I was taking a leisurely drive down a 4 lane section of Interstate in very light traffic.
I was in lane 3, about 60 mph (yeah, I’m old).
Along comes, in lane 1, approx 65-70
car with two women, both in front. They have their heads turned towards each other, talking and talking, completely oblivious to:
Single occupant car. 5 FEET behind them.
Who do you bust - the idiot who is too involved in conversation to notice anything, or the tailgater who could not possibly avoid collision should the first driver glance in mirror, get spooked and do the usual stunt of hitting the brakes?
Me? I took my foot off the gas and dropped into lane 4 - I don’t want to be near this disaster-in-the-making.
At the risk of justifying tailgating (which I don’t - just pass safely and be on your way!), it’s my experience that the tailgater is much more aware of the situation around him/her, including traffic in other lanes, than the oblivious driver ahead, puttering along in the wrong lane and involved in everything but driving.
So while a cop, seeing this might issue a ticket to the tailgater for hazardous driving, I think it’s probably the car in front of him that is the bigger hazard on the road.
But objectively speaking, they are both wrong to varying degrees.
That’s what I do. Many “road boulders” sit in the #1 lane and don’t notice a faster car (me!) approaching from behind. They stay in lane 1.
I pass on the right frequently, although it’s not the best practice.
Sometimes I do “the European thing” here in the US and flash my brights as a request for them to move right. I see that as a request, but I suspect many American drivers think that is being rude.
For this reason, I love driving in Germany! They’re much stricter at following this rule of the road.
Why (wrongly) assume we all are not calm? Just move over and don’t be an impediment to others. It is the courteous thing to do.
I am calm when I drive slightly faster than traffic. I’m also aware of what’s behind me, regularly scanning my mirrors. If someone is coming up behind me, I move right. The Golden Rule, and all that.
Well, I am glad you are calm. But I am pretty sure a buttload of them aren’t.
To be honest I was more thinking of the there is only one lane tailgaters. Dude, the speed limit is fucking 55. You should thank your lucky stars I am going anything over that in the first place. I’m not risking a ticket so you late ass can get to where its going.
Then again, there is the more than one lane tailgating asshole. The kind where somebody in the right lane is going slow. Often a semi or a train of vehicles. Somebody in the left lane is going a bit faster and is obviosly going to pass them at some point.
Keep off that persons ass till they actually pass.
And for that matter actually give them a few seconds to GET back to the right before you pull a frogger move and dart around them to the right the moment they get past the slower folks they were passing on the right.
If there are four lanes, only three cars on the road and someone is tailgating, that person needs to be pulled from their car and beaten with sticks. Then be forced to watch while their car is crushed into a cube and deposited on the side of the road. Then told they have one hour to remove their cube.
Oblivious driving is problematic, but not so much when there’s no one on the roads. Being that close to one of the only other cars on the road with TWO open lanes with which to pass them is criminally stupid.
Me too, and that’s why I worded it like I did. But to other readers here, please don’t assume that if I’m (or anyone is) driving faster than you, that I’m (they’re) frantic or not calm.
The following logic applies to virtually every driver on the road: we each have a speed we’re each comfortable with, and that speed is not the same for all. If you come up behind a slower driver in any passing lane who is going uncomfortably slow for you, wouldn’t you eventually wish them to move over and safely let you by so you can resume your comfortable speed? Therefore, please do the same for faster cars behind you on multi-lane freeways.
I say that it applies to virtually every driver, in the sense that it applies to all except for exactly two drivers (yes, two and only two): all drivers except for the slowest and the fastest driver on the road at that time. The slowest because he’s not going to pass anybody anyway, and the fastest because nobody is going to approach him from behind because nobody is going faster than him.
Yes, with one lane, then back the fuck off and slow the fuck down. Pass when safe. If you’re going to tailgate me in this situation when I am driving the speed limit, then I’m going to slow down. If you continue to tailgate me, I’ll go even slower. And I’ll be totally calm while doing so. It’s the safe thing to do.
Agreed, however, let me add that it is very helpful for the car in front to use their turn signal so the car behind knows their intention. Otherwise, how is the car behind to know what the car in front intends to do?
Not saying YOU do this/that, but should I put on the right turn signal once I am past the group on the right or before?
Because, trust me, I’ve had plenty of folks behind me that have not given me the chance to get the signal on. And putting it on BEFORE I pass the group seems silly at best, most likely technically wrong, and at worst actually dangerous.
And for that matter, me pulling over the instant I get past the group on the right is the reverse/converse of tailgating.
Maybe YOU don’t need to slow down or calm down but there sure as heck are some people that do.
Bill, I suggest turning on the signal when next to (not beyond, as in just-passed) the last car in the group I’m passing and before there’s any sliver of space the car behind me can even think of squeezing through.
This seems to work well enough (no 100% guarantee, mind you), even when the vehicle behind me is a motorcycle who’s itching to pass and can split lanes at 70mph like some of them bung holes do. (And I’m a motorcycle rider)
Regarding this aspect, no I do not immediately move over and cut off the vehicle I’ve just passed. With my signal on, I leave reasonably safe space before I move over. If the faster car behind me squeezes into that space, then he is the one who created the unsafe situation after I have signaled my intent.
If I’m the faster car coming up from behind, I take note of that turn signal. If it comes on as he’s passing slower car(s), I know what he intends to do, I know he’s likely aware of me behind him, and I wait until he’s moved over. All without me tailgating him. Or even doing that “European flash-to-pass” thing.
I don’t like tailgating. It blocks my view to the front. I don’t like tailgaters. They’re idiots. As I told my kids often while raising them, “There’s no limit to stupid in this world.”
Got run to Walmart now (gawd help me), but how long are you going to wait for me to get past the group on the right before you wonder why I am slow getting over. Because if the group is doing say 70, and I’m doing 75 its gonna take a bit before I am far enough ahead of the vehicle I passed to not pull a reverse tailgating move.
No time to do the math on how many seconds that is.
Off to slow down traffic throughout my town now
And obviously there is the you you who probably behaves okay and the impatient frogger driver who doesnt.
