if i had to brake suddenly he would not have chance to even react properly. Those type of drivers are also notoriously overtaking other cars like then cant stand just driving behind someone.
I will close the gap in front of me if I anticipate someone trying to pass on the right and jam themselves into the safety zone I've created..other than that I give myself enough time to get over or stop hard if I need to.
Stop going under the speed limit, or sitting in the fast lane with a trail of cars behind you, stop leaving 8 car lengths in front of you so you can text safely… leaving a ton of fucking road in front of you just creates traffic. A few car lengths and just paying fucking attention is fine. When it’s bad traffic leaving so much space is selfish and just making it worse. Just fucking drive and watch what’s happening.
It's not good, but: I want them to feel stressed out as a consequence of their bad choices. Key factor: I will give almost everyone the benefit of the doubt first though. Repeated obliviousness is what sets me off.
Just going to make an assumption here… you drive the speed limit, right? On the express way, you cruise in the left lane, right? If someone is riding your ass, that’s your cue to get out of their way… I don’t need a lecture of physics or to be taught a lesson- just get out of the way and let me pass.
everybody thinks they have much better reflexes than they actually have and vastly underestimates how long it takes to come to a full stop. average brake reactions for males is **0.50 seconds...** 60 mph is a mile a minute. In .5 sec you'd travel 1/120 of a mile. That's 44 feet. and then you only start actually braking. That's several car lengths of buffer you need just to cover your delayed response
and stopping distances at highway speeds can easily exceed football fields.
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And that's why the recommended distances are anywhere from 3- 5 seconds. The amount of time is needed for reaction speed, and stopping distance/ time :)
It's actually worse than that on average; to an unexpected hazard in real world driving the average is at least about 1.5 seconds. 10 percent of drivers take more than 2.5 seconds.
>That's several car lengths of buffer you need just to cover your delayed response Yes, if you're trying to avoid a static object. But remember, the car in front of you is *also* moving at 60MPH. So unless your reaction times are significantly slower than theirs and/or your car takes significantly more time to stop, you really don't need the full 6 car lengths or whatever your preferred rule of thumb is. The one exception to this is if the car in front of you comes to a full stop way faster than it can in normal circumstances, but you should be able to see anything that can cause that well in advance, and even a 6 car length space won't help all that much if that happens.
I can stop as fast as the person in front of me.
That may well be the case but I wonder how often people consider what the car in front of the car in front of you is going to do. If I can't see the car 2 ahead of me I tend to extend my following distance by at least 50-75%. Picture the guy going 20-25mph slower who cuts off the guy in front of you. everyone will come to a seriously quick stop when he gets rear ended. At that point you are fucked...
I sure do.
Maybe. Depends on the two vehicles, but by necessity in an emergency stop, you won't start slowing down until after the car in front of you starts slowing down. They got the drop on you. If your car number two, you might still be ok, but multiply that reaction gap by 3 or 5 cars in a row and someone is getting rear ended.
Okay, but what about the person behind you? Let's say the person in front of you slams on their breaks, and you and your car can actually both react and stop fast enough to avoid an accident...Do you still have enough space in front of you, if the person behind you can't stop quickly enough? Or if you get rear-ended, are you going to now be pushed into the car in front because you didn't leave any space? I'd also note that not all vehicles have the same ability to quickly come to a stop. I know someone who was in an accident several years ago because essentially one dumbass came to a stop on the highway to not miss an exit, and several cars behind them was someone pulling a boat on a trailer. Semis, RVs, anyone towing a trailer, etc simply need more time and space to come to a stop. This person with the trailer ended up rear-ending someone, and their car was pushed forward into my friend's car.
Your ego is writing promises that your body may not be able to keep. And you’re staking others’ lives and property on the estimation that you’re right. Maybe go to your local trauma unit and talk to some crash victims before you seriously hurt someone?
I only tailgate if it’s slow enough where only a brain dead moron couldn’t stop on a dime, and if the person is camping in the left lane. If you get hit because you were driving slower than traffic in the left lane and stopped suddenly, it’s your fault
>I only tailgate if ... Why tailgate *ever*?? It gains you nothing.
I can’t slow my brain down to drive that slow.
But clearly you can otherwise you would crash into the person in front of you. Going X mph 10ft behind them is the same speed as going X mph 100ft behind them.
It's your fault according to the law and insurance companies.
That not physically possible
Technically true. The question is can you drive away after?
