In my local experience, these are actually just profoundly incompetent. Hanlon’s razor.
They tailgate because they are actually incapable of maintaining a following distance (you know the kind, when the road is empty they alternate between mashing the gas and driving well under the speed limit, and somehow if you’re a passenger they’re totally unaware that they are doing it even if they are not distracted, how it is possible to be this bad at gauging speed and distance I do not understand but these people do exist).
Then as their malfunctioning brain randomly processes that they want to go faster, they overtake, and since the lane is clear they mash the gas.
Then when they are done and they merge back, their brain performs a hard reset and they somehow drive slower than before they passed you. They do not notice. You pass them, and they are not looking distracted; the only explanation is that their brain is doing the simpsons-monkey-cymbals.gif.
I used to have pretty bad road rage. Eventually decided I didn’t want to be like that, and started driving the posted limit. Instant relief from stress and I enjoy driving now.
When driving is an activity to make up for constantly being late, you end up like the crazy tailgater. When you abide by limits, you end up like the person in front.
I’m my younger years, I got 3 $300+ speeding tickets in just under a year (speeding in Cali is an expensive lesson). This pretty much stopped my speeding habits. I use my cruise control constantly. It works down to 16mph in my car, so even in school zones. I fucking love it so much. Huge reduction in stress and anxiety.
And before anyone asks, I’m not the holier-than-thou asshole doing the speed limit in the fast lane. I stick to the right lane, move over to pass when I need to, and then move back.
I’m convinced regular driving is not good for our brains. I am lucky to live without a car and I am a really relaxed person but it takes about a day driving again before I start getting angry at other drivers again.
Public transport is the answer. But if that’s not an option, a tip someone gave me once was to imagine all other drivers as toddlers. Its kind of a compassion hack. Or elderly on medication.
If that ain’t the truth! I miss having a half decent public transit option.
In general, I agree, but then you have someone doing like 45 in a 65 and it becomes annoying to need to be the one to take action when all you want to do is relax and drive the speed limit.
Sure, but either you can pass, in which case you should do that, or you cannot; in either case, tailgating doesn’t help.
- Foot off the gas. You will slow down.
- Don’t lose your nerve
- They’re gonna pass and then maybe find speed traps for you
Source: garden state parkway and i287.
I guess this is probably safe. /r/dashcamgifs makes me want as much space as possible between me and the other 2-ton projectiles.
If driving were a sport where you got points/safety for being right, I would drive very differently. I have right of way over that person parked in the intersection? Back to a save point for them!
I forget where she got it, but my mom sometimes quoted a nursery rhyme ending with “he was just as dead as if he’d been wrong.”
The kind of drivers I’ll never understand are the kind who will tailgate, but for whatever reason, won’t change lanes and go around, even if they’re wide open.
I mean if you’re going to drive like an asshole, at least commit. People who half ass their road rage annoy me more than those who weave through traffic like suicidal morons.
In many cases I don’t think they are even intentionally tailgating. They just suck at driving and they’re used to following way too close at all speeds.
That’s when you set your cruise control to exactly the speed limit and sit back to enjoy the show.
I would if I was even more petty than I already am—but I drive a sports car—so my goto technique is to drop a gear and disappear; show them how a real asshole drives. 😜
(But seriously, why not just go around me? Are they allergic to changing lanes? Buy blind spot mirrors and set them correctly if fear is the issue. They’re ~$3 at Wally World.)
Probably irritated that they’re in the middle lane instead of keeping right expect to pass. (or left except to pass in countries that drive on the left).
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This is the 4th time you’ve commented this, something isn’t going right on your instance (or my instance), I though I left this bug behind when I left reddit haha.
On my connection or app, I think.
