I hate tailgaters

[phillyk]

2 hours ago, Kalnoky said:

They are proposing a new law here in Oregon which would make "camping" in the left lane illegal, and I'm in favor of it. If you are not passing, then please get over. Pretty simple.

On the other hand, I feel glee knowing that a* in the median probably peed his pants. I mean, I'm glad nobody got hurt and I don't condone the methodology, but I do feel glee. 

For 5 years now I have driven a very similar highway to work, about 22 miles each way. I have seen some spectacular accidents and gruesome deaths; things I wish I could unsee. One was so gory the first cops to arrive tried desperately (in vain) to form a barrier around the bodies, kind of like a free kick in soccer. There was a pregnant woman among the deceased and I will never forget it. 

Aggressive driving and impatience was at the root cause of every traffic fatality I have witnessed.    

 

  

We already have that in WA.  If you are going slow (as in slower than everyone else) in the left lane and there are cars behind you lining up and you can move right but don't, a cop can and will pull you over.  It's been done quite a bit already.

[JonMA1]

16 hours ago, phillyk said:

We already have that in WA.  If you are going slow (as in slower than everyone else) in the left lane and there are cars behind you lining up and you can move right but don't, a cop can and will pull you over.  It's been done quite a bit already.

I've always thought it was the law in every state. Even without the "Keep Right Except to Pass" signs, it should be common knowledge. I don't think it applies to the OP video however.

A very large percentage of drivers on the road drive safely. We tend to remember those who have poor driving skills or are aggressive to the point of endangering others.

[dennyjones]

[colin007]

Unfortunately, drivers like this idiot are everywhere. Just oblivious.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, colin007 said:

Unfortunately, drivers like this idiot are everywhere. Just oblivious.

Yeah, total moron, I simply think in the case of the OP that the tailgater was completely at fault. If you don't have the skills to tailgate, you're an idiot to do so. The accident was completely the tailgaters fault.

It should also be illegal to stay in the left lane if there are cars piling up behind you. We fixed that here in CA by allowing people to pass on the right.

 

22 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

I don't remember a single post in this thread that excuses the tailgater, everyone agrees that he was in the wrong, that he created a dangerous situation.  The differences of opinion seem to come with regard to the lead driver, and whether his action (stepping on the brake pedal) had anything to do with the tailgater losing control, thus putting a significant number of other people in more peril than they already were in.  You would give him a pass, I think he bears at least a little responsibility.  I'm not trying to argue the point any more, I think that's been done to death.  I'm merely trying to identify where the disagreement comes from.

I agree that the moron in the lead car should not have:

a) been in the left lane and

b) not have stepped on the brake first.

I can't think of a better example, but tailgating is like a face to face conflict where you start by shoving someone. The lead car's action to brake check can be seen as blocking the shove. "Stand your ground" so to speak. If the person doing the shoving then falls flat on his face, then that's like the accident he had. Was the person blocking wrong to do so?

Remember that tailgating is an act of aggression. The difference between a cop doing it and a normal civilian doing it is they are trained to do that.

Enforcing the minimum speed laws is not something the general public should be doing, especially if they do not have the skills to do so.

I have no idea why there are idiots who drive at or below the speed limit in the fast or only lane. It's also really stupid and aggravating to others. One could argue that doing that with intent is also an act of passive aggression, but it's not the case all the time. You never know.

The other thing that I want to clear up is I am in no way condoning the behavior of the lead driver. He's a moron and I believe that he should lose his license for "Failure to drive right". I'll leave it at that. . .

Edited April 1, 2017 by Lihu
wrote wrong thing

[phan52]

I never drive in the left lane unless I am passing somebody or all the lanes are busy. But I despise tailgaters and I frequently will "brake check" them, although I just tap them to get the brake lights on and I don't slow down. I don't want them running into me.

About 35 years ago, I was working at night and I was on my way home around midnight during a snowstorm. I was on a four lane road (not a divided highway, just a local road) but there was only one drivable lane in each direction because the roads had yet to be plowed. I was going along at a safe pace and some clown came roaring up behind me and was tailgating me in a very dangerous way and if I had to slow down for any reason he would have hit me. I "brake checked" him and he immediately slammed on his brakes and went into a spin and ran off the road. Zero remorse.

[rehmwa]

On 4/1/2017 at 8:10 AM, colin007 said:

Unfortunately, drivers like this idiot are everywhere. Just oblivious.

I saw this a couple years ago.  At first I thought it was great.  But then the more I thought about it:

1 - Cop has his lights off and is dramatically tailgating the guy - not cool, shouldn't be legal.  If he needed to get by, then the lights should come on immediately.

2 - If you are going the speed limit and a cop is behind you, then it's unlikely you'll speed up beyond the limit and break the law right in front of him to chance a ticket.  And many people just freeze up completely and continue on their way.  So regardless of how the lead car got into this position, anything that happens once the cops is sucking on his bumper understandable at least.  "Understandable" doesn't mean I agree, just understand the scenarios that explain the behavior.

the cop is out of line here and abused his position - even though I like the outcome, I have to be objective on it and consider him in the wrong

the left lane isn't for those that speed - I agree it should be for passing - but one has to admit that the majority of people that complain vigorously aren't 'really' complaining about slow drivers and difficulty making legal passes, they are complaining about people at the limit or +5 and they are really mad because their personal speeding lane isn't solely for them. 