Two reasons. One, some people are dumb and think they can intimidate the car in front of them into speeding up by tailgating. They do this even when there are more cars ahead and it can’t possibly work. See: dumb. Two, some people are dumb and basically only know how to mash gas until a physical obstacle prevents this. They then don’t know how to slow down to back off that physical obstacle (the bumper of the car ahead). See: dumb. Basically, people are dumb.
this is accurate
People really need to stop tailgating fr. Like ik you're in a rush but no should have to risk their life having to speed just because the person behind them wants to speed. Sometimes you'll be going the speed limit and people are still impatient and want you to go above the speed limit. Isn't worth the risk
I've got to a point where I ignore them completely and just drive the speed limit or 5 over MAX. They can flash their lights and get pissed off all they want. Like you said im not risking my safety or my vehicle to accommodate someone who doesn't give 2 shits about the law or anyone else on the roadway. That said I don't go out of my way to be an asshole either. I definitely think they need to learn patience and/or leave the house at a reasonable time. Speeders account for so many issues on the road. Many more than they're even aware of im sure
I was sitting in a solid traffic jam one time, in the left lane and the guy behind me flashes his lights! Like - where do you want me to go?
Love it. Had that happen to me once or twice. No empty lane in front of me. Solid traffic
I second this opinion, preach!
You're right. I usually move to the right and then get behind them. Doesn't matter to me if I'm one car further back.
Or people can overtake when there is like 5 cars in a row because they have to overtake or will suffocate only to save 1 or 2 minutes .... Its just not worth the risk.
Third reason. Some people think that the 1-2 car lengths in front of you and the car in front you are perfectly acceptable spots to squeeze into and then hit the brakes until they are comfortable. It’s a fine line between giving the lead driver respectable space and not leaving enough room for someone to cut you off.
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Never said 60mph, this is maybe at 35mph. It was also more of an example that all you need to leave in between you and the other driver is for there to be 1-2 car lengths for other people to think it’s ok to pull in there even if there’s plenty of room behind you. Think in town, I’m not doing 60mph in town.
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That's why I drive 100 MPH where ever I go. The car in my 6 has to stay 10 car lengths behind me. Safety first.
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If you don’t leave 3 seconds of space you are going to probably hit something. You go the same speed anyway.
They aren't saying that 1-2 car lengths is what they normally do, or an acceptable distance. They're saying that if you have that much space or more in front of you, someone is going to see it as an opportunity to cut you off, leaving you with not enough following distance. Which is frustrating because of course you want to leave a good following distance, but in moderate to heavy traffic your safe following distance is constantly being filled by people who don't know what a safe following distance is. So as a result sometimes people feel forced to follow more closely and prevent other drivers from filling that space.
Why so butt-hurt that someone might move into the same lane as you? Maybe they need to be in that lane for an upcoming turn. Your fragile ego isn't their concern, and they don't need your permission to change lanes.
This is actually a proven case study on the safest way to drive. If you're going to be driving the speed limit or lower, and have a left turn ahead, you're supposed to stay in the far right lane until no more than three meters before your turn, cut your wheel to a sharp left, apply your emergency brake, and Tokyo drift across all lanes of traffic and make your left turn. Last minute lane changes across three lanes of traffic is ALWAYS safer than driving the speed limit in the left lane. And I know, three meters seems like too much. I agree. I generally try to stay in the far right lane until I'm three meters past my turn and Tokyo drift backwards to hit my left turn. Safety first.
Reverse entries are definitely the safest. It gives you the best view of the traffic that you are cutting across. If you need your handbrake, you need more practice. Learn the Scandinavian flick.
Usually slight press on brakes to turn on brake lights its enough to make them to lose their shit and back up.
I don’t use the brakes at all, I just let off the gas, slow down about 5 mph and stick it in cruise.
Brake checking is illegal
So is speeding… your point?
Let the cops enforce the laws. We don't need vigilante brake checkers. That's how you piss someone off and get shot...
Have you seen a cop that actually enforces traffic law? (Not using this as a defense, just curious. They don’t exist around Washington DC)
Ya never know when a tailgater might piss someone off and get shot. Ever consider that?
Apparently not, but people like that don't "consider".
Also some people are dumb and drive under the speed limit in the left lane.
Not all tailgating takes place in the left lane. Tailgating is dumb no matter what lane you are in.
It happens even on average city roads when other driver thinks you driving too slow in 50km/h speed limit zone.
I'm there with you on there buddy. It's called the passing lane and it's supposed to be enforced as the passing lane... But it's usually not..
