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Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,529,163 times
Reputation: 2038
Quote:
Originally Posted by Delahanty
Who's saying that a driver "has a right" to tailgate? What we ARE saying is that drivers don't belong in the left lane on a highway if they're not going the speed limit.
Clearly, you didn't bother looking at the video in the post above yours (which was also on GMA this morning). Watch the idiot tailgater approach the car in front of him and ride the bumper. Then watch the passive-aggressive idiot "brake check" the driver, who then went into the median. Notice, also, how quickly that driver put on his turn signal and got in the right lane where s/he belonged.
The actions of BOTH irresponsible drivers could have resulted in the injury or death of innocent drivers and passengers that day.
I actually agree, but you misread what I wrote.
If they're going at least the speed limit, they, technically, even if it's not too smart,
can be in the left lane all they want to.
Avoid the freeways in Seattle during the congested times, for one thing. There are old arterials in Seattle from the days before the big freeways were built, that work great for getting around without a lot of traffic. Someone had a thread on here after I first joined, that mapped some of those out.
I've noticed that some people tailgate by accident. They're not paying attention to what's going on in front of them, so if you merge into their lane far enough ahead of them, they won't even notice you're there until they're about to hit you, then they suddenly drop back.
There's a lot of inattentive behavior out there; it's not all due to aggressive driving. Some of it is just people not paying attention, or making decisions at the last minute to make a turn or change lanes, so it looks like they cut you off, but they're just trying to get to their exit lane before they miss it.
I understand that in some cities, the traffic is so bad that you just about have to tailgate in order to keep from getting cut off.
In my area, it's not like that. If you tailgate, you're just an *****. We tend to have more of an issue with people getting into left turning lanes to cut people off in the right lane.
Location: Moose Jaw, in between the Moose's butt and nose.
5,152 posts, read 8,529,163 times
Reputation: 2038
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewbiePoster
Avoid the freeways in Seattle during the congested times, for one thing. There are old arterials in Seattle from the days before the big freeways were built, that work great for getting around without a lot of traffic. Someone had a thread on here after I first joined, that mapped some of those out.
I've noticed that some people tailgate by accident. They're not paying attention to what's going on in front of them, so if you merge into their lane far enough ahead of them, they won't even notice you're there until they're about to hit you, then they suddenly drop back.
There's a lot of inattentive behavior out there; it's not all due to aggressive driving. Some of it is just people not paying attention, or making decisions at the last minute to make a turn or change lanes, so it looks like they cut you off, but they're just trying to get to their exit lane before they miss it.
A lot of it comes down to IMO, a lot of people not even knowing what tailgating is, surprised that there aren't PSA announcements to remind people again about the at least 3 seconds following distance above 40 MPH.
They don't even know how to figure that out, what is 3 seconds (some folks say it should be 4, that could be unrealistic however, without other cars just taking it anyway).
I've heard that if you cannot see the licence plate of the car behind you in your rear view inside mirror, then the car behind is way too close.
I know what the unofficial rule is, but if someone is legally going at the speed limit or above, even if the left lane, technically, you don't have a right to ride their bumper. While some cops give tickets for impeding the flow of traffic, I've never have heard of a ticket being written for doing that, when the driver was driving at the speed limit or above.
Don't try it on the desert highways. CHP is notorious for writing impeding traffic tickets for left lane campers.
Left lane camping is just as illegal as tailgating. No matter the speed either. It forces other drivers driving illegally to pass on the right.
Is karma great, or what? He got the ticket, he gets an at-fault accident, and he will get to pay increased insurance premiums for his stupidity.
Hopefully some of those who defend this type of idiocy, will eventually also be cured of their bad driving habits the same way.
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