Detecting Tailgaters With Lasers 1136
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; this observation fits my experience."
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 :-)
Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
The assholes in front of you, and the assholes behind you.
Re:Moo (Score:5, Insightful)
If they really want to improve road safety (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not the Tailgaters Fault (Score:2, Insightful)
Let up on the accelerator there lead-foot.
What I hate... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Moo (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Moo (Score:2, Insightful)
People don't tailgate just for fun (at least not most of them)! I feel that if the car in front of me can get the hell out of my way, then the driver is obligated to. Tailgating someone when they have no where else to go is pointless and rude too though.
I don't know how many nights I've driven home on our local 2 lane highway, seeing 2 cars driving side by side at the speed limit or just below, with dozens of cars lined up behind them wanting to pass. The front person in the left lane really should be ticketed for impeding traffic. If not for these bozos driving like morons, traffic would flow smoother, and there would be far less road rage.
Re:Tailgating (Score:3, Insightful)
Here's an interesting ratio (Score:3, Insightful)
Shouldn't be enforced in the fast lane. (Score:2, Insightful)
In all other cases though, I support the enforcement of laws against tailgating.
Re:Tailgating (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Tailgating (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Moo (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm not saying that speeding can be done safely, but I'm also not arguing that just because I can't do it, it can't be done.
Re:Moo (Score:3, Insightful)
Now, you have also stated that the effects of an accident while driving while speeding are worse. This is a slight misstatement of the facts, I think. The problem, again, is not that a person is speeding, but that they are involved in an accident while going fast. I could be abiding by the speed limit, and going 75, and any potential accident would be just as bad as if I were going 75 in a 60 MPH zone. The same is true about reaction times -- I have just as much time to react if I am 15 over the limit in a 60 zone as I do if I am driving the limit in a 75 zone.
In city driving, I would agree that going over the speed limit is generally dangerous -- the speed limits tend to be lower because there are more cars, more pedestrians, more intersections, and, in general, more potential for problems. However, on the open highway, I don't think that speeding is the problem, so much as going at a vastly different speed than everyone else on the road.
Re:Tailgating (Score:2, Insightful)
A completely unjustified assertion. It's funny how the offenses for which tickets are issued are for things that are dangerous, not randomly chosen things that would generate revenue. Quite a coincidence. Whenever I see this claim, I assume that the author is a poor driver in denial.
Re:Tailgating (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:Moo (Score:2, Insightful)
I hate to tell you this, but 35 in a 45 zone is not impeding traffic. 45 is the absolute limit under optimal conditions. If it is dark or foggy or raining heavily or snowing or for some other reason visibility is less than perfect, driving slower than the limit may well be highly desirable. Similarly if the road is wet or icy or covered with debris. Maybe the guy ahead of you has noticed some other factor that you can't see or haven't noticed, such as kids playing close to the road who look likely to run out into it or a vehicle broken down up ahead. Maybe the driver is not feeling well and does not feel safe at full speed. (In the long run, if this persists, yes, he should get off the road, but sometimes you suddenly feel sick, or you need to get to the doctor or a motel or find a safe place to pull over.) Maybe the driver is concerned about a problem with his vehicle. There are lots of reasons to drive less than the speed limit. People who think that the speed limit is a minimum are a problem.
Re:California rules (Score:2, Insightful)
Leave space like civil engineers use more beams and supports. Way overdo it, and let all the careless or crazy drivers be the ones to cause accidents.
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.
Re:Not the Tailgaters Fault (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not so funny as true. (Score:2, Insightful)
I call them weavers, they weave in and out of traffic as if it's a NASCAR race. I try not to give them enough space to pull out in front of me. Often I reduce my normal two car-length gap to one when I see one approaching. It's not hard to see one coming up from behind, but the ones who are already in the right lane are hard to judge. However the guy who is tailgating a 'slow' moving car in the right lane is usually a weaver who tried to exploit a gap in the right lane and got trapped there. My general rule is (unless there is a left hand exit), I don't allow people to get in front of me, from the right hand lane, but I do allow it from the left lane, if there is no real space behind me.
Also, I've seen plenty of 'weavers' turn into pacers (and stay steady with the car to the right) when they get to the front of the pack, as it seems that their biggest concern isn't keeping a good speed, but being 'first'.
Re:My nutty idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Bingo.
Safe driving is not just about avoiding accidents, more importantly it is about avoiding dangerous situations.