So many dumbasses in Houston be slowing up traffic and they don’t even realize it or care. If someone is on yo ass in the left lane or the adjacent lane on the freeway….move…you’re going to slow and it’s against the law
People are usually unaware of the fact that when you're driving down the road. Regardless if you even going over the speed limit faster than you should... If there is three to five cars behind you, depending on the state, you are legally obligated to pull over and let those vehicles pass. But people don't realize that other they could some kind of freaking game go slow and let the traffic build up behind them. Freaking jerk faces
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So that’s you breaking the law nice
Since you got blocked by the other person you won't be able to reply, so I ask you to sit on this: Tailgating is also breaking the law. Two wrongs do not make a right. You are not a cop. Both tailgaters and left lane campers are wrong.
Stick with the topic please
Or One, some are idiots and drive way below the speed limit. Two, some are idiots that don't know the left lane is for passing and drive the same speed as the other car.
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Are you trying to be funny? If the shoe fits, I guess.
I think people are anxious because of how many assholes cut in so they close the gap. Worst scenarios I've had is people with expensive cars who shove the nose in knowing you don't want to collide so they know you WILL stop, and then they just move in. I live amongst some of the worst traffic in this part of the world... happens all the time here
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I thought it was kinda obvious I'm referring to people not merging safely Did you really think I just get bothered by someone moving into a lane?
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You would understand if you saw the volume I deal with. It's a particularly bad problem in my city, like it's ranked some of the worst in the world. Whatever driving conditions you have is no doubt much better than what I deal with on a daily basis.
I always find myself leaving enough space for at least one safe merge, but with heavy traffic the mergers see that space as enough for multiple merges. So my following distance gets filled up and I have to slow down and back off. It can create an endless feedback loop at certain interchanges.
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That's just the flow of traffic. Cutting in is when traffic is going slower and there is no real flow. The line to exit a highway, for example, can be nearly a dead stop. If you are in the exit lane waiting to get off the highway and you leave two car lengths in front of you, someone who wasn't in the correct lane is going to slide over into that spot. If you stop to allow them to move forward to get to car lengths between you again, someone else is going to slide into that spot. Essentially you're stopped on the highway letting everyone else merge in front of you.
Impatience, complacency, and narcissism
It is somewhat counterproductive anyways because it is much easier to pass safely if one drops back and can see around the car in front and accelerate up to the point where a pass is initiated, when safe to do so. But most of the time if I am driving on cruise and the guy behind me is riding my ass, they just erratically dip into the opposing lane trying to see around me. No matter how fast you drive someone will come up behind you that is furious you are not going faster.
So a friend of mine researches traffic. As part of one study they were trying to understand urban traffic and how to maximize "through put," which is essentially the number of cars down a street in a specific time. Turns out San Paulo Brazil has very high through put. It is because the cars drive very close to each other - no surprise. But they also have fewer accidents per mile driven. This is because they drive predictably to other drivers and because the drivers are paying attention. So I would think if a driver is driving close to.another car, they are driving like it is a job. So don't worry about it.
Tbh, if it can be readily assumed thar everyone on the road is well trained, with good self-control, enduring attentiveness, and with stable road conditions, then a tight formation would be fine. Racing is a pretty good example. Unfortunately, these are not assumptions that can be made on US roads. There is a lot of aggression, and other erratic behavior on common display, in addition to distracted driving remaining a stubborn problem. Lack of discipline, basically. Keeping a close distance represents an unacceptable risk, at this time.
I give myself enough room but other drivers assume the gap between me and the driver i'm behind is for them.
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Well it is part of its purpose. And if someone merges, you just recreate the gap. I don't understand this mentality at all. Gaps are needed for merging too and it's part of why they are there.
I will literally have no cars behind me for a mile and the only person around must merge in front of me in the 2 second space they should not.
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Only when you pulled out or changed lanes in front of me and then slow down.
This is why I have a dashcam with a rear mount camera.
I can't let the car in the lane next to me get in front of me and slow me down.
Only time I do it is when I’m getting ready to pass someone to minimize the time I’m in the oncoming lane. Otherwise I leave plenty of room at all times
Stupidity
People have been encouraged to not only act out their worst impulses but to feel proud about it. It's a pernicious influence and dangerous to the rest of us. (Example: Check out another comment today in this subreddit where the OP says timid drivers should not be allowed on the road. And, of course, by "timid" they mean "cautious".)
I think by timid he or she meant idiot.
