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I don't brake check anyone, I value my cars too much to risk someone rear ending me.
Most of the time, I don't tailgate either. Most of the time, there's someone in front of whoever is in front of me, so there's no point. The only time I will tailgate is if someone is holding up traffic and there is no one in front of them and they should be speeding up or moving over.
i live in a metropolitan area, during my daily commute, i see drivers drive bumper to bumper all the time and i kinda do the same thing. Occasionally, if i think the driver in front of me is driving too slow, and i cannot pass that driver from other lanes, i will tend to follow the car a little bit closer intentionally or unintentionally.
I don't think what am I doing is anything malicious or rude, basically, it is just a way to let the driver in the front know I feel like you are driving too slow, either drive faster or switch to the right lane.
Once in a while, i get brake checked because the driver in front of me felt like i was following too closely. Is brake checking someone really necessary? Plus, can you really prevent the driver behind you to stop following you too closely by brake checking? the driver in the front might think it is dangerous to tailgate, but is it safe to brake check someone? when you are driving over 70mph on the interstate and you decide to brake check the driver behind you, if the driver behind you reacts a sec or two late, who knows what will happen next.
I have been driving for a long long time now, there were times that the car behind me was following me extremely close, if i really felt uncomfortable about the situation, i simply drove a bit faster and switched to the right lane when i found a spot, let the car behind me passed by and switched back to the left lane. After all, who am I to tell the driver behind me you are driving too fast, it is dangerous.
a lot of idiots follow too close. unfortunately it sounds like you may be in that group. if the driver in front of you locked them up would you be able to stop without hitting them? if not you are too close! back off.
to answer your question, it is just as idiotic to brake-check. if someone is following to close to you, slow down. speeding up is not improving the situation.
if someone is following to close to you, slow down. speeding up is not improving the situation.
It will if you are in a McClaren and the road is clear. Just speed up for a few seconds and leave the taitgator a few miles behind you. Then he cannot tailgate.
i live in a metropolitan area, during my daily commute, i see drivers drive bumper to bumper all the time and i kinda do the same thing. Occasionally, if i think the driver in front of me is driving too slow, and i cannot pass that driver from other lanes, i will tend to follow the car a little bit closer intentionally or unintentionally. I don't think what am I doing is anything malicious or rude, basically, it is just a way to let the driver in the front know I feel like you are driving too slow, either drive faster or switch to the right lane.
Once in a while, i get brake checked because the driver in front of me felt like i was following too closely. Is brake checking someone really necessary? Plus, can you really prevent the driver behind you to stop following you too closely by brake checking? the driver in the front might think it is dangerous to tailgate, but is it safe to brake check someone? when you are driving over 70mph on the interstate and you decide to brake check the driver behind you, if the driver behind you reacts a sec or two late, who knows what will happen next.
I have been driving for a long long time now, there were times that the car behind me was following me extremely close, if i really felt uncomfortable about the situation, i simply drove a bit faster and switched to the right lane when i found a spot, let the car behind me passed by and switched back to the left lane. After all, who am I to tell the driver behind me you are driving too fast, it is dangerous.
Maybe you alone don't feel your actions constitute malice, but the person you are tailgaiting may feel differently, especially if they are having a bad day or are someone who is emotionally unstable. You have no idea how someone will respond.
Given today's violent climate and the possibility that the person in front of you could have a gun or be prone to act irrationally, it's best not to, IMO.
Don't get me wrong..It's frustrating to be behind a slow driver, but wouldn't you rather get to your destination safely than possibly not at all?
Depending on where you are in the country, getting into a car these days is almost like Russian roulette.
a lot of idiots follow too close. unfortunately it sounds like you may be in that group. if the driver in front of you locked them up would you be able to stop without hitting them? if not you are too close! back off.
to answer your question, it is just as idiotic to brake-check. if someone is following to close to you, slow down. speeding up is not improving the situation.
Exactly. Speeding up simply encourages the tailgater (who is, IF this is in the left lane, trying to enforce the law by tailgating which is itself illegal) who will speed up and still be on your bumper.
Just know that this usually leads to road rage or sets up a bad accident waiting to happen. Have you seen what people are willing to do during road rage these days? If you want to be on the news one of these days then continue doing what you're doing.
<>is it safe to brake check someone? when you are driving over 70mph on the interstate and you decide to brake check the driver behind you, if the driver behind you reacts a sec or two late, who knows what will happen next. <>
NO.
So many things scary here . . .
Brake checking is a fine way to start a chain reaction crash in heavy traffic. Without going into details of how brakes work, each driver in a chain has significantly less time to avoid the inevitable collision(s). It is not measured in seconds, it's milliseconds. 70 MPH = 102 FPS. Human reaction time once you realize something is wrong is 1/10 second. You brakes need another 2/10 to begin to slow the car. 3/10 seconds = 30 feet. The car with the brakes already applied has slowed maybe 10 MPH and may already be 10 feet closer to you. Braking distance from 70 MPH is often 200 feet. Multi car crash. Boom.
Tapping your brakes just pi$$es off the guy behind you and teaches nothing.
Your discussion of hanging out in the left lane is the justification used by lots of people. In truth if you are not passing slow cars to your right you should not be in the left lane. And yes, I have lots of road time in the Philly to Baltimore to DC area and I know how difficult this is to do, even with 4-5 lanes to work with.
My approach to getting tailgaters off my a$$ used to be to find a clear patch and swerve violently off to the right, as if a deer or some debris was on the road. Mrs Crash made me stop that. Instead I use the dedicated left turn lanes common on our roads around here at subdivisions, and pull gently to the left and let them by.
I'll tell you what has changed my attitude about driving is watching dash cam video on youtube. Most of it is from Russia, but more and more from USA sources and it is terrifying. Search for "car crash USA" "A lot of damage is self inflicted."
We have had three cases in our area of people getting shot in road rage incidents. One of the drivers was a repeat offender, known to the sheriff, and was arrested based on a description of the actions and the car.
Another one over the weekend resulted in a woman being wounded by an irate "driver of a BMW" who has yet to be apprehended.
Wasn't a young girl shot over improper merging last summer? https://newsone.com/3722739/bianca-n...age-incident/1
So yes, people get shot by angry people for being stupid on the road. But they do call it "road rage" for a reason. No thinking involved, just reaction.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 11-16-2017 at 08:56 AM..
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