# You Decide Who Gets Pitted Here **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 19, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602 "2007-06-19T16:26:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ivorybill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ivorybill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ivorybill)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/21 "2007-06-20T14:41:44Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] When I took a driver’s education class (a useful thing in California to avoid points going on your driving record after a moving violation), the instructor advised us to get out of the way when someone in front of you slams on the brakes, especially if you don’t think you can stop in time. [/QUOTE] If I recall correctly, **TGBM** would have had time to stop. I didn’t apply the brake continuously when I first saw the old man headed into the street, but rather pumped the pedal a bit to flash the lights. When it became obvious that I was going to have to stop, I did hold the pedal down. There were several car lengths between me and **TGBM** , but his changing to the far left lane put him very close to **TYLWTP** and then she kept closing the gap. ---
**Author:** ![Ivorybill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ivorybill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ivorybill)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/22 "2007-06-20T14:48:30Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] Pit the OP for signalling TGBM. He should have let him mow the old man. Put one in jail, the other six feet under. Maybe even get TYLWTP to rear end TGBM and get both in the ER. [/QUOTE] Ahh.. the old thin out the herd approach. A cold hard dose of reality for all invovled. Simple and efficient, but hard on the heartstrings. ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/23 "2007-06-20T18:25:18Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] When I took a driver’s education class (a useful thing in California to avoid points going on your driving record after a moving violation), the instructor advised us to get out of the way when someone in front of you slams on the brakes, especially if you don’t think you can stop in time. [/QUOTE] Maybe they should have taught you not to follow the car in front of you so close that you can’t stop in time and have to whip around that vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/24 "2007-06-20T18:46:35Z")
According to the Vatican’s newly-issued [Ten Commandments of the Road](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_road_rage), everyone involved was at fault. "The document also warns that driving can bring out “primitive” behaviour in motorists, including “cursing, blasphemy, loss of sense of responsibility”. It says that automobiles can be “an occasion of sin” - particularly when they are used for dangerous overtaking or for prostitution." I don’t recall prostitution being mentioned in the OP, but if it was a factor, that’s doubly sinful. The Vatican’s teachings suggest that **Ivorybill** should get everyone involved in the incident to meet so that the offenders can apologize and gain forgiveness. Maybe over cafe o lait and beignets. I also like the part of the Vatican’s statement where they suggest the driver (and passengers) should repeat the rosary while driving. Probably highly reassuring to any non-Catholics in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Ivorybill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ivorybill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ivorybill)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/25 "2007-06-20T18:50:14Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] The Vatican’s teachings suggest that **Ivorybill** should get everyone involved in the incident to meet so that the offenders can apologize and gain forgiveness. Maybe over cafe o lait and beignets. [/QUOTE] Hmmm… not that New Orleanians need an excuse to go eat fried dough with powdered sugar, but it doesn’t sound like a bad idea. The odds of my getting everyone together are rather low, so maybe I should just take my wife and kids to Cafe Du Monde instead. That, or pit the pope. Maybe both. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/26 "2007-06-20T22:39:52Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] I also like the part of the Vatican’s statement where they suggest the driver (and passengers) should repeat the rosary while driving. Probably highly reassuring to any non-Catholics in the car. [/QUOTE] I can’t wait to see the stats on accident incidence in the days of sorrowful mysteries vs the days of joyful mysteries. I am guessing luminous mysteries for night driving, right? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/27 "2007-06-20T23:22:22Z")
[QUOTE=Kokopilau] Maybe they should have taught you not to follow the car in front of you so close that you can’t stop in time and have to whip around that vehicle. [/QUOTE] Perhaps I should have specified that I’m in _Southern_ California, the great LA area, we of the many freeways and traffic jams. If I didn’t drive too close to the vehicle in front of me, someone would just slip in between us and eventually I would have to going backwards just to leave enough room. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/28 "2007-06-20T23:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=Ivorybill] … **The Guy Behind Me** : He saw me start slowing and then he saw me hit my brakes rather hard and he decided to pull out and pass me on the left. Into the lane where the old man was heading. Thankfully I had my window down and was able to stick my arm out and wave frantically. **TGBM** had to really lean on his brakes and he did squeal his tires… [/QUOTE] With SDMB culture the way it is, you’re lucky no one asked if you were driving an SUV and the guy behind you a sedan. Then your thread would’ve become a hijack on how difficult it is to see over or thru an imposing truck driving in front of a ‘normal sized’ vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Ivorybill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ivorybill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ivorybill)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/29 "2007-06-21T03:34:40Z")