Re:Moo (Score:3, Insightful)
That said I know plenty of people who shouldn't drive because they aren't safe at any speed... But driving 30 mph (in what is now a 55 mph zone) wouldn't help them at all...
I should also point out my simple +10 mph is often considered to slow by truly reckless drivers who often go +20 or +30 mph over the speed limit, change lanes without looking, switch lanes without signals, and a variety of far more dangerous habits...
Ignorance... (Score:2, Insightful)
Even though it may be legal in your state to drive at the speed limit in the left lane, it's not clever. If you are doing it solely to annoy other drivers, then you do not deserve to have a licence. You are a danger and a nuisance.
To correct you, the fast lane is for overtaking, and is an additional lane to use when the others become full. That is all. You have no business being there if the other lanes to the right of you are empty.
Re:Fewer tickets more Suspensions (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not the Tailgaters Fault (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Nahhh. (Score:3, Insightful)
In fact, there's hardly ever a reason to brake on the highway.
If you have to brake on the highway, either you did something wrong, or the person ahead of you did.
Re:If they really want to improve road safety (Score:2, Insightful)
If everyone went through this type of education you bet we'd all be better off. Instead, we put little Susie through a short class, have her take a test, then drive around for an hour, and hand her a driver's license. A sixteen year old girl who just got her license but drives a Civic is far more dangerous than a grown man with years of driving experience in many types of situations, who is driving an SUV.
I drive an SUV. I like to be able to COMFORTABLY carry five people, even on long trips. I like being able to put two mountain bikes inside. I like to offroad as a hobby about once a month, I like to go camping in remote places only accessible to 4x4's. All in all, I STILL use less gas than most people because I live three miles from work. Stop assuming that your needs and habits are the same as everyone else's, and people with SUV's are just wasting gas and making the roads unsafe.
Re:Moo (Score:1, Insightful)
Tailgating is rude, dangerous and illegal. What me to get the hell out of the way? Slow the fuck down and back off. I'll get out of your way when it's safe to do so.
The safety of me and my family is much is more important then your need-to-speed. It's not your private racetrack.
And plus, I'll see you at the next stoplight.
I never purposely try to block somebody in-- it's not worth the aggravation and negative emotions. In the end, you feel angry, your life is shorter by a few minutes/hours/days and nothing was achieved, so why do it?
However, if a driver comes up and tailgates me, as if to ask 'get the hell out of my way', I'm not going capitulate to their demands and sacrifice my family's safety. I'm not going to speed up or cut off some other driver simply because the tailgater wants to go faster.
Usually this situation happens when I'm passing a slower driver on a 2 way freeway (Such as hwy 101 or I5 in California). As I am passing, a speeder comes up and rides on my ass, which I perceive as 1) They are a rude ass, or 2) they are on autopilot and aren't paying good attention.
Re:California rules (Score:3, Insightful)
That was a gem. No shit 4 hundredths of a second is less than half a second. I really hope that was a typo and was meant to be 0.4, even then no shit on the math part.
-nB
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:Tailgating (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Moo (Score:3, Insightful)
And I hate to tell you this, but apart from emergencies and hazardous weather, if you can not safely drive faster than 35 in a 45, you should not be on the road. It's as simple as that. With the technology in modern vehicles, if you, presumably a fully functioning adult human being can not drive 45 in a 45, not only are you a nuissance, you are a risk to the lives of other drivers on the road.
If you must drive, in the interests of safety I recommend you mark your car as a slow moving vehicle following the regulations in your jurisdication for the transportation of implements of hubandry.
Have you considered arranging for transporation? If you feel that you can not safely operate a motor vehicle, there are public and private services available in most areas to help you meet your transportation needs. A good place to get started would be a local nursing home or retirement housing complex.
The exceptions are not the rule.
Re:Only half of the point... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Not the Tailgaters Fault (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Not so funny as true. (Score:3, Insightful)
I do this (American btw), and I usually stick to the right 2 lanes to do it. My goal isn't to be first - it's to have the most options available in front of me. I don't like sitting in someones blind spot, I also don't like properly pacing my lane and getting trapped in by your "weavers".
If being out front means having more response options available to you - then I'm out front.