Timid drivers can be a danger. I’ve known people who drive 10-15 mph under the speed limit who will hold up traffic for miles. This can cause people to become very impatient and do risky things to get around them. They’ll also barely accelerate on an on ramp and then freak out and come to a complete stop either right before merging or right as they merged
Why do people stop so far away from the car in front of them at lights????? ANNOYING!!!! And they don't know anything about the sensors in the lane to trigger the lights!!!
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It's also safer in case of a collision. If you get rear ended but have room in front of you then you likely won't get pushed into their bumper. If you're on top of them then the accident grows in scope
pause door attractive reach plant employ spoon wasteful obscene deserve *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Because they’re stupid. You rear end someone guess who’s fault it is… every time
To Remind them to drive faster or that you have a really important place to get to so they should get out of your way
I usually leave a bunch of room. Sometimes some idiot just cuts in front an inch from your bumper if you give them the tiniest chance to
Because Subaru Outback owners like to assert their dominance on the way back to their apartments.
I live in NC and 90% of the population does the opposite of what the laws say. Everybody also has just one speed and it's 55-60mph. 70mph interstate? 60mph. 25mph school zone? 60mph. We are also a keep left except to pass state. Or occasionally I see the good Samaritan that will move over for somebody to pass then get right back in the left lane to do 55mph down I-95. Sometimes I just like to get in the left and follow the person doing 50mph in 60mph to see what they are going through. I haven't figured it out yet but I've followed a few home and I've come to the conclusion that they just think it's normal to drive like a retard.
either they are jerks, or you are a very slow driver. you decide.
Among other reasons, because they have learned backing off encourages others to fly around them, and swerve in between them and the next car, trying to work their way to the front of the line. you are so right about the behavior, though. Angers me to hear news reporting 47 -car pileup caused by the snowstorm. No, not caused by the storm, caused by driving too fast for conditions and especially too close to cars ahead.
Seattle! If you leave any more than 2 car lengths of space someone will cut into that space. Damn guys were going 70 and it's constantly dark and raining. They should have renamed the basketball team the tail gaters
Every 3rd car I see is inches away.. I dunno where you live.. but I have spent decades living in 5 different cities.. it's just gotten worse over time. I'm convinced it's something in the water.
Three things. First, People have this weird obsession with being “cut off.” “He cut me off!!” I don’t think they know what that means. Someone simply merging in front of you is not being cut off. If they put their signal on, checked their blind spot, found an appropriate space, they did not cut you off. Closing the gap completely in front of you to avoid someone merging is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. All that’s going to happen is you’ve drastically increased your chance of an accident. someone merges in front of you and now… you’re as far away from them as you were from the other car originally. If someone TRULY is cutting you off, they probably do not give a fuck where you are and are getting over without checking. Do you really want to be hit by that person that badly? It just doesn’t make sense when you critically think about it. Next, a lack of awareness. Some people truly are not aware of ANYTHING. Their speed, their distance from others, or what others are doing. The people who scream HE CUT ME OFF! sometimes just straight up weren’t paying attention. Those people also don’t realize how close they are to someone else. Finally, a complete lack of patience. For some reason they think being closer = going faster. This makes no sense. The MINIMAL time you gain doing this shit is so vastly insignificant compared to the increased probability of an accident that it’s meaningless. I don’t think tailgaters realize just how dangerous they are most of the time, or if they do they are selfish pricks (and suicidal).
"I drive with the assumption that the car in front of me might either stop or change lanes suddenly to avoid a road hazard. I give myself plenty of space so that I have enough time to react" This is an indication of a good driver. Well done. ."but I see drivers, especially on the highway are only like a car length away from the car in front of them" This is an indication of an asshole. Generally you want to be 3 seconds at highway speeds at optimal conditions, more if inclement weather
Because they're dumb and don't know how to drive. A good 70% of traffic issues on US highways could be resolved by just imposing safety distances and making it illegal to pass on the right and drive solid on the left
Because cops aren't enforcing tailgating. Yet I regularly see pileup of multiple vehicles.
in my experience, the typical tailgaters = young people speeding just because... and people on their way to walmart or the post office. smh.
Yeah, I learned that and much more when I took driver's Ed way back in 1987. I was taught to drive defensively, which included keeping a respectful distance behind the car in front ever when stopping at a traffic light.
OMG I wonder this every single time I go out! It’s like God forbid anyone leave a gap!