The stats show that impatient drivers cause traffic slowdowns and accidents because they are weaving in and out of traffic and causing issues and perturburtations.  The obvious fix?  Let them speed in the left lane!!  (not, create policy to minimize the jerky weaving behavior).  Self entitled logic is amazing.  Even the term "GTFO" is a selfish, rude way to phrase it - and gives huge insight into the actual attitude behind it.

Edited May 2, 2017 by rehmwa

[colin007]

There is an issue here with drivers who just simply feel more comfortable in the left lane. I see people enter the highway on relatively quiet roads, and then immediately pull over into the left lane. There's no one in front of them for many hundreds of yards, there's no one behind them for hundreds of yards, they just prefer to drive in the left lane. This is wrong. If I tell someone like that to GTFO then that's not me problem whatsoever. I see this every day driving to work. 

[Jack Watson]

If you wanna be a safe driver you maintain a four second following distance to the car in front of you.  

You keep your eyes moving all the time.  You maintain a space cushion around your vehicle as much as possible.   You avoid driving in other cars blind spot. You see very far down the roadway ahead.  Ten to fifteen seconds.  You check a mirror behind you every ten seconds or so.

You obey speed limits.

I raced around like a maniac when I was young.  I drove like an idiot.  

The left lane most places I drive is not a passing lane.  They need all the lanes because there's so many cars.  Usually during peak times only carpoolers are allowed in the left lane.

Playing games with tailgaters is kid stuff and asking for trouble.  

If you want to race someone take it to a track.  You'll be humbled quickly when you realize your 'skills' suck.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Jack Watson

[Jack Watson]

You gotta think...

what if the 'idiot' tailgating you is impaired by drugs?

you think haha I'll show this guy something...brake check him and he rams you and you get injured or worse?

whose the 'idiot' now?

[Buckeyebowman]

On 5/3/2017 at 5:21 PM, colin007 said:

There is an issue here with drivers who just simply feel more comfortable in the left lane. I see people enter the highway on relatively quiet roads, and then immediately pull over into the left lane. There's no one in front of them for many hundreds of yards, there's no one behind them for hundreds of yards, they just prefer to drive in the left lane. This is wrong. If I tell someone like that to GTFO then that's not me problem whatsoever. I see this every day driving to work. 

I've actually seen drivers tap people on the rear bumper on I480 in Cleveland to get them to move over and let them pass! The major problem with this is that the people who got tapped were driving the speed limit, as was I way over in the right lane!

People have an unrealistic idea about the so called "fast" lane. The speed limit there is exactly the same as posted for the whole highway. Now, if you're driving slower than the speed limit out there, you are worthy of scorn, and should move over. But people tend to fly on those lanes, and the only reason the cops aren't making hay out there is because they don't want to tie up rush hour traffic!

[rehmwa]

9 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

People have an unrealistic idea about the so called "fast" lane. The speed limit there is exactly the same as posted for the whole highway.

I have yet to see a speed limit sign that says "xxMPH Limit - Except for the left lane, go faster there"

[Yukari]

On 5/4/2017 at 9:46 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

I've actually seen drivers tap people on the rear bumper on I480 in Cleveland to get them to move over and let them pass! The major problem with this is that the people who got tapped were driving the speed limit, as was I way over in the right lane!

People have an unrealistic idea about the so called "fast" lane. The speed limit there is exactly the same as posted for the whole highway. Now, if you're driving slower than the speed limit out there, you are worthy of scorn, and should move over. But people tend to fly on those lanes, and the only reason the cops aren't making hay out there is because they don't want to tie up rush hour traffic!

That's too dangerous. I would never tap someone's bumper no matter how slow they are going. 

[Slowcelica]

On 5/4/2017 at 11:46 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

I've actually seen drivers tap people on the rear bumper on I480 in Cleveland to get them to move over and let them pass! The major problem with this is that the people who got tapped were driving the speed limit, as was I way over in the right lane!

People have an unrealistic idea about the so called "fast" lane. The speed limit there is exactly the same as posted for the whole highway. Now, if you're driving slower than the speed limit out there, you are worthy of scorn, and should move over. But people tend to fly on those lanes, and the only reason the cops aren't making hay out there is because they don't want to tie up rush hour traffic!

Sorry if someone taps my bumper, I'm getting their plate number and if they don't stop I'm reporting a hit and run.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Slowcelica

[dave s]

What tailgaters don't realize is when you drive 5' from the car in front of you, your options are slim to none.  Tailgater in video had absolutely no option or answer for the car in front hitting the brakes.  Lucky the tailgater didn't end up in the opposite direction lanes involved in a head-on collision.

dave

[JonMA1]

56 minutes ago, dave s said:

What tailgaters don't realize is when you drive 5' from the car in front of you, your options are slim to none.  Tailgater in video had absolutely no option or answer for the car in front hitting the brakes.  Lucky the tailgater didn't end up in the opposite direction lanes involved in a head-on collision.

dave

Right. There would be no way for me to text if I were following that close to the car in front of me. Geesh, some people just don't get it!