If I merged onto the highway on the left, I have to eventually get right. I’ll move to the middle lane when it’s safe, but then 1-2 miles before my exit, I’ll move to the right lane (for right exits). But it’s unreasonable to expect drivers to crowd the far right lane all the time, making merging/exiting the highway more congested and dangerous just because I only drive 0-9 mph over the speed limit at the speed of traffic flow…
But it’s unreasonable to expect drivers to crowd the far right lane all the time, making merging/exiting the highway more congested and dangerous just because I only drive 0-9 mph over the speed limit at the speed of traffic flow…
So what do you do when there are two lanes? Ride the left lane? No? But then how do people possibly merge? Huh, somehow it works. Shockingly, you can move to the other lane when someone needs to merge because, whoa you guessed it, the lane isn’t full of people going slower.
It’s not unreasonable, and there’s a reason why it’s the (sadly often unenforced) rule almost everywhere to keep right/left. Somehow it works in Germany where it is more heavily enforced. Oh, and guess what, it’s safer for everyone.
This is totally psychological (thinking it’s crowding the right lane and causing merge issues). You may not realize it, but you’re doing this just because you unconsciously feel more comfortable with more space (for yourself) on both sides. It’s called the “space cushion”. You might even tell yourself you are safer because you have more directions to escape to if a situation arises. Or you might just be lazy, as it’s a lot easier to sit in your cushy middle lane and not have to think about what you’re doing.
But you’re actually creating more problems by riding the middle lane, leading to people passing on both sides, doing more dangerous weaving maneuvers, reducing the optimal flow of traffic overall, and making the road less safe for everyone. And did you know you’re probably making merging worse? Yeah, the fact that you think you don’t have to change lanes to assist with people merging just because you’re in the middle lane means that you’re part of the problem. You still have to pay attention and be ready to move over, in case there is already someone in the right lane who needs to move over.
It’s pretty selfish to be honest. Stop being a lane hog.
As long as you’re not impeding the flow of traffic that’s fine. Some people stay left or center and impede traffic because they want to make everyone go slower. My brother is one of those people.
I tell him he’s not the police and is actually being more dangerous than just getting the fuck out of the way.
Just like someone wants to go slower. Let others live and they can live or die with the consequences. Don’t inject yourself into a dangerous situation to prove a point.
Yeah. If I stayed in the right lane, every couple miles I’d need to change lanes to avoid an exit only, or free up space for entering traffic to merge. But that leaves one of not two open lanes to my left.
Also changing lanes is stressful for me: the situation changes quickly, and even after checking blind spots I’ve almost sideswiped someone a couple times. (Also honked to keep a pair of cars in front of me from picking the same moment to shift into each other.)
So, I get the principle, and I also am annoyed with slow traffic in the left lane. But if there’s room to pass on the left, that’s what I see as necessary.
It is the job of the person merging onto the freeway to find a safe place to merge. The person on the freeway is also able to move out of the right lane if they so desire, but they aren’t required to from what I understand.
All of that said, I see people being center lane campers all the time whether it be in the middle of a city, where it’s arguably fine, to rural but populated areas where it causes traffic, to the middle of nowhere, where it isn’t inconveniencing me, but is just weird.
It’s an indicator that the center lane driver is not paying attention. I want to be far away from drivers that are not paying attention.
It could be, but I just think they think it’s OK to chill in the center lane. Everyone else is doing it, after all, never mind that everyone else is also causing traffic to be worse.
Another class of driver I want to be far away from
Absolutely
The California DMV handbook literally tells you to do that. If there’s three lanes, cruise in the middle lane. If there’s two lanes, cruise in the right lane. I don’t think it’s a requirement, but it is the official recommendation in California.
Interesting, that seems to me like it would encourage people to pass on the right. In my experience driving with 3 lanes the right lane is often bare and clear while the left lane is clogged and the middle lane is moderately busy which is, of course, the opposite of what it should be, generally. In cities, obviously, cruising in the middle lane can make more sense, as there’s much more merging on/off of the freeway.
People often forget, this is only on highways/motorways. On surface streets (recognizable by their lack of entry/exit ramps/infrastructure and same level intersections) left lanes are for those expecting to turn left next, right lanes are for those expecting to turn right next, and middle lanes are for those who will be going straight past the next intersection, with some variance expected on occasion.
Surface streets
3 lanes
You don’t need to tell me where you live.
