I'm not projecting anything, you TOLD US how you drive. You pull up close behind people and wait to pass or for them to pull over. You said so.You are making a lot of assumptions and are projecting your rage and insecurities onto others. You have no idea how good or bad I drive or how good or bad others drive especially the ones riding the breaks and are merely making a fool out of your self. Do me a favour please, and next time I pull behind you call the cops, claiming the above and see what they say to you and what happens to you
Highway driving peeves
- Thread starter basketcase
- Start date
Drive on the 401 at Islington/Kipling between 8-9am and you'll see how close you get to other cars, and yes there are the ones breaking like crazy and causing a nightmare for the rest. This is normal rush hour driving, like water path of least resistance. If you can't keep the gap closed, people will just cut in front of you one after the next.
Obviously when it is free flowing there is no need to drive close and I don't like to push if there is no reason, sometimes it is necessary in free flow but not common, and I do put my arm up if I cut somebody.
Just like with anything give and show respect. It is not personal and treat other drivers how you would like to be treated. It does not bother me if somebody is on my ass for a second or two until they get into position to get where they need to go.
Also, I never said I wait for them to pull over. You have me confused with somebody else. I would not disrespect other drivers like that. I repeat again sometimes one lane is moving different from other lanes and you need to get close close to safely merge without affecting the other lanes flow, especially in tight situations or if you are moving over multiple lanes
Don't think so. I otherwise drive courteous on the road. I'm not going to let someone acting like an asshole keep me from making my exit or from merging at a safe speed. It's not like I'm one of those morons who gets one car ahead by making ten lane changes.
Yes it is. But I thought you also brake check them? Which clearly isn't the right response.
Tailgating on a single-lane highway is something I can't understand at all. But tailgating in the left lane of the freeway is something I do understand. Keeping a 3 second gap in the latter case just invites multiple cars in front of you which, over time, exponentially pushes you back.
I've driven close to three quarters of a million kilometers in my life with a clean record. And I completely disagree that left lane hogs are low on the list of serious offenses. They create massive potential of dangerous driving. The cars behind them get bunched up. After awhile, the drivers behind get frustrated and may do something they otherwise would not have. You can say that's not your fault, but that's completely ignoring your role.
I have a question for the collective wisdom that is the TERB board. On the 401, do you consider the left lane of the collector lanes to be a passing lane? Yesterday there was a guy who was doing 80 in the left collector lane, with no one in front of him. I ended up passing him in the centre lane.
Maybe this is the same question, but with the HOV lane does the lane next to it become the passing lane?
Yes to both, though there's some leniency on the left lane of the collector for those merging with the express lanes.
Too bad you're so easily annoyed by imperfect behaviours; it must make life harsh.
But on the general topic of safe driving: A flash of red lights in front of you is not a reason to brake; it is a signal to Be Alert!
If you truly are not following too close you'll have ample time and space to adjust your speed to keep safely back from the guy in front, when you actually see and know that he is slowing down. Braking merely because you "anticipate" something you haven't yet seen, and which may not even be there — that is the reason the tailgaters are here complaining about brake-lights isn't it? — is bad driving. And as has been pointed out, it just repeats the problem conduct for the guy behind you. Again, if you must take action in anticipation of what you haven't seen, and cannot see, you are too close. Alert the guy following you too closely, and drop back to a safer distance.
And remember the Defensive Driving Rule that says you should be looking a couple of cars ahead of the guy in front. If there's really something to brake for, you should know before he does, you being such a good driver and him being so bad and all.
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PS: Please don't
People often fail to realize how much it fucks things up when you unnecessarily break.
"where the braking done by a single car often triggers an accordion-like wave of braking behind it, causing drivers to halt and thus pile up. If drivers just slowed down in the first place and maintained proper following distances, traffic would keep moving (albeit slowly, but it would keep moving). Indeed, you can single-handedly prevent such a traffic backup just by not braking unnecessarily." http://www.drivingintherealworld.co...-gas-and-prevent-traffic-jams-dont-brake.html
I have agree with some of the statement above. Yes, maintaining a proper following distance in the "ideal" world would optimize the use of the existing lanes. However, once you exceed a capacity of that highway everything jams up and starts to behave like fluid water with path of least resistance and the weak drivers get exploited causing them to break in panic and causing a chain reaction being them. What we need to keep in mind is the people dynamics and how they drive at different conditions. IMO we need to be adaptable and change to different ever changing driving conditions.
IMHO, I believe american drivers on average suck and are tentative as babies in face of extreme quick conditions. Their reaction times suck and their ability to scan everything around them and adjust is barely evident. This is on average and yes there are some great drivers, a lot better then I could ever be. In north america I consider myself an above average driver. I Europe I am impressed with people a driving ability and consider myself a below average drive. I am impressed how quickly they can exploit my weakness and truly behave fluid.
