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Detecting Tailgaters With Lasers
Journal written by stoolpigeon (454276) and posted by
kdawson
on Mon Dec 04, 2006 05:18 PM
from the don't-stand-so-close-to-me dept.
from the don't-stand-so-close-to-me dept.
stoolpigeon writes "Police in Arizona are using laser range finders to detect and ticket tailgaters. An officer can now measure not only the speed of passing vehicles but also how close they are to one another. The detectors described in the article are built by Laser Technology Inc., a company that provides lasers for traffic control, engineering, and even tactical/military solutions. The article mentions how tailgating is connected to many accidents and incidents of road rage."
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Moo (Score:5, Insightful)
Umm, no. Tailgaters are worse. There can be a smart speeder. There is no such thing as smart tailgater. Becauses, it is not speeding that causes accidents, it's the person speeding needs to take extra caution. It can be done, even if it usually is not. Tailgating in-and-of-itself is dangerous.
"I've seen people at 0.04 seconds. That is less than half a second," he said.
Talk about enlightening comments.
Some of the comments there say that someone else will just pull ahead of you. Ahem, they will then get tickets. That's the point. Then they complain that they're close for a minute and get tickets, well, this complaint and the first complaint are opposites.
I hope these tickets work. Next we can take on gawkers.
Re:Moo (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the best way to reduce road rage is to eliminate the butt-heads who get in my way :-)
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You're talking about modding drivers (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Moo (Score:5, Insightful)
Bullshit. 45 is just a number they picked. Most speed limits in the US are not chosen to be the maximum safe speed. (And it should be obvious the anyone who's not a total moron that the maximum safe speed for a Corvette and a double-trailer semi are going to be VERY different numbers.)
There are lots of reasons to drive less than the speed limit.
Yes, and most of them mean either:
A) You're not paying attention and are therefore dangerous.
B) Your ability to drive is impaired and are therefore dangerous.
Sure there are some exceptions, pulling a trailer up a big hill for example, but the vast majority of the time it's some jackass talking on their cellphone. Do everyone a favor, if you just *feel* like driving slow, pull over every once in a while and let that huge line of cars by you. (It's really the only safe way to get rid of tailgaters anyways.)
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Re:Moo (Score:4, Insightful)
Here's a story not unique and the poster above should have heard or seen several by now if they have grown up. I took a corner too fast on a mountain road under bad conditions while being tailgated - I should have known better and driven far less than the speed limit but I thought if I braked more the guy only two metres behind would slam into me. The fool behind me in that european sports car that could go quickly in those conditions didn't even stop to help or see if I was alive.
Sometimes you have to take it slow - despite the smart arse comments ridiculing people above.
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Re:Moo (Score:5, Insightful)
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Laser Technology Inc (Score:3, Funny)
Wow, what a name. Wonder how they came up with it? I guess they're just creative.
Re:Laser Technology Inc (Score:5, Funny)
Wow, what a name. Wonder how they came up with it? I guess they're just creative.
Yeah, but that name was already taken.
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I love tailgaters! (Score:5, Funny)
(I have a tow-ball.)
Re:I love tailgaters! (Score:4, Funny)
Nothing personal, BTW
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What I hate... (Score:5, Insightful)
Tailgating is fine (Score:4, Funny)
Plus, sometimes, if you're trying to help somebody out, you come at their bumper from an angle and then just a light tap and you slide into the lane. You spin the other guy out, and it he's any good, he can probably avoid hitting anything deadly.
It's a normal part of driving. If you can't handle it, you have no business on the road.
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How many times do I have to tell you, officer? (Score:5, Funny)
Heavy Traffic (Score:4, Funny)
But leaving more than 10ft gets you cut off (Score:5, Funny)
I tell ya... roof-mounted laser gun turrents. "We've got a Jetta at 3 o'clock! Get in there and keep him occupied until I can engage the damned lightdrive!"
That and enemy symphathizers - traitors. You rode that bumper like an animal in heat and kept the Jetta out of your lane. But what's this? The Jetta pulls ahead and that weak-willed pansy Corolla two cars ahead lets him in, after all your work! "Dammit man, we're trying to hold a line here. Get on that fucking bumper and ride it for all you're worth you fucking pussy!"
Where did these people learn to drive? Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood?
Computer science meets traffic (Score:5, Funny)
Not a problem - if you are close enough (Score:5, Funny)
Slow drivers--Know Your Surroundings! (Score:5, Insightful)
I always try to be aware of my surroundings, including looking in the rear-view mirror. If I'm in the left lane and there is someone approaching from the rear, it's easier and safer to reserve moral judgement about their character and do the smart thing--pull to the right at the earliest possible opportunity and let him overtake me. Why can't everyone manage to do that? See, when I happen to be the one in an unusual hurry, 9 times out of 10, the guy in front of me in the left lane is totally oblivious of my presence. To wake him up, I either have to drive dangerously close, pass on the right, or hit him with a few high-beam blasts. It's a no-win situation for both of us.