[QUOTE=JohnBckWLD] With SDMB culture the way it is, you’re lucky no one asked if you were driving an SUV and the guy behind you a sedan. Then your thread would’ve become a hijack on how difficult it is to see over or thru an imposing truck driving in front of a ‘normal sized’ vehicle. [/QUOTE] I drive a ragged-out 1992 Ford F-150 shortbed pickup truck with a really homely camper shell. I’d run through a whole list of adjectives, starting with ‘ugly’ and going through ‘decrepit’ before I’d hit upon ‘imposing’. **TGBM** was driving something like a Subaru Forester. **TYLWTP** was in some mid-sized Japanese hatchback with bike racks on top. I’ll grant that **TGBM** couldn’t see ahead of my white-trash pickup, but once he changed lanes it became a whole 'nother story. **TYLWTP** was in a similar-sized vehicle as **TGBM** , but she couldn’t see ahead of **TGBM** either, and didn’t see the old man until he made it to the median. As such, I send a hypothetical raspberry in the general direction of the heretofore absent anti-SUV reactionaries. I’m off tomorrow for two days of business travel and won’t have access to the SDMB. Enjoy the rest of the week. ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/30 "2007-06-21T12:34:28Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Perhaps I should have specified that I’m in _Southern_ California, the great LA area, we of the many freeways and traffic jams. If I didn’t drive too close to the vehicle in front of me, someone would just slip in between us and eventually I would have to going backwards just to leave enough room. [/QUOTE] So, you can’t leave a gap between cars because someone will slip into that space with their car, but somehow you won’t sideswipe the car in the lane next to you because there will magically be a gap when you need to make a split-second lane change to avoid slamming into the car in front of you? Wow, SoCal sure has some interesting traffic patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/31 "2007-06-21T15:15:35Z")
[QUOTE=Kokopilau] So, you can’t leave a gap between cars because someone will slip into that space with their car, but somehow you won’t sideswipe the car in the lane next to you because there will magically be a gap when you need to make a split-second lane change to avoid slamming into the car in front of you? [/QUOTE] Yes, it’s very interesting down here. The lane you are in is always filled bumper-to-bumper with slow-moving surly drivers, while in the lanes on either side people are sailing merrily along with big smiles on their face. Strangely enough, as soon as you change lanes, the process repeats itself. Any Southern Californian can attest to this phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/32 "2007-06-21T16:22:57Z")
The proper people to Pit are those self-absorbed drivers who are so damned determined to get where they’re going that it never occurs to them to think, “Hmmm. I wonder if there is a _reason_ the jerk in front of me is slowing down?” ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/33 "2007-06-21T17:20:56Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Yes, it’s very interesting down here. The lane you are in is always filled bumper-to-bumper with slow-moving surly drivers, while in the lanes on either side people are sailing merrily along with big smiles on their face. Strangely enough, as soon as you change lanes, the process repeats itself. Any Southern Californian can attest to this phenomenon. [/QUOTE] Ah, the “Office Space” phenomenon. Edit: Oh, and for the record, I wan’t snarking at you, but at the “driving instructor” who would tell students to do something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/34 "2007-06-21T18:59:49Z")
Well, his advice made sense to me. Of course you don’t want to be in the position of being so close to someone that you are going to hit them. But if you are driving at high speed and realize you’re not going to stop in time before hitting an obstacle, you should try to avoid it. You shouldn’t just keep on going at 100 miles an hour, of course, but if you can slow down _and_ get out of the way it would be to your benefit to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Kokopilau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Kokopilau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kokopilau)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/35 "2007-06-21T19:09:55Z")
[QUOTE=Arnold Winkelried] Well, his advice made sense to me. Of course you don’t want to be in the position of being so close to someone that you are going to hit them. But if you are driving at high speed and realize you’re not going to stop in time before hitting an obstacle, you should try to avoid it. You shouldn’t just keep on going at 100 miles an hour, of course, but if you can slow down _and_ get out of the way it would be to your benefit to do so. [/QUOTE] Well, as I said, if traffic is so tightly-packed that it’s impossible to keep a proper distance, banking on there being an open lane to swerve into is not exactly the best thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/36 "2007-06-21T19:39:48Z")
You should take a quick look first, of course. The idea is that if you see an obstacle in front of you, you shouldn’t just slam and the brakes and hope you can stop - also see if you can take evasive action. I was in a situation once where someone pulled out right in front of me from a driveway and I slammed on the brakes but tapped their car. If I had braked _and_ changed lanes I wouldn’t have hit the car. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/37 "2007-06-21T19:49:12Z")
Not only is the traffic in Cali (near LA) tightly packed, there’s one more aspect Arnold is not mentioning. That being that even when they’re going 50 mph they are still that tightly packed. So you have this whole conglomeration of cars all going the same speed with hardly any room between them. No one slows down. When changing lanes people speed up. They don’t signal because that might watn someone. And being in the far left lane and wanting to take the exit is totally acceptable. Why, just race across four lanes of traffic! I live in NY, I’ve seen plenty of NYC drivers, I even liked DisneyLand, but LA traffic scared the bejesus out of me! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602/38 "2007-06-22T18:31:06Z")
Only 50 mph? must have been a slow traffic day. 80 is the way to go, baby! When I first moved here with my college junker car with bad brakesI was terrified to get on those 5-lane freeways. Now I zoom along with everyone else and I don’t even think about it anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-decide-who-gets-pitted-here/408602.md?page=1)