So many people seem to picture driving a car as a singular activity when it’s actually a group effort.
This is most evident almost every time I’m commuting on I-4.
That lane starts moving marginally faster than the one I’m in? Time to cut someone off.
Oh, the few hundred yards …
I am all for it, but it's going to have to start with people putting their phones down and paying attention to their driving.
Until that happens, there is no teamwork.
I'm generally a slow driver (driving at the speed limit around here is considered slow apparently) because I just dont see the pleasure in speeding on a straight business route hoping a cop isn't tucked into one of the blind alleyways. The twisties are a different story, but still reasonable speeds.
Anyway, where I was going with this is, can someone explain to me that why on the highway when I'm in the far right lane just cruising 5mph above, people will still come right up to my bumper IN THE RIGHT LANE, and then pass me when the lane to my left was EMPTY the whole time they were catching up to me? Am I in the wrong here? I'm basically moving along with the semis...
Toyman! said:I am all for it, but it's going to have to start with people putting their phones down and paying attention to their driving.
Valid point. Phones are certainly a hazard for just about everyone on the road.
I've always felt this way - that we're all just trying to get somewhere and it works better when people help each other rather than fight.
But I guess it's just the competitive nature of our species......to fight to be at the front or something.
And about tailgating.......why does this upset people so much? I mean the guy behind you is not going to hit you, you're not really in any kind of danger that adding a car length would clear up, so why the anger? I just ignore them.....
I think some people tailgate thinking that it will push you to go faster, but if you're already running 5 or 10 over (in the right lane of course) on the cruise control, what do they think you should do? Me, I just carry on.....
I can only drive one car at a time 
In reply to Japanspec :
Most people aren't paying attention to the road that far in front of their car. They don't read traffic. They climb behind the wheel and turn off their brain. They are zoned out and just follow the cow in front of them.
I have a friend who will run 10 over the speed limit on an interstate until he comes up behind a car running 20 under the speed limit. He is zoned out and just follows that car until you mention that he's running 50 in a 70. He then wakes up enough to pass, speeds up to 80, and does the exact same thing again. He also doesn't see speed limit signs. He will roll into a 35 at 55 and just keep going 55. He will also roll into a 55 from a 35 and keep going 35. I won't ride with him. Neither will his wife.
In reply to Japanspec :
I don't think you're in the wrong at all. I try to move with the flow/speed of traffic, but if it's just me on the road, you best believe I'm sticking to the speed limit.
MiniDave said:I mean the guy behind you is not going to hit you, you're not really in any kind of danger that adding a car length would clear up, so why the anger?
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. If I have to come to a complete stop in the middle of the highway, how little room does that give the person behind me to react if they are tailgating me?
It's less about driving close to me and more about trying to make sure nobody hits me.
In reply to Colin Wood :
In traffic, I generally ignore the speed limits and run whatever traffic is running. If that's 75 in a 60, so be it. If that's 45 in a 60, so be it. Speed doesn't cause wrecks, speed differential does. The car running 20 mph slower than the flow is just as bad as the car running 20 over, even if they are technically going the speed limit.
Outside of traffic, I generally run 5-8 mph over except in residential neighborhoods where I run 2-5 under.
If you are driving 10 over in the left lane, and there is 1/2 mile of open lane ahead of you, and 12 cars stacked up bumper-to-bumper behind you... you need to move to the right.
Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:If you are driving in the left lane, you probably need to move to the right.
FTFY
Colin Wood said:MiniDave said:I mean the guy behind you is not going to hit you, you're not really in any kind of danger that adding a car length would clear up, so why the anger?
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. If I have to come to a complete stop in the middle of the highway, how little room does that give the person behind me to react if they are tailgating me?
It's less about driving close to me and more about trying to make sure nobody hits me.
Thats the part of tailgating that gets me, is that I'm trying to make sure nobody is going to hit me, but no matter if I go faster they'll still be on my bumper. Especially when I'm driving one of the cars I really care about.
Japanspec said:Colin Wood said:MiniDave said:I mean the guy behind you is not going to hit you, you're not really in any kind of danger that adding a car length would clear up, so why the anger?
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. If I have to come to a complete stop in the middle of the highway, how little room does that give the person behind me to react if they are tailgating me?
It's less about driving close to me and more about trying to make sure nobody hits me.
Thats the part of tailgating that gets me, is that I'm trying to make sure nobody is going to hit me, but no matter if I go faster they'll still be on my bumper. Especially when I'm driving one of the cars I really care about.
I would rather someone tailgating me over someone on their phone 100' behind me. One is going to hit me at close to my speed. The other is going to cream me after I stop.
In reply to Toyman! :
That I can understand. I'm just cranky because my cars are slow with all these 300+ HP CUVs out there.
Heck, I have a car on the way that tops out at like 65mph...lol!
Things that maximize traffic flow.
For multiple reasons, this is all more or less mutually exclusive from having human drivers. The only way we're going to be able to meaningfully improve traffic via vehicular behavior would be all cars self-driving and networked together.