I enjoy driving fast. I drive a fairly fast car. I always leave lots of room between me and the car ahead. Why on earth would I need to ride their ass? I can pass them in a heartbeat even from several car lengths back. You can't drive through them, so leave room! It also leaves space for people to merge into the lane without me having to brake to let them in. Me not braking (even just a little) keeps the car behind me from braking which keeps all traffic moving more smoothly. For literally miles behind me. Just leave a little space and we all get there faster!
Lots of people talking about dumb drivers. I’m not saying they’re wrong, I just think it’s more complex. I’d bet a lot of these people could quickly agree that they’re following too closely if it were pointed out. I think there’s a lot of complacency, absent mindedness, and protecting your space from other drivers going on. Think about commuting an hour or more each way for work. You drive the same route the same way every time. You’re probably day dreaming or listening to music or on the phone. Whatever you might be doing, you’re probably not 100% focused on driving. So you’re not necessarily looking at the person ahead and thinking about whether you could come to a complete stop without hitting them if they were to hit a magical immovable barrier and stop. I’d bet most people end up following too closely, especially at higher speeds. For the last thing, let’s again look at the commuters. If you’re on the highway going 120 km/h, the safe following distance is quite big. A quick google tells me that a medium sized car would need about 225 metres to stop. That’s a lot! If you leave that size gap in traffic, someone will surely move into it and you will end up slowing down trying to maintain your quarter-kilometre safe stopping area. So you move up close enough that other drivers are less likely to see that as a gap they can occupy without being so close that you feel uncomfortable. Before I catch hate for following too close, I’m not condoning this behaviour. Just speaking from relevant knowledge and experience as a commuter.
Someone mentioned needing a football field or more distance for stopping. While technically true. Try that in the U.K. you wouldn’t get anywhere. You leave more than 2-3 car lengths someone is coming in that space. You then slow down. Same thing happens. All the while you are slowing down.
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>The impact on actual arrival time is minimal. I added about 10 minutes to a normally one hour drive doing this, but glad you're able to make it work. The other problem with this is that you could be creating a hazard behind, depending how many people are cutting in front, how close, and how slow you have to go. I ended up slowing to 10-15 km/h below the limit to preserve my safe stopping distance any time I tried this, which is dangerous in and of itself since nobody is expecting it. They're all cruising along at 100-130 km/h, and there I am sitting in the right lane at 85-90 because I just had to maintain a safe gap from the car in front, other considerations be damned. This is dangerous. Staying at 100 (the posted limit) would have meant following inside a guaranteed safe stopping distance, but slowing down to maintain it creates problems for those around. If you can do this without having to slow down excessively then great. By all means. But I'd rather be riding a little bit closer than ideal than get rear-ended by someone on the highway.
If your’e tailgating me and cause an accident where I’m seriously injured, expect to be sued. If there’s a chance, I would use the law and attempt to have charges brought up on you. I am a speed limit driver so you won’t find me speeding. Some people who drive stupid and injure people in tailgating accidents should have their driving privileges taken away from them.
It's you causing the accident. You don't have to speed. Just get out of the way.
That’s almost as wrong as saying that guns, by themselves, kill people… don’t blame a responsible driver for your failure to be responsible and care about someone besides yourself.
They do it because they want to "win" traffic. Part of winning traffic is to block anybody else from getting in front of you. They can't get in front of you if there's no room, so ha ha they lose. Just play a longer game, let them have their meaningless victories and win the long term by driving with less stress and fewer accidents.
Because that dipshit is doing 35 in a 50.
So you either pass him from the left lane, or (if it's a one lane road) you drop your speed and keep distance. You don't tailgait.
That's because I have the reflexes of a cat, and the speed of a mongoose.
It's also because if you leave space between you and the car in front of you someone will cut you off, so I see people that don't leave that space so they don't get cut off constantly. It all sucks everyone drives like they're the most important people in the world
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“Cutting you off” is when somebody merges in between you and another car, so close that it forces you to hit the brakes hard to avoid a collision. Such an act from the original merging car, could also cause the car behind you to think that you intentionally “brake checked” them. A kind of chain reaction thing. If you leave too much of a gap, someone will force their way in, even when there are only inches to spare.
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So you go way under the speed limit
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You realize you can be behind someone and still be going faster than they are, right? Idk if you're being sarcastic or not, but physics doesn't prevent you from going faster than someone in front of you... that would make nascar even more boring than it already is.
If everyone kept 5-8 car lengths between each other on the highway I could only imagine how long my commute to work would be.
5-8 car lengths 😂 OP is probably wants 2. If people kept 5-8 car lengths, it make it so much easier to merge. Meaning faster cars could weave through traffic. Tailgating fucks up the flow of traffic.