Its sadly not only an America problem. Its not uncommon here in China to see 3 lanes each way, a seperated motorbike lane that’s like 10 feet wide, a seperated bus/bicycle/car parking lane, 5 feet of bike parking, and then 15 feet of sidewalk.
And somehow cars still drive on the sidewalks.
Yeah, if I come up on someone in the middle lane when there’s clearly space in the right lane, I get pissed. I don’t even drive fast, so if I catch up to you, you really have no business being anywhere but the right lane.
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That’s a lot of lane.
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I had a dude once tailgate me and honk at me for going 25 in a 35. I had just pulled out of a parking lot and was getting my bearings. It was a two-lane road. I was in the right lane. He finally went around me, and I gave him a dorky wave.
30 seconds later, he was in front of me at the next red light, so to be a dick, I honked at him.
Dude spent the next 10 minutes in front of me going like 10 miles per hour. I wasn’t in a hurry, so I thought I’d just let that play out. Later, when I switched lanes to avoid a turn-only, he switched immediately after. I realized that he intended to stay in front of me driving slowly presumably until I got home.
So I eventually faked him out and lost him.
Dude wasted 10 minutes of his life proving some kind of insane point. He had a young daughter in the back seat. I feel bad for her.
When I see or meet anyone on the road that does anything stupid … I avoid them like the plague.
I’m not sticking around to see if the other guy/gal is going to lose it and do something stupid that will either cause a minor accident … or kill someone.
This is the smart move. Don’t antagonize them, no matter how much they deserve it. It’s not worth the risk.
Want to go so fast they’ll go slow for it.
That’s they get for driving on his road!
People have always wanted to be outraged. Its in our nature.
Might not believe me but there’s a subset of drivers that actually enjoy the ride being dangerous and thrilling 🤷♀️
It’s reckless and incredibly immature, most probably won’t admit it or even understand they do it on purpose. They just enjoy the adrenaline and going fast and being an animal about it
‘People who shouldn’t have a driving license’ is the term, I believe.
I know a lot of them 🙃
Some argue they drive this way to stay awake, junkies 🙃
I absolutely believe it. I live off a major street. This street passes through a residential area. It has many cross streets every few seconds.
The speed limit through the residential area drops to 25.
People drive through at 80mph. Not exaggerating. I avoid the main road, especially at night when the roads are clear. Never know when nothing will be happening, totally quiet, and then ZOOOOOOOOM a car from 2 miles away nearly runs you over before you see it.
We need self driving cars to get these crazies away from steering wheels.
We need to make trains better and far more numerous to make driving the lesser alternative.
Don’t disagree, but you won’t get rid of cars entirely and they’ll still be a major part of transportation. I’m just saying they should at least be safer.
Too impractical in most places in America sadly. I’m just hoping this high speed rail in Cali gets finished. I commute from Sacramento to Los Angeles once a month for stupid meetings and it sucks my choices are drive 7 hours or fly or take a 15 hour train ride one way for a higher price than the other options.
Seeing how car company refuse responsibility and driver often not paying attention and takeover when needed, this is a bigger disaster waiting to happen.
I work at an major airport. We have human sized roombas that just drive around scrubbing the floors.
There is no rhyme or reason to where they go. They coild be going in a straight line, and then no reason cut in front of you. Or spin 360 a few times just spinning in circles.
Or just abuptly stop, and then start zigzagging.
Point is, I do not want these robo cleaners to be car sized, car weight, car fast, and also, hackable.
They tried this before in Japan and Hawaii and it was terrible! People got burnt, electrocuted, and pulled right off the streets!
We need to not have cars at all since that solves all the problems at once
I mean this isn’t realistic at all.
It could totally be done if people could get their heads out of their asses and cooperate. So yeah unrealistic… But I’ll still assert it as the ideal we should all aspire to. I can’t believe anyone can go down a street and see all the space being used just to house vehicles. This system we have constructed is utterly ridiculous
I was stuck behind someone going 40 in a 55, finally have a good clearing to pass them - then as I’m in the middle of that they decide to match me. Okay…weird, but they’re going fast now and on coming traffic is approaching now, so I hit my break to slip back behind them. They hit their break too. I’m guessing they saw the traffic too and they hit their break to let me ahead??