Re:Only half of the point... (Score:2, Insightful)
totally agree with this - here in the UK there seems to be a serious lack of understanding about the basics of motorway driving that creates a lot of the traffic problems and road rage.
i could go into a long rant but thought it better to share the link to the Association of British Drivers that has an excellent resource about these kind of issues: http://www.abd.org.uk/ [abd.org.uk]
Re:Only half of the point... (Score:2, Insightful)
Besides, not only is the de facto speed limit the relevant one, but furthermore, people who are driving more slowly in the left lane than cars passing them in the right lane are the ones who are the issue - and I'll promise you that those drivers are doing the wrong thing, according to a very similar question from the driver's handbook.
Re:Only half of the point... (Score:3, Insightful)
If they're doing the speed limit, why would you need to overtake them?
Re:Tailgating (Score:3, Insightful)
I have noticed that.
But, fortunately, about 99% of the people on the highway with me tend to be driving at about the same speed.
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.)
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!
Re:California rules (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Tailgating (Score:2, Insightful)
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.
Re:Moo (Score:2, Insightful)
Hmm. Let's see. I point out that there are a wide variety of hazardous conditions, such as darkness, fog, and ice, in which it isn't safe to drive at the speed limit. You then whine about how I'm some sort of defective who shouldn't be allowed on the roads if I can't drive the speed limit in non-hazardous conditions, in others, in precisely the complement of the conditions I cited. In other words, you have stated no rational objection to anything I have said and have no foundation for your gratuitous insults.
Tailgating is NOT the problem... (Score:2, Insightful)
Lesson 1: The leftmost lane is for passing. All those signs on the freeways that read SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT weren't painted and posted for your edification...they're the law. When you just drive along in this lane, you are just as guilty of criminal activity as someone exceeding the posted speed limit.
Lesson 2: Someone blipping their high beams a couple times as they approach you is NOT being a prick. They're politely informing you in the most expeditious manner available (it's not like they can walk up and tap on your window, you know) that you are obstructing the flow of traffic.
The fact that they had to flash their lights at you in the first place is a testament against you. It means that you either didn't have enough situational awareness to spot their approach before they flashed you, or that you saw them coming and (for whatever reason) you decided that you weren't going to move aside. At this point, you're looking like an idiot, or a prick, or both.
So, what to do now? The ball is in your court...either speed up or move aside and let them pass.
I simply cannot understand why some people refuse to yield the way. You don't get brownie points for trying to prevent other drivers from speeding. Furthermore, you have absolutely NO idea what is motivating the driver behind you...there could be a medical emergency involved, and your prissy ass might be impeding their progress to a hospital. Why take the risk to yourself, your vehicle, and possibly others' lives? If you just get the fuck out of the way already, the tailgating "problem" disappears.
Long rant cut short: there is NO SUCH THING as a tailgater. There are only pious, self-righteous assholes who refuse to get out of the way of people who have the audacity to move faster than them.
Re:Not so funny as true. (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't stop people from passing me altogether, but when traffic is stacked up, the space between me and the car that I am following is the minimum space I like, a nice 'safe' two car-lengths (nearly three if I'm doing over 60). You weavers seem to think that is a invitation to make my 2 car lengths of space into a half a car(or less). Tell me how that is safer? I see it as a choice between 1 car-length behind a car which I 'know' or 1/2 behind some new driver. Unless there is a pacer in front of me it doesn't last long, and most know what I'm doing. If there is a pacer, I tend to just slow down as traffic will get dangerously stacked up, sometimes I'll even consider the next exit for a stop, as pacers are the trigger for most weavers.
Despite my best effort sometime people do get into that space and I give them the proper space require in front of me, but it slows down traffic behind me, I can't tailgate them. Sometimes they still do get ahead of me, and since my primary job is to keep myself safe, I slow down by 5 mph, what's the difference, well, times that by the number of cars which they 'force' to give space. It slows down traffic, thus making more people more aggressive, and increasing the number of weavers. Have you ever wondered why on some road traffic is either going 70 mph or crawling along: Often it's the number of people switching lanes ahead of you, and others giving them the proper space that they need to be safer.
Perhaps your breaking reactions are perfect, and you can perfectly time a car's speed, but the rest of us have two choices, either over-break, or slam into the other car. Also, you might not realize it yet, but some people who are put in a situation where they come to fear for their lives, react aggressively. Most people who commit deadly road rage acts are not the original offender, but someone who over-reacted to what they saw as a threat to their lives, it's actually a natural human response to a threat.
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.
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.
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.
