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Stop tailriding just because everyone else is doing it. Those 4+ car pileups are caused by reckless drivers riding bumper-to-bumper at 70mph.
Don't stop RIGHT behind someone. If they can't backup a little to give a truck or emergency vehicle more room to turn then you're making it harder for everybody.
I'd like to start a thread on absolutely a must do rules for any driver, to follow no matter what, as they may be a life saving principle. I'd say, those are not the ones in driver's book or taught at driving school.
Here's mine:
1. If you were the first car, NEVER rush into intersection the very moment light turns to green. Wait, check that NO ONE is trying to beat the yellow and hits in on red. I possibly had my life saved twice, by following this rule.
2. Never go between two large trucks on freeway to pass them, even if the lane between them is open.
3. Never follow behind a combination dump truck loaded with dirt/gravel/junk and NOT HAVING IT COVERED. What they are supposed to do anyway, but when was the last time you saw them do this? Thing is doing 70 on FWY and with every road bump rocks flying all over - into YOUR windshield.
4. See a speeding driver chasing every gap in FWY traffic closing on you - LET HIM PASS YOU. It's not worth it.
5. Driving on FWY at FWY speed, if you can not see headlights of the car behind you in the rear view mirror - LET THEM PASS YOU. They are riding your bumper, YOU will hit the brakes, THEY hit YOU.
How long has it been since you've been to driving school or taken a defensive driving class? All of these suggestions are usually covered, if not in the actual course or handbook, certainly in the textbook. What drivers don't realize is that some laws change and/or new laws are added every two years after the legislature meets. So that means if you've driven 40 years, there have been changes and/or additions 20 times.
I am retired so commuting is not an everyday chore of mine though I do have to make a 50 mile round trip everyday for medical reasons this month.
What I have come to hate are people who are obvious commuters as they are those who brake for no f'ing reason when approaching a green signal light and are those who brake when approaching a bridge on a freeway. Traffic is moving along at 70mph and people are hitting their brakes because they are crossing a bridge? The bridge I mention is so large you would never know it to be one unless looking at the scenery. Lots of accidents happen because of such drivers.
I have come to the conclusion commuters feel safer braking than driving at speed. It must be some kind of security blanket; "I'm stopped so I'm safe".
When coming up to a red light and your lane has less cars in it than the adjacent lane, be extra careful. People will suddenly zip out from the longer line into the shorter one so slow down as to not rear end those impatient idiots.
I am retired so commuting is not an everyday chore of mine though I do have to make a 50 mile round trip everyday for medical reasons this month.
What I have come to hate are people who are obvious commuters as they are those who brake for no f'ing reason when approaching a green signal light and are those who brake when approaching a bridge on a freeway. Traffic is moving along at 70mph and people are hitting their brakes because they are crossing a bridge? The bridge I mention is so large you would never know it to be one unless looking at the scenery. Lots of accidents happen because of such drivers.
I have come to the conclusion commuters feel safer braking than driving at speed. It must be some kind of security blanket; "I'm stopped so I'm safe".
Actually, I love the commuters. They're the ones who are all business about driving and are attempting to get to their destinations without a lot of screwing around on the roads.
I will agree with you about the bridges, though. Over and over and over I saw people cause traffic jams when they approached the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and slammed on their brakes as they were starting over it. Speed was 55 approaching the bridge and 55 going over the bridge. No reason on earth to slow down. I still think it's thanks to those wimps that we had to have a new bridge built "to relieve traffic congestion" and because of that, we now have tolls that go up every single year to pay for it.
I have one:
When the left turn arrow goes green, thous shalt not wait to talk to God, count to twenty, and consult your chart before you decide to go through it. If you're the second person behind that idiot, thou shalt not wait until he completely clears the intersection before you decide to go. Some of those lights only let 3 or 4 people through as it is. And if the first 2 people do this and I'm the 3rd person in line, thou shalt expect me to be hooked to your bumper as we drive through the light because I'm not going to wait through another signal change because you needed a whole empty forty feet to do your turn. Bonehead.
I agree with your #1 with the additional caveat that I wait until the large truck blocking my view of the cross traffic is moving before I start to go. Usually I can see the traffic before the light changes, but often some big truck will be right at the intersection blocking my view. Seen too many red light runners around town, so no way I will take that chance.
I did have one red light runner instance with 3 lanes of cross traffic before. Inside and outside lanes stopped at the red light, I had the green on the cross street and started to move. As I looked to the left before pulling out totally, a car was barreling down the center lane. I saw the passenger's face with her hands up in the air bracing for impact, which would have happened if I did not take a good look before pulling out. I would possibly not be here if I had not looked. This was in 1992 before all the airbags and such. Still to this day, I make 100% sure there are no red light runners before I pull out.
-Don't attempt to set the speed for other traffic (I'm looking at you, left lane hogs... and you know who you are)
-Avoid overlap on other vehicles when traffic permits, unless moving past the other, or vice versa. There is no reason to glue yourself at the rear 3/4 of some other vehicle and drive there for 5 miles. It's just asking for trouble.
-Use your speedometer... seriously, I wonder if people even know what it is. 78... 64... 80... 58...
-Don't freakin' tailgate. It's not about "who is at fault" if you crash, but that seems to be the extent of some peoples' critical thinking skills. Tailgating is a contributing factor in all sorts of problems. It reduces maneuvering space and reaction time, impedes visibility in many cases, and half the time it seems that it's done to attempt to "push" a line of 200 cars in front of the vehicle being tailgated. Ever see the village idiot driving 3 feet behind a truck on a 2 lane road, and darting out to see if it's safe to pass? That's just one example. Another is the intellectual who drives 3' behind the next car in smoothly flowing but heavy traffic on the highway. Every second they shift between brake and gas. Brake-gas-brake-gas-brake-gas-BRAKE. Pure genius. And, if there is another one of them behind the first, the accordion effect becomes magnified.
I haven't seen this one mentioned yet, but it clearly should be in everyone's top 3:
MAINTAIN your car! And by maintain, I mean all the way down to checking the tire pressure. For those of us that drive cars with TPMS sensors, we know to look for the dash light. However, there are literally millions of cars on the road that don't have them, and unless you are manually checking them, you'll never know that your tires are low on air.
Tires that are low on air cause you to lose more gas, but they also set you up for potential problems on the road.
The same goes for checking brake fluid, brakes, tail light bulbs,etc. A well-maintained car is a safer car, provided the driver behaves.
The one "driving" rule that I like to reinforce with my kids is "Never be in a hurry, because that's when you make bad choices behind the wheel".
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Ever see the village idiot driving 3 feet behind a truck on a 2 lane road, and darting out to see if it's safe to pass? That's just one example. Another is the intellectual who drives 3' behind the next car in smoothly flowing but heavy traffic on the highway. Every second they shift between brake and gas. Brake-gas-brake-gas-brake-gas-BRAKE. Pure genius. And, if there is another one of them behind the first, the accordion effect becomes magnified.