Same with a single-lane road. If you simply must drive slow and enjoy the view, have the courtesy to pull to the shoulder when people approach who actually have a destination they are looking forward to reaching.
Sure, there's the occasional idiot who gets in the left lane and tails everybody within inches, making them all pull over one by one, but these tailgaters are in the minority.
Please hang up the phone, be aware of your surroundings (especially the people behind you), and keep up with the flow of traffic. In short, drivers should be participants, not obstacles.
Re:Slow drivers--Know Your Surroundings! (Score:5, Insightful)
Flash your high beams right in someone's rear-view? That's dangerous. Drive "dangerously close"? How is that justifiable in any situation? Oh, but it's only to "wake him up".
Try telling that to the cop that arrives on the scene of the rear-end accident that you just may have caused.
Driving like a prick is never ok.
That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Funny)
It's the fuckers that are really close in front of me I can't stand. How the hell am I supposed to be able to stop in time going 80mph when that guy is just 10 feet in front of me?!
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
The assholes in front of you, and the assholes behind you.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Funny)
The assholes in front of you, and the assholes behind you.
...and here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
You can drive slower than me and not be an idiot: don't hog the passing lane, don't match the speed of the drivers in the lanes who are right next to you (thus creating a wall), and be going at least 60 mph when you merge onto a freeway.
You can drive much faster than me and not be a maniac: just take the first opportunity to go around me (I probably won't be in the left lane, or will quickly vacate it when I see your speed) rather than tailgate, and don't change lanes close enough to me such that I panic.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Interesting)
Gawkers should have their driving privileges revoked.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:4, Informative)
I hear in several european countries, they bring out a big curtain to put around traffic accidents, to keep gawkers from slowing down traffic and causing a bigger mess
Then you have really stupid people. A few years ago we had some paintings on a building by one of our highways (the kennedy expresway). I saw people stop their cars on the damn expressway, literally zero miles an hour in a traffic lane, to take a pic. The areas was close to a curve as well, so not a lot of long distance cisibility.
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California rules (Score:5, Funny)
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Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:California rules (Score:5, Informative)
I like to look at a car's rear bumper, see it cross one of the dotted lines or reflectors in the road as a reference point and count in my head 'one one-thousand', 'two one-thousand' and if I pass that same reference point in the road before I complete that second 'one-thousand', then I know that I am too close. Much easier to actually calculate than the 1ft per 10mph.
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Re:California rules (Score:5, Informative)
In the real life, though, the car in front of you moves at the same speed as you. Since they can't decelerate in zero time, the math to compute the allowed reaction time is a little more complex.
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Drafting (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Not so funny as true. (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Not so funny as true. (Score:5, Insightful)
I've often wondered why people play that gap closing game myself. If someone whats to weave in and out of traffic, let them go, as others have stated, in heavy traffic, it is not an effective means of making better progress anyway. You may feel they are being unsafe and maybe this is your chance to exercise your 4000LB weight around too as an equalizer? Closing a gap and disrupting the flow of a weavers is NOT safe either. If you want to play it safe, maintain your existing speed and gap and let the weaver go about his business. The weaver is not being as safe as he could be but closing the gap is not the safest thing you could do either.
On that note... I live on a corner with a hidden intersection on a semi rural 2 lane state road. I see people pull out in front of cars all the time. One time a car pulled out in front of someone and that someone slammed on his brakes and laid on the horn until he came to a complete stop. After he came to a stop, he started yelling at the other person that pulled out in front of him as that person was driving by him in the other direction, the need for a complete stop was completely unnecessary. Hey, shit happens, get over it. Well now that he was at a complete stop and half way around a hidden corner and attempting to make his point known to a car that was no longer within hearing distance, he got rear ended by a third car coming up behind him on that hidden bend. Okay, technically he was not at fault because he got rear ended but his blatant actions had put himself in a very unsafe situation regardless of what the law states. I see a lot of people trying to be "safe" and educate other drivers on the road but in reality, they are being unsafe themselves. Just like the guy that hits his brakes when someone is tailing him. If you don't want to be tailed, move the hell over. I know a car is a big powerful glob of various metals and plastics but using that psychological power to force your driving ethics on others is NOT safe. Considering that the person is not going to change their habits because of your gap closing you have absolutely NOTHING to gain. Gee, I've been driving like a weaver for 20 years and today someone closed the gap on me. I learned a lesson and I am never going to be a weave again!