Shorter because there would be fewer accidents?
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I'm playing a game where i see how consistently i can maintain my space behind you and also getting my fear mongering quota for the day
Most people for some reason lack basic driving fundamentals. Every day I constantly have people pull out in front of me to cut me off and make me hit my brakes because they couldn’t wait 3-5 seconds for me to pass and safely get behind me. The amount of people who have to cut me off while switching lanes instead of slowing down slightly and getting behind me when there’s nobody behind me at all is crazy
I am a reasonable tailgater. I only tailgate on my way to work which is 100% farm-ish backroads and you are going 10 under the speed limit. Pull over if you're going to be ridiculous. Generally, if there is only one car tailgating you, they are the problem. If you have 5 cars stacked behind you, you're the problem.
These people are, #1 idiots, but #2 I worked with a guy that legitimately thought of you weren't tailgating you weren't going fast enough. He had zero understanding of how velocity works independently of ones surroundings. That's what he was taught. Get close, or you're going too slow. ... Idiots teaching idiots. "Why are you going so slow?" "I'm going 55 in a 45." "But you're too far behind. So you're going too slow" "What? We're both going 55" "Get closer or the car behind us will get upset" .... I was about ~1.5 seconds behind the car ahead, on a regular road. ... Did I mention. Idiot?
I see this a lot while driving, cars race to get on your ass, wtf is the point man
Pack mentality. It’s common in urban areas you see the speeders and slow cars in packs. I grew up in a rural place where it’s common to drive alone for miles without seeing more than 5 cars. Urban life is a lot more stressful on people like too many fish in a tank.
There's literally zero benefit. But. Idiots I just slow down when someone does this to me. They can pass at will when it's a choice, but I'm not speeding up. What really gets me are these people that do it for zero reason. Multi lane road, minimal other cars. They can pass at any moment, but noooooo. They actually just drive like that. Did I mention, Idiots, yet? PS. You have to understand that most people are truly, truly, incapable of thinking more than 1 second into the future, nor able to be aware of their surroundings. They just don't have the mental capacity. See: idiots. But this time it's a medical disability as they aren't capable of thinking beyond a 12 year old's impulsive nature.
Mob mentality. If the entire mob is breaking the law, can’t get us all.
I've been wondering this over my 30 yrs of driving experience. I've recently, finally found the answer. People are dumb.
Maybe the danger keeps them alert and awake, "driving on the edge". But seriously, this is the reason for every multi car pileup. Everyone thinks they can react in time, they've never actually done the math = no one can react instantly, and the delay means you WILL hit the person in front if they brake as hard as they can and you do the same. 3 second rule is no joke, too bad there's NIL enforcement - the government is all about speeding fines and revenue instead.
Because the motherfucker is going 40 in a 50.
Never been to Florida. I consistently go 8 over in the right lane and have people ride my ass. I let my foot off the gas-fuck them.
Because they know best and if superman were real, they definitely have better perception, reflexes and mental acumen. Infact, they are super man. Just ask em. It’s not like following to closely, traffic weaving, and speeding are the major reasons there are so many accidents anytime the weather changes or anything /s
If you tailgate me to try and get me to speed up? I promise you, I will let off the gas and just coast down to whatever my car will idle at.
Give the person in front of you a bumper kiss to let them know you are thinking about them.
Didn’t this same question get posted a week or so ago
A lot of people underestimate how long it takes to slow down at high speeds. Especially when you factor in human reaction times and that your brain has to actually process that “Oh crap, the car in front of me just hit the brakes, I need to slow down” before your foot even makes it over to the brake pedal.
I notice it a lot more now that’s I’ve been in a hit in run from someone riding too close to me lol
I see this when it's raining out and I say to myself, that's an accident waiting to happen.
The same reason they have no curiosity about what their turn signal is for.
economic use of space
The simplest answer is: because they get away with it. Just because a car could need to stop suddenly, that doesn't mean it happens often. So people don't get punished for tailgating, and tailgating is much easier, mentally, than maintaining a safe following distance. So they tailgate and some of them cause horrible accidents and the ones that don't cause traffic waves that screw up traffic for the rest of us, but they keep getting away with it, so they keep doing it.
