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Safe following distance

I’m a fan. This morning on the way in, I was maintaining that. The guy in the Nissan truck behind me was riding my tail despite me having no place to go. The car in front of me swerved and I, maintaining a safe distance, saw the board in the road and easily moved around it. The idiot following me too closely did not have time to react, over-steered and about nailed the guard rail. Maybe he learned something.

25 Responses to “Safe following distance”

  1. Axess Denyd Says:

    I’m not usually in a hurry, so when I’m being tailgated I start going slower and slower, especially when there is a lot of traffic passing on the left. Ideally I will end up at the minimum speed limit with the guy riding my tail trapped behind me, unable to pass due to faster traffic.

    Maybe I’m just not very nice.

  2. wizardpc Says:

    Axess Denyd: You’re the guy that causes interstate slowdowns for miles behind you.

    Stop.

  3. Axess Denyd Says:

    I DO speed up if they ever get off my bumper. I don’t like getting rear-ended, so if they don’t maintain the proper distance on their own, I have to slow down until the proper ratio of distance to speed is attained.

    Tell me what not to do when I violate a law.

  4. wizardpc Says:

    Or you could just not be a jackass.

  5. wizardpc Says:

    And I submit that by doing that, you have likely caused an accident behind you at some point.

  6. Axess Denyd Says:

    Axess, Do it for a long time and Wizard is right. You’re nothing but a prick and backing up traffic in Washington is “illegal”. I wont shed a tear or stop to help if some how you end up in a ditch.

    In your case I don’t blame the guy tailgating but the guy being an ass. Sometimes the tail gaiter is trying to tell you to go faster. For instance tons of vehicles out here do 55 in a 60, and then slow down to 50 when cars end up behind them, at the time the pavement is bare and dry. So, by your description above you = them since the minimum speed limit is “forward movement”. It’s a speed limit, not speed minimum. Which would be stupid since weather conditions can move your limit to a crawl.

    So you’re an ass and create a backup of 10 vehicles behind you and you never yield the right of way even though it’s illegal in Washington to not pull off if you have more than 5 behind you. So let me speak for every other driver who lives out here and is annoyed by your actions, “Screw YOU!”

    Best solution if you’re worried about the guy behind you is if you have a manual transmission, down shift. Diesel truck are great for this. Mine acts like I slam on the breaks but no lights. I don’t even have to downshift if I’m at highway speeds, stepping off the gas will slow my down in a hurry.

    Automatic with a gas, just manually down shift. Speed back up to proper speed. If they haven’t gotten the clue by the third shot, undershoot the speed limit.

    Eventually they’ll back off, if they doesn’t, get a scarier rig with a hitch ball. Bottom line, stay at speed, slowing down and remaining there just makes you a prick to everyone else not involved.

    Or just don’t worry about it because the most likely thing to happen is exactly what happened with Unc.

    BTW Unc, it is wonderful when you see that happen in your rear-view mirror.

  7. Barron Barnett Says:

    Oops, put the name in the wrong spot. Post #6 above was me.

  8. wizardpc Says:

    55-8-154 is the law you are violating here.

    “No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic”

  9. Jake Says:

    Uncle: You can actually maintain a safe following distance? I’m impressed. Anytime I get a minimum safe following distance someone pulls into the gap and I have to slow down to get back to a safe distance.

    I usually end up holding something like 2/3 of a safe following distance just so I don’t get slowed to a crawl by people pulling in front of me.

  10. Axess Denyd Says:

    It annoys me when they do it when I go my nornmal speed, which is 5 over the speed limit (aka 70 when I’m in OH, 75 when I’m in KY). I don’t plan to ever drive in Washington, so I should be safe there.

    I know I’m an ass, though, I don’t contradict you there.

    …sadly, the one time in my youth I did try the sudden deceleration to get their attention, it turned out to be a cop, who promptly turned on his lights and gave me a ticket for speeding several miles back where the limit was lower. I didn’t think I should argue with him that he was close enough to the rear of my Probe that I couldn’t even see his headlights in my rearview mirror… But that was last millenium, lessons learned. To an extent.

    In other news, wow, suddenly I get a lot of replies to a comment. I like some of the other comments I’ve made on blogs better than the one I made here, though.

  11. Tennessee Budd Says:

    Downshifting works. So does pulling the emergency brake handle & stabbing the pedal. No brake lights to warn them. Evil? Maybe, but I’m a biker, too. I hate assholes tailgating me when I’m riding, so I make life hard for them whenever I can.