If you think you are a good driver drive the European highways, particularly the autobhan and you will see how much you suck with your north american driving habits and how quickly you cause pile ups behind you and angry drivers. Many highways there are posted 130 kph with average driving speeds between 150-160kph. Your preception reaction time needs to be there to percieve quickly what is going on and what you need to do. Not putting anynody down, just being real. I was 8 years old when I started driving tracktors, 12 when I drove me first car, and 13 motorcycles just because I grew up in a country where that was not frowned down upon like here. This helped me become a confident driver, and I never have a complaint from passengers.
My point is you need to be an adaptable driver, know when to be aggressive, know when to be calm, know how to read traffic conditions and know when you ride behind unstable tentative drivers and do your best not to make it worse for them and not increase their anxiety levels particularly with the elderly. Just pass them as quickly as you encounter those types and try not to push, honk or show them the out of townie salute.
There are extremes in both ends, just be adapatabe to the real world driving, follow the law, and understand a bit about fluid concepts and peoples driving habits and you will be OK. Easy peasy
"where the braking done by a single car often triggers an accordion-like wave of braking behind it, causing drivers to halt and thus pile up. If drivers just slowed down in the first place and maintained proper following distances, traffic would keep moving (albeit slowly, but it would keep moving). Indeed, you can single-handedly prevent such a traffic backup just by not braking unnecessarily." http://www.drivingintherealworld.co...-gas-and-prevent-traffic-jams-dont-brake.html
I have agree with some of the statement above. Yes, maintaining a proper following distance in the "ideal" world would optimize the use of the existing lanes. However, once you exceed a capacity of that highway everything jams up and starts to behave like fluid water with path of least resistance and the weak drivers get exploited causing them to break in panic and causing a chain reaction being them. What we need to keep in mind is the people dynamics and how they drive at different conditions. IMO we need to be adaptable and change to different ever changing driving conditions.
IMHO, I believe american drivers on average suck and are tentative as babies in face of extreme quick conditions. Their reaction times suck and their ability to scan everything around them and adjust is barely evident. This is on average and yes there are some great drivers, a lot better then I could ever be. In north america I consider myself an above average driver. I Europe I am impressed with people a driving ability and consider myself a below average drive. I am impressed how quickly they can exploit my weakness and truly behave fluid.
If you think you are a good driver drive the European highways, particularly the autobhan and you will see how much you suck with your north american driving habits and how quickly you cause pile ups behind you and angry drivers. Many highways there are posted 130 kph with average driving speeds between 150-160kph. Your preception reaction time needs to be there to percieve quickly what is going on and what you need to do. Not putting anynody down, just being real. I was 8 years old when I started driving tracktors, 12 when I drove me first car, and 13 motorcycles just because I grew up in a country where that was not frowned down upon like here. This helped me become a confident driver, and I never have a complaint from passengers.
My point is you need to be an adaptable driver, know when to be aggressive, know when to be calm, know how to read traffic conditions and know when you ride behind unstable tentative drivers and do your best not to make it worse for them and not increase their anxiety levels particularly with the elderly. Just pass them as quickly as you encounter those types and try not to push, honk or show them the out of townie salute.
There are extremes in both ends, just be adapatabe to the real world driving, follow the law, and understand a bit about fluid concepts and peoples driving habits and you will be OK. Easy peasy
Tapping the brake light isn't brake checking. Leaving less than three seconds in the left lane because you think it is the left lane, even though the car in front of you had nowhere to go, is stupidity and as mentioned above is why we have so many multi car pileups.
Once the highway reaches a certain capacity there is no more passing lane as there is no way to go faster.
Proactive driving is bad driving? You learn something every day.
Agreed. That's when aggressive drivers are troublesome when they make an insane amount of lane changes to gain a single spot in a line-up stretching beyond eyesight.
I learned that you call braking for stuff, "…you haven't yet seen, and which may not even be there", 'proactive driving'.Proactive driving is bad driving? You learn something every day.oldjones said:
Who'da guessed!
I see brake lights. Being proactive means assuming it's for a reason and not arbitrary. It's the same reason I slow down when I see a deer in the ditch at the side of the road: not because it's currently posing a danger, but because the potential exists.
And, as others have pointed out, such unnecessary braking for for 'stuff you haven't seen and may not even be there' does you no good and fucks up those following you, if they too are prone to drive so close that they have no room to assess things and must brake when you do.
Unlike Bambi standing in the ditch, the guy who has only tapped his brakes is no danger to you unless you are too close, the safe distance you're supposed to be following at will give you lots of time to tell whether he's merely slowing gradually, or in a panic because Bambi jumped. Either way, you brake when there's a reason, not just when he flicked his lights to let you know something's up.
Being proactive should mean you assume Front Guy and Following Guy need you to give them both room and warnings. Not that you let guys like them decide when you should brake.