Re:Tailgating (Score:1, Insightful)
If something in front of you is moving slower than you are, then you ONLY have two acceptable options:
1. SLOW DOWN to keep a safe distance
or
2. OVERTAKE
The fact, or your opinion, that the object in front of you "really shouldn't be there or be moving at that slow speed" is totally irrelevant! If you're unable to accept and adapt to this, then you shouldn't be permitted to be on public roads.
Re:Tailgating (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Slow drivers--Know Your Surroundings! (Score:2, Insightful)
I do agree that we all have to share the road, and that the left lane is for passing. I actually try my best to never be in a situation were someone will tailgate me when I pass (I don't do it for you, I do it for me). But on single-lane roads, I found that *whatever* the speed I drive, there is always going to be a tailgater waiting there for you. Always! Pull to the shoulder you say? That's even more dangerous most of the times! In low-traffic situations where it is not dangerous, you shouldn't have a hard time to pass me when I go the limit. Hell, I'd even slow down for you if it would help (but I know it doesn't).
So please, respect my wish to drive the limit. You'll soon get an occasion to pass me (if you aren't one of those pansies who can't pass unless there is 10 miles of road free ahead of you), just bide your time a little. Sharing the road isn't just a mantra for those who drive slower. I feel your pain and I'll do my best within reason to let you get on your merry way.
You know, if everyone drove the same limit, you know, a magical limit chosen by society somehow, then those problems would not arise. We could probably even cut cost on highways since we wouldn't need 4 lanes for passing cars
Z.
Re:Slow drivers--Know Your Surroundings! (Score:2, Insightful)
Actually, whenever someone behind me flashes their lights, and I am in the fast lane, then I take it as a request for me to switch to a more appropriate lane and allow them to pass. A request I always honor. Someone flashing their lights is a helluva lot less rude than them hanging on my ass, and gives me an opportunity to notice them (since I obviously didn't notice them the first place).
The problem with people on the road today is that they always ascribe the worst possible attitude to others' actions. I interpret others' actions in the politest way possible.
And no, a quick flash of the high beams is not dangerous, c'mon.
Re:Fog lights == Removal of tailgaters (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Tailgating (Score:1, Insightful)
If you are in command of a multi-ton vehicle going down the road at 80mph, THAT should be the primary task.
If the phone rings, let it ring. If it was important, the caller will call back later or leave a message.
If a song you don't like comes on the radio, deal with it. Your life won't be the slightest bit less fun if you have to hear an extra song or commercial.
If you can't eat and drive, put down the damn food. If you can't drink coffee and drive, drop the habit you addict.
When crossing a railroad track, it's in your best interest to put down the damn phone, turn off the DVD, and look to see if you might be in danger of getting your butt run over by something that will hardly feel the bump when it hits your car.
When coming up to a stop sign, stop you stupid idiot. Put down the phone. Push the brake pedal. Wait for the car to stop. This is easy. Try it. Warning: I do stop. Long and hard. If you tailgate, I drive slower and slower and stop longer and longer.
Don't make me pullover and drop in behind you, unless you want to go deaf and blind. My car may look innocent but it packs the airhorn off a Freightliner and more foglights than are technically road-legal. And I use both.
Re:Moo (Score:3, Insightful)
You are assuming that someone going 35 is physically incapable of going 45, instead of choosing to do so. There are any number of reasons why you would do this, from slowing down for a turn, unfamiliarity with the area, bicyclist or pedestrian along the road, blind curve, or just not being comfortable with the road - plenty of roads are badly maintained and kept.
Only a fool would drive the maximum of the limit all the time, and assume that those who don't are "bad drivers".
And how are you going to deal with tractors, construction equipment, or other slow vehicles allowed on the road?
Re:Tailgating is NOT the problem... (Score:3, Insightful)
Excellent troll. My take is that when it comes to assigning blame for a rear end collision, the tailgater will get it. And that's really the legal definition of what is safe or not. Ultimately, if you're following someone too closely, you're putting both of you in a dangerous situation and the law recognizes that.
Furthermore, you have absolutely NO idea what is motivating the driver behind you...there could be a medical emergency involved, and your prissy ass might be impeding their progress to a hospital. Why take the risk to yourself, your vehicle, and possibly others' lives? If you just get the fuck out of the way already, the tailgating "problem" disappears.
If it's a medical emergency, call an ambulance. Almost always faster and safer. And you don't have to worry about some nutcase taking you out just because you tailgated them or a cop pulling you over. Also there's your hazard lights. If I saw a car zooming down the highway with their hazard lights flashing, I'd get out of the way.