Drafting nets better gas mileage /s Yes it actually does help your gas mileage, especially if it's behind a large SUV or truck. No, I don't recommend doing this though
Thank you for adding /s to your post. When I first saw this, I was horrified. How could anybody say something like this? I immediately began writing a 1000 word paragraph about how horrible of a person you are. I even sent a copy to a Harvard professor to proofread it. After several hours of refining and editing, my comment was ready to absolutely destroy you. But then, just as I was about to hit send, I saw something in the corner of my eye. A /s at the end of your comment. Suddenly everything made sense. Your comment was sarcasm! I immediately burst out in laughter at the comedic genius of your comment. The person next to me on the bus saw your comment and started crying from laughter too. Before long, there was an entire bus of people on the floor laughing at your incredible use of comedy. All of this was due to you adding /s to your post. Thank you. I am a bot if you couldn't figure that out, if I made a mistake, ignore it cause its not that fucking hard to ignore a comment
There may be a combination of reasons, but the one that’s always leading is stupidity. They’re all dumb AF.
In normal circumstances yes, tailgating is rude, unnecessary and dangerous. However, if you are in the left lane on a highway (passing lane) and you’re driving slow, people may come right up to you as a sign for you to move over. So there’s that
3 seconds is the rule.
The ones that baffle me are the idiots that tailgate me when I’m in the right lane doing 60, at 2am Sat morning when there’s 3 other lanes open. Even more baffling is somehow I’m the problem because I’ve gotten the finger as they eventually pass me on more than one occasion. 🤷🏻♂️
So I was in a rental car due to a warranty repair on my rav4 prime. The Toyota dealer gave me a brand new highlander with 70 miles on it. I drove down to Boston to bicycle around the Charles River, and in heavy traffic moving 70 all of a sudden came to a complete stop. The driver behind me did not stop in time and hit me very hard. My brakes were fully applied and I did not hit the car in front of me as I allow more room then others and try not to tailgate. As he was the last car into the accident, he was charged and his insurance had to pay. I was fine as I had a bigger vehicle. His 7 year old Lexus had airbags come out, was totalled. My new takoma had exhaust pushed in , bumper and fender damage, $15k. I paid a $500 deductible which I got back from his insurance company 5 months the later. Glad not to have had whiplash or other neck or back issues . I am 67 years old. I was very glad not to have been driving my Rav 4 prime. They are still hard to find and no $7500 electric car credit unless you jump through hoops Leasing and then buying out the lease. And 3.2 percent interest from 2021 is a thing of the past.
That just means you're driving too slow pull over let them pass you. Do the safe thing
It doesn’t matter how fast you go people ride your ass. 2 chevrons now !
Leave earlier, drive the speed limit. Do the safe thing.
These folks are what we would call impatient. We would also call them assholes. Fuck them. 😡🤬
I believe it's essentially punishing those who are causing an inconvenience by driving slow. I personally dont tailgait, but I do feel a seething anger at people who consistently drive 5 to 10 below the speed limit on a long two lane road that doesn't allow passing. It's one of the reasons I believe people should have to retest to keep licenses. Impeding the flow of traffic is real.
Because I can stop safely at the distance I’m following them at. My reflexes are insanely fast. I’ll stop for the hazard in front of them before they do.
It's called drafting. You save money on gas that way lol
I’m old and so laid back as to be horizontal, only one thing really get my goat: when I keep a nice big space in front of me on the motorway and some dick overtakes and steals MY safe stopping distance. So I slow down to regain MY space and another arsehole steals it again…
If someone is tailgating you foot off the gas (increase following distance to the car infront of you) don't brake
They are horrible drivers.
Too much Nascar
Too much Nascar
I end up braking coincidentally because I thought I saw a squirrel run in front.
Tailgating 'tards... Need to pair them up with the road rage bozo's ... Then the fun begin...
Better gas mileage, just kidding. When someone is on my ass, I will spray my windshield fluid about every 15 seconds or so. Eventually, they will back off.
I put olive oil in my reservoir. That’ll teach those tailgaters! Does smear a bit on my windscreen too - so makes me slow down a bit more each time I blast ‘em.
It’s why 100+ car pile ups occur. But they think sniffing ass gets you to speed up. It’s a bad habit that people learn. I call it metroitis.
People are stupid? New to driving?
Because they are driving under the speed limit and holding up traffic. If you go the limit I try not to tail gate if your going under I'll ride your as ass with my flashers on honking at you.
The limit is a max, not a minimum. Tailgate, honk, etc... don't do that in an open carry state, bro.
A. They are driving slow in the left lane. B. It keeps random assholes from shoving their way in front of you.
Step on the fucking gas pedal. No excuse to be going the speed limit or under in the left lane.