I like to think of traffic flows in terms of fluid dynamics. What we want is to approach laminar flow of an ideal fluid. Humans naturally cause turbulence in the flow of a compressible fluid, and the best human drivers could ever achieve even through vigorous retraining and enforcement is laminar flow of a compressible fluid.
Your boredom killer for the day: https://traffic-simulation.de/
Most people put zero thought into their driving; hence things like driving slow in the fast lane and not leaving a gap so other cars can merge without slowing down etc etc.
Most people also see driving as a chore and don't think they can get killed in their car.
The fix is easy; implementing is the hard part. Making more of an effort in training; as in you need to demonstrate certain knowledge before you just get handed a license.
Given my professional experience with the tech / software industry I'm way more comfortable with the idiots behind the wheel than usual rushed to market software. My apologies to you programmers out there but you know darn well product is pushed out well before it's ready because the powers that be need to make the quarterly numbers look good.
Toyman! said:In reply to Japanspec :
Most people aren't paying attention to the road that far in front of their car. They don't read traffic. They climb behind the wheel and turn off their brain. They are zoned out and just follow the cow in front of them.
...and I think this has gotten worse post-pandemic, too. Now that I'm back commuting a few days a week, I'm really starting to notice the collective brain-death of many of the cars around me, especially on the highway.
Fine, slow down when traffic slows, but please speed back up when traffic clears - you don't have to keep driving at 40 when there's nobody in front of you on a 65 MPH road...
That, and the number of folks on Zoom calls from their cars during the morning commute is staggering, even with hands-free laws (you can see other moving faces in their dash-mounted phones)... If you're in a video meeting, you're not paying attention to your driving and shouldn't be on the road.
In reply to nlevine :
Driving is most definitely worse post pandemic.......
Waaay back (1989) I remember hearing from my dad, who was still spending weeks at a go working in S.F. after we'd moved away, than after the quake took a major bridge (the Bay Bridge) out of operation, traffic on the remaining route got way more cooperative. It was as though the necessity of it had finally driven home that everyone would get where they were going more quickly if they paid attention and also stopped doing the "me first."
Which is both beautiful and frustrating.
Driven5 said:Things that maximize traffic flow.
- Maximize rate of acceleration.
- Minimize following distance.
- Minimize unplanned and unnecessary lane changing.
- Minimize impact to the group, at the expense of impact to the individual.
For multiple reasons, this is all more or less mutually exclusive from having human drivers. The only way we're going to be able to meaningfully improve traffic via vehicular behavior would be all cars self-driving and networked together.
Your boredom killer for the day: https://traffic-simulation.de/
This is one of the things that kills me about OKC. By sq miles it's really big. And the amount of people I see let there become 3-4 car lengths at a stop light from the car in front of them before they even start accelerating blows my mind. Step on the berkeleying gas pedal so more people can get through the light.
To give you an idea of the sheer size of OKC.
In reply to z31maniac :
...huge gaps after a red because 1) folks are on their phones, so it takes them a while to realize that the light is green, 2) they then need to put the phone down, then 3) they can start to move (but don't realize that their accelerator pedal has more than a 1/8" of travel, so they don't move very fast). It's that collective gap in attention that slows every intersection...
nlevine said:In reply to z31maniac :
...huge gaps after a red because 1) folks are on their phones, so it takes them a while to realize that the light is green, 2) they then need to put the phone down, then 3) they can start to move (but don't realize that their accelerator pedal has more than a 1/8" of travel, so they don't move very fast). It's that collective gap in attention that slows every intersection...
Oh man I felt that. Every day.
I have to respectfully disagree on the comment about tail gating not being a problem. I have an Exocet because of a tailgating dingus. He has a hit on his driving record and insurance, which hits us collectively if you happen to be of a similar demographic to idiots like that.
On the plus side, I have an Exocet. =P
I find that if you can get a few folks that are like minded drivers... you can sorta control the flow of traffic in a good way, if everyone is willing to go with the flow. We do a caravan to Vegas for an annual event, and it's really something cool to see a couple dozen of the same sports cars, flowing like a school of fish on the open highway and through towns. =)
In reply to Colin Wood :
How often do you come to a complete stop on a major hiway? (unless you're in So Cal? ) in which case you're used to it so it's no biggy .
My comment was more to the point of people getting angry, brake checking, throwing things out of their car, wanting flame throwers to shoot out the back and so on. Chances are if you get a tailgater and are doing close to the limit, they'll pass you first chance they get anyway.....no reason to get upset.
If you do have to make a quick stop, they'll be buying you a new car too! (I'm kidding.....I'm suggesting that it's only a problem if you make it one, that's all)
The problem is you have to change EVERYONE to get us to work together. Unless we are all working together, it won't work. The best you can do for now is look as far ahead as you safely can for your speed and plan accordingly; luckily, track driving is the same concept. I've essentially given up on the average commuter as a possible ally and bob and weave around them to get home as quickly as possible. However, I do not abruptly cut people off; I just take advantages of the gaps left by people not paying attention. I'm not trying to get followed home by a crazy person.
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