Parent
Re:Not so funny as true. (Score:5, Insightful)
Except for breaking, as all the cars are stacked up behind you, perhaps many of then tailgating each other, sure in a pile up you'd have the 'best' chance of surviving, unless a semi plows through the lot of you. Besides, we really do see you blocking up traffic, and I'll bet that you've seen more than a few people pull out in front aggressively, it's not 'random' you've pissed them off for the last 5 miles. Classic deadly Road Rage is most often a response to poor/inconsiderate driving such as yours, the left hand lane is the 'passing lane' which means one should never 'keep pace' with a car to their right. Stacking up traffic behind you is a pile-up waiting to happen, sure you 'might' not be involved, but other drivers feel this danger, and will then act aggressively against you when they can. Some fearful people cocoon to threats, others swing out in rage. Ironically, it's likely you see it as 'they did not see your car, further reinforcing your 'rule', however it's a wonder you have gotten shot yet.
Personally, I get a little 'spooked' when some does try to pace me, in particular the 'open' highway, if something like a deer runs into the road, it likely that we'll both try to avoid it by a combination of steering and breaking, and what are the chances that we'll do that at the same pace? I try my best to stay at a steady 10 mph over, moving over to the right to let faster drivers pass, and when I know that I won't be trapped in the right hand lane. Unlike others I really don't mind someone else passing me, but if I pass them again, I try not to let them ahead of me again.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
My idea was a flashing neon sign that says, "back off!"
Problem is, everybody thinks they're a perfect driver, and get very weird when anybody tries to tell them otherwise. Hence all the road rage incidents connected to tailgating.
My strategy is to slow down, but subtly, so they don't register that I'm pissed at them. I don't even brake, I just don't push the accelerator as hard as a normally do. Invariably the tailgater gets impatient and passes, without registering any change in my driving.
It is, of course, frustrating to see bad driving and not be able to communicate your concerns to the other driver. But frustration is better than being targeted by a psycho.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
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My nutty idea (Score:5, Insightful)
And if I'm on a road that is 2 lanes, and I get a guy 2 inches from my bumper I (... get this...) I pull off the road for two seconds as soon as I can and let some other person deal with them as they rush on past..
Seriously, I want to concentrate on driving, not whether some nutball in back of me is going to slip up and ram into me because he's got anger management issues.
To my way of thinking, guys who slow down in front of tailgaters have the same mentality as the tailgaters, they only express it differently.
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Re:My nutty idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Bingo.
Safe driving is not just about avoiding accidents, more importantly it is about avoiding dangerous situations.
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Who's the asshole? (Score:5, Insightful)
Driving doesn't have to be about making the other fucker pay. That attitude is why I hate driving so much. It even affects me sometimes. I've had that angry feeling boil up and done stupid things several times, but I'm not proud of it. The thing I'm least proud of is the tailgater who got me so angry/scared that I popped down a gear causing him to rear-end me. Yeah, he totalled an expensive car and was 100% "at fault" but I felt kinda bad about it. I do wonder if he still tailgates so badly.
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Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Informative)
My usual approach is to just slow down to the point where I'm not overdriving my vision, but since this tends to anger the clueless fuckers behind me, they will often respond by getting even closer or turning on their brights, which just forces me to slow down even more. I don't know why they don't pass; apparently it takes an appreciable amount of intelligence to figure out that the guy who is currently driving at 30 but was going 55 when you first got on his tail is probably not going to speed up and it's easier to just get ahead of him if you really absolutely have to be driving 65 at night during deer season.
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Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Tailgating (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Not the Tailgaters Fault (Score:4, Informative)
(a) Phoenix is too broad for it's own good. People live 30-40-50 miles from where they work.
(b) Phoenix freeway and surface street infrastructre has lagged behind our phenominal growth (see above).
(c) Phoenix is a melting pot. Nobody's actually FROM Phoenix. We're made of EX-somethings. Sure, there's a few natives, but it's NOT the norm.
(d) We have a significant snowbird population (also, see above).
Combine the overloaded bad infrastructure with a nation's worth of driving customs and a constantly supply of new (and seasonal) people, and you're looking at the bulk of what's wrong with Phoenix traffic.
Speeds of 85+ are the norm on I-10 (and 17 and 101/202/60/51) when congestion permits it.
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Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not the Tailgaters Fault (Score:5, Insightful)
So, either keep out of Illinois or take off that stupid paper hat, get off your high hobby-horse and get your sorry slavish-speed-limit-obeying butt into the right lane.
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Re:Only half of the point... (Score:5, Informative)
"You are travelling at the spped limit. A car comes up behind you and flashes their lights at you requesting to overtake. Do you:
a) Speed up
b) Slow down
c) Maintain your speed
d) Sound your horn"
The correct answer is c. Frankly, when you go about trying to blind the person infront of you by flashing full beams into their rear-view mirror (particularly at night) for doing nothing more than following Driving Standards Agency advice, you deserve everything you get. Up to and including a stinger missile.
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Re:Only half of the point... (Score:5, Insightful)
The correct answer is also (e): if you're in the fast lane, move the fuck over and get out of the way!
At least around here, I'd say the single biggest traffic problem is caused by people forgetting this.
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Here's an interesting ratio (Score:3, Insightful)