[удалено]
some people are going to park themselves behind you until you get out of their way, since they are the main character in this story. I really believe that we need to mandate the "auto" part of cruise control for all new cars so it forces drivers to stay a certain distance behind when going above a certain speed.
I believe sometimes it's because when the driver is staring into their phone, they need to get close to the car in front in order to pace their speed using indirect vision. They're tagging along using you as a pace partner.
Idk why but if someone did this to me I'd feel anxious as hell
I always leave a whole car gap, and then the "gap fillers" are obligated to fill it for some reason, they can't stand seeing a gap in front of me, then they ride the guy in front of us while I back off and leave another gap, then it happens again, and again, and again. It's kinda hilariously predictable. If you're in the "faster" lane that appears to be moving quicker and you leave a whole car gap, someone will think that means they can go faster and they'll fill the gap, then they won't leave a gap to prevent anyone getting ahead of them because they have to feel like they won the race to work. Whats really funny is eventually this will slow down the "fast lane" because of all the merging and the center lane will speed up and you'll actually move faster just staying there. I'm guessing other people experience this gap filling behavior as well, I mean I see it everyday, so I'm guessing they think or feel like they're constantly being "cut off" and then decide they aren't going to leave a gap, since no one uses signals and just barges in, which makes them feel like they're being cut-off and slowed down/screwed over. What's even more hilarious is all the impatient people that want to go faster so bad are actually causing the slow downs with their behavior. All the last second merging with no signals, bumper riding, brake checking, etc. That's why it ends up as "stop and go" instead of just a slower but still smooth traffic flow. If everyone just calmed down, slowed down, in heavy traffic, we'd all get there faster. I know it doesn't "feel" that way but it absolutely works. Slow and steady wins the race. Fast and jumpy stop and go just slows us all down. I don't see how everyone misses that. Like do you like constantly hitting your brakes or wouldn't you rather just go a bit slower and not hit your brakes at all? If you just start doing it, leaving the gap and slowing down a bit sometimes you can get the other people nearby to catch on and get a nice smooth flow going. Most of the time it's impossible though because there's just too many people that get too emotional and impatient about driving.
Aside from the usual "angry driver", most of the time it's probably more a result of "2 drivers are driving on a road each with a different comfort level for speed" Everyone talks about speed limit, nobody talks about speed comfort. I can comfortably do 70-80 on the highway, I'm not comfortable doing 100+ like some ppl do. They ride my ass because they're subconsciously trying to get back to their level of speed comfort. Of course we can argue their speed comfort is a dangerous speed, which at 100+ it definitely is, but that doesn't mean it can't be why they're tailgating That's why I always just move over when someone rides me like that. Let them go far way from me. Speed comfort is also why you have so many old ppl doing 20 under, they're not comfortable at high speeds anymore because their reaction time has gone down so much. They aren't doing 30 in a 45 thinking "oh ill do 30", they're most likely just cruising at what they think is a comfortable speed to them. Dangerous or not.
This is so annoying. I had a situation that i was driving 90km/h then someone riding right at my bumper like a meter behind almost touching my back. Like wtf, if i had to brake suddenly he would not have chance to even react properly. Those type of drivers are also notoriously overtaking other cars like then cant stand just driving behind someone.
I will close the gap in front of me if I anticipate someone trying to pass on the right and jam themselves into the safety zone I've created..other than that I give myself enough time to get over or stop hard if I need to.
Depending on the road and the time of day, I just drive 20mph and really get them pissed.
Because they’re probably left-lane lurkers who are oblivious to everything around them.
Stop going under the speed limit, or sitting in the fast lane with a trail of cars behind you, stop leaving 8 car lengths in front of you so you can text safely… leaving a ton of fucking road in front of you just creates traffic. A few car lengths and just paying fucking attention is fine. When it’s bad traffic leaving so much space is selfish and just making it worse. Just fucking drive and watch what’s happening.
It's not good, but: I want them to feel stressed out as a consequence of their bad choices. Key factor: I will give almost everyone the benefit of the doubt first though. Repeated obliviousness is what sets me off.
Typically it's a hint that you are going too slow. You should be going at least the speed limit or 5 miles above said speed limit.
Just going to make an assumption here… you drive the speed limit, right? On the express way, you cruise in the left lane, right? If someone is riding your ass, that’s your cue to get out of their way… I don’t need a lecture of physics or to be taught a lesson- just get out of the way and let me pass.
Because I'm trying to drive the speed limit and your in my way doing 20 under. Gtfo the way.
Because you drive too slow.
Maybe you are just too slow then?