graham_mitchell

Getting back to the original subject, being tailgated is one of my pet peeves. Sometimes I can be doing up to 100mph on a European highway and a smart*ss in an Opel will be only 10m behind me. He is effectively making it impossible for me to brake even moderately without causing an accident and he doesn't get where he is going any faster. Just stupid... So I fully support the police for cracking down on it.

Speedraser

I wish the police focused on tailgaters rather than hiding behind something and radaring/lasering the cars. Of course, that would require some actual effort, and an assessment of whether someone is actually doing something dangerous. It could also actually do some good.

It's ironic and sad that the emptier a given road is, the safer it is to drive fast but the more likely you are to get a ticket. If you're the only car on the road it's extremely unlikely you'll have an accident, but since you are the only target for a radar or laser gun, you're a sitting duck. On a heavily trafficked road, there are many other cars to be targeted by laser/radar, so with a good detector you have a pretty good chance of avoiding a ticket. Yet, the emptier the road is, the safer it is to drive fast.

mlincoln

In Germany, while the majority of the autobahn is "unlimited" with regards to speed, all other regulations (as well as speed in marked zones) is aggressively enforced. For example, the police set up vans with cameras (VW Vanagons, I was proud to see!) on overpasses and electronically measure following distances. If you follow too close, they automatically image your face and front plate, and you get a ticket (basically unappealable) in the mail. Speed is similarly enforced on secondary and city roads, and on the sections of the autobahn that are speed limited. You get 5-10 kph over the limit grace at most. Perhaps because Germany spends a great deal of effort policing all aspects of driving, as well as creating safer roads and cars, they can attain high (but disciplined) speeds on certain stretches of autobahns and yet incur a lower fatality per mile driven rate than in the good old USA. For example, Joe 6-pack or Twin Turbo just can't put any wheels he wants on his car or change its ride height up or down--all equipment and modifications have to be T.U.V. approved.

At the same time, remember that speed is aggressively enforced (and aggressive lane changes, tailgating, left lane hogging, red light rule bending, finger pointing--the equivalent of a class A misdemeanor--and a variety of other things) by camera and aggressive police enforcement. In Finland the fines are proportional to income. The chairman of Nokia got an almost 1 million Euro fine a few years back...reduced on appeal...for ca. 30 kph over the limit, or about 18 miles over US.

Mike

Mike_A

mike .....a couple of comments.......as i recall , back in the old days...the German ADAC made you take a real drivers test, including a slalom and the ability to change a tire.....i guess that's why licences can cost up to $2000.....clearly from actual observation the average European is MADE a better driver than the average stateside driver because he really has to QUALIFY to be on the road.....as much as i prefer to drive the open American road over the autobahn, the downside is having to put up with our slugs, i.e., everybody else who has paid their taxes and have a "right" to the highway...... the system promotes "fairness" , not "excellence".....

couple of suggestions......start a conversation with your favoite cop and you learn pretty quickly that as far as driving is concerned traffic enforcement is more about "revenue" and "staying busy"......for your next club track event , invite your local pack of constables to perhaps demonstrate just how ill-prepared , they are to drive fast .... they know how to slide, and when in pursuit, are trained to turn a car NASCAR style... but a proper line thru a turn? .....it's comical

grouchy

Illinois recently passed a law against driving in the passing lane. Only counts for the farthest left lane, and has to be uncongested traffic.

My wife was pulled over and warned on I-90 in Indiana for riding in the left lane. The officer pointed left and right multiple times and said "Passing lane, driving lane" to go along with the indications.

"But officer, I wasn't tailgating, I was drafting"

carrageous

This works, I swear.

I get behind them exactly two car lengths and pull as far to the left as possible (inside, for Brits, Aussie & Kiwis), usually, with my front tire on the yellow line and then look intently into their side mirror.

I chant "You're a freaking idiot. You're a freaking idiot. Move over. And you're ugly, too. Move over."

Usually works within 30 seconds. And I know what you're thinking: it helps to be psychic!

Also, I always give a nice thank-you wave, because good Porsche drivers are always polite.


Dain

Speedraser

I will always remember something that happened during high school. Several of us were taking