  12. that guy Says:

    “maintain a safe following distance” is exactly analogous to “do not point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy” and should be drilled into everyone who drives just as the latter is drilled into everyone who shoots. More so since if your vehicle is moving it is “loaded” with enough kinetic energy to kill.

  13. MattW Says:

    Barren I would argue someone is a bigger ass by riding another driver’s tail or by suddenly decelerating, both of which are infinitely more dangerous than gradually slowing down. In reality dont do any of the above. If you can’t or wont go the speed limit get in the right lane or take side streets. If you are behind someone driving slower in the middle or right lane back off merge left and pass them. And if someone is trying to merge so they can pass a slower driver let them in. We would all be safer and happier if everyone was more polite on the road.

  14. MrSatyre Says:

    What drives me insane is when someone going slower than I am (or the guy in front of me) moves over into my lane. Stupid jackasses…

  15. MJM Says:

    Kill all tailgaters. That’s what I think of ’em. I’ve been rear-ended before by Driver Oblivious. Kill all tailgaters.

    Of course, the police could try giving a ticket or two for following too closely but, then, I have noticed that lots of the drivers following too closely, are police. Seems to be a tendency.

  16. ctr Says:

    I’ve spent most of my highway time (at least in this country) on I-5 or I-95. Textbook safe following distances are just not possible to maintain. It just creates a gap that is constantly filled with traffic from other lanes laughing at the country driver.

  17. Snackeater Says:

    I’m curious–what exactly are butt-sniffers trying to accomplish? Are they stupid enough to think that by tailgating they’ll get the car ahead of them to speed up? Or are they just afraid to be on the road by themselves?

    If some half-wit is tailgating me on a 2-lane road, I’ll give them a chance to pass–if I think there’s enough time to pass but they don’t pass, I slow down 5 mph. And each time after that, another 5 mph.

    But if I’m on a 4-lane (yes, it happens all the time) I just stand on the brakes. It’s hilarious watching the car behind me swerve this way and that trying to regain control. And believe me, they do back off.

  18. Jim Says:

    I live in a rural area and the person you mess with on the road is likely going the same place you are…kind of awkward when they pull in the lot. I back off when there’s no chance to pass and just bide my time for a clear pass.

  19. HerrBGone Says:

    And how, exactly, does one open up the following distance when the car ahead of you is decreasing it by slowing down? That is totally counterproductive!

  20. Will Says:

    Keep your foot on the gas, use your left foot to tap the brake pedal. Usually gets their attention. If a couple of spaced light flashes doesn’t do it, nail the brakes for a moment while keeping on the gas. The front dive and rear rise with a small loss of speed of your car normally panics the other driver into totally locking it up. Caution, might want to check no one is following him too close, or you may cause an accident. I really hate tailgators, and I’ve had a few leave the road due to their poor driving skills…

  21. Will Says:

    I might mention that here in Cali, I’ve gotten resigned to traffic making it impossible to leave a proper space in front of me. Still, when the front of your vehicle is no longer visible in my mirror, I WILL respond. Many times it is someone on a phone, which means they are effectively zombiefied. Some are drunks. In other words, slow responding, which is why I give them a couple warnings to get their attention.

  22. mariner Says:

    I think you’re foolishly optimistic, Uncle.

  23. Barron Barnett Says:

    MattW, you don’t live in Rural areas. There is no right lane and there are no side streets other than back gravel roads, which due to being gravel you have to run slower on.

    I never said ride their ass, but if someone gets closer than you would normally like, double check your speed and the limit for where your at.

    Since where I live there’s two lanes, one each direction, an ass going under the speed limit without cause can back up traffic for miles. I don’t care when it’s a combine. I do care when it’s a minivan from out of state sightseeing and holding up all the locals.

    Only time I down shift is when the bastards so close that he is going to hit me if I have to stop. Usually they get the clue when they almost hit me from just slowing down.

  24. Barron Barnett Says:

    Also, Matt, traffic around here is quite polite when it’s just locals. It’s when you get the asshats from the city or the college students that you start getting tailgaters and people doing under the speed

    They’re too lazy to actually pay attention to the signs on the side of the road. Overall you could drive around out here and it’s quite polite. Usually most when I show up in their rear view get on the shoulder. Those that get on my ass usually back off because my slow down reminds them to turn off their cruise control. At which point they maintain a safe distance.

  25. Jake Says:

    As a side note, I would like to remind everyone complaining about people who “won’t go the speed limit” that the speed limit is a maximum, not a minimum. If someone going under the limit is pissing you off, you need to take a deep breath and just chill out. Maybe they’re doing it because that’s the law.

Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.

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