I had to pull into the wrong shoulder to avoid collision. There was still about 5-10 seconds before the on coming car actually passed me, so its not like it was a “near miss”, but still too close.
Was I in the wrong here? I felt like an idiot after that, but also being stuck behind someone going 15 under is miserable.
This sounds like you encountered an actual road troll, but it could’ve been one of those things akin to 2 people trying to speak at the same time, where it takes 2+ attempts before they figure out who’ll talk and who’ll listen.
The matching of your speed during your pass attempt seems like the primary offense.
The only justification I can concoct is if your passing attempt made the driver realize they were going slow enough to make people wanna pass, and they chose a stupid and inconsiderate time to accelerate. But that possibility is undermined by their subsequent braking. Maybe the braking could’ve been reflexive as they watched you and oncoming traffic approach bumpers, but that’s a second unlikely thing that’d have to be true to shed a troll label.
I knew a guy who was that kind of troll. Riding in the car with him, he’d mutter “don’t pass me” and would go faster purely to avoid being passed. So I know those trolls exist.
You say it was 5-10 seconds before oncoming traffic would arrive. That feels close to me. 5 seconds is too close to be passing in my opinion. 10 seconds sounds safe.
Having not been there myself, I’m can’t feel certain either way. But kudos to you for considering that you might be wrong. Just that fact portrays you as attempting to do right, and lends credibility to the trolliness of the other driver.
When I said 5-10 seconds, I meant there was 5-10 seconds after I pulled over before the on coming car passed me.
In that entire interaction, I had time to speed up, they had time to speed up, I speed up some more, they speed up more. Then I presume we both saw the on coming car, realized we were getting nowhere and did the same action hoping for opposite results. They gave up to let me ahead, and I gave up to get back behind them.
Then I really gave up and pulled to the shoulder, than it was another little bit for the oncoming car to pass. And of course, the memory of timing could be completely off, but I was fully stopped when the car passed me and my pants stayed clean.
They probably weren’t paying attention to their speed at all, and didn’t even accelerate on purpose. People often go faster when something starts passing them.
My guess is they doesn’t realize what they did, and thought you had lost your mind. I mean, imagine how that looked to them if they doesn’t realize they sped up on you.
On the other hand, I’ve had other drivers do things like that on purpose to screw with me before too, and while I could go into detail, it suffices to say the times I am thinking of were pretty clear cut. I haven’t found that behavior to be particularly common though.
My favorite experience with this was driving on a two-lane highway with a good bit of traffic in both lanes, going maybe 5 under the speed limit (and driving right behind another car in front, so it’s not like we could have gone faster). Car comes up behind, weaving from lane to lane slowly advancing, and ends up behind us. Rides our ass for a good 45-60 seconds, doing that thing where they start to move into the other lane, realizes (when they have a better view) that that lane isn’t going any faster and there isn’t an opening to pass, then pulls back in behind us, and repeats that for a while.
Finally they saw an opening and pull into the other lane, zips past us, and pulls in in front of the car in front of us. Blue lights come on instantly. We had apparently been driving behind an unmarked police car and didn’t know it. We got to look real smug when we passed the asshole driver after they pulled over.
9 times out of 10 the people who post this kind of stuff or the people with 10,000 bumper stickers about tailgating are just bad drivers who need to blame it on everyone else to soothe their ego.
It’s much easier to call every else crazy instead of realizing that you’re just slow and in the way.
It’s always the people fixated on tailgaters who are oblivious and going 50% of the speed limit because they’re too busy staring at the traffic they’re creating instead of focusing on the road.
I regularly have people tailgate me when I am driving only 75 mph in a 65 mph area, despite the fact that the person ahead of me is driving the same speed as me so I could not drive any faster even if I wanted to. Fortunately the situation is usually resolved as soon as enough space opens up in the neighboring lane that they can dart past me and tailgate the car in front of me instead.
Cool story, sounds like you’re bad at keeping pace. Maybe try using your cruise control
I do use adaptive cruise control. Mysteriously, this does not cause the car in front of me to drive any faster.
Idk if they have the space to get around you it sounds like you were just in the way and angry that someone has the audacity to go around you.
I have no problem with them going around me when space opens up; I have a problem with them doing unsafe things, such as tailgating me until space opens up to pass me and then rushing past with narrow margins, especially when the result is that they only gain a couple of car lengths and just end up tailgating the car in front of me instead.
It’s a speed limit, not a mandatory speed.
I also have to say that I was frequently tailgated, because I was going at the speed limit, when mostly everyone else went above.
You’re not a cop you have no authority to enforce the speed limit.
People are going to drive like this, it’s your choice to sit in the way, pissing everyone including yourself off.
Oh come on, we all know that it’s an unwritten rule that you either drive exactly at the speed limit, or up to 9 MPH over, because no cop will pull you over unless you’re egregiously speeding (because literally everybody speeds). Don’t be a fool who follows the law to the letter, rather than interpreting the intention of the law, like judges and lawyers get paid to do.
Don’t know where you live, but in my state there is a law that states that you must go with the flow of traffic, regardless of the speed limit. Driving slower than the flow of traffic not only causes traffic jams, but also increases the chances of either getting into—or causing an accident. Your stubbornness causes more issues than it fixes.
Oh people hate me because I go the posted speed limit or slightly below, cause you know that’s the legal limit there. But no, that’s not good enough they gotta go like 10-20 over. Especially in a school zone, people love to speed there which is wild to me.
That’s alright, so long as you understand that driving the speed limit does not give you the right to bogart the left lane if a speeder wants to pass. Right lane for cruising, left lane for passing; no exceptions.
That’s great and everything.
This comic is about people hogging the middle lane
The comic is about someone refusing to use the passing lane to pass.
I’m normally not a big fan of applying police to every little issue, but public road safety is pretty clearly a good use of police. One ‘public safety officer’ (not even a full cop, just someone who can hand out tickets) sitting next to each school with a speed detector could really help remind people driving is a privilege, not a right, and can absolutely be taken away if you are going to endanger children for the sake of your own impatience and over-inflated entitlement.
Other good things they could be doing are enforcing no parking zones and noise limits on cars. Don’t know how many times I’ve heard cars that are way too loud because they either took their muffler off, it got rotted through, or are playing music so god damn loud. Ticketing people for parking in no park zones would also make streets safer.
Had a weird one happened to me yesterday. Three lane Highway and I’m in the middle Lane. Going 70 mph in a 70 mph Zone cruise control on listening to a podcast just chilling. Weird lady just right on my bumper the whole way. Passing Lane wide open. She keeps trying to pass me on the right but I’m going faster than them so she keeps getting stuck and then ending up behind me again never once trying to pass on the wide open left passing line. This went on for 15 miles until finally she got off. Still don’t understand why.
There’s a chance her vision is better at discerning shapes and colors on the right but not on the left. I remember my mother telling me that she couldn’t drive in the right lane because she couldn’t make out the road markings. And yes, she did always have a huge line of cars behind her.
You have a way more generous Spirit than I do. Of course I could see her face the rear View mirror and from what I can tell she was pissed off and not a pleasant person.
That, unfortunately, also described her. Complete impatience and a complex about control. I almost want to ask whether this woman drove a red sedan, but the chances are so infinitesimal that it’s not even worth considering whether they are one and the same.
Why did you capitolize “Spirit”? Are you saying they have a more generous fledgling budget airline than you do?
Seriously, how is Spirit still around? They’re like the radioactive cockroach of the aviation industry.
Spirit is the only honest airline. Yes, it’s cheap (in the bad sense off the word), but it’s also the cheapest (in the money sense). You know exactly what you’re paying for. I never feel taken advantage of with them. I feel my spine, my butt, my elbows, my neighbor’s elbows…
Because the speech to text function capitalizes weird words and I’m too lazy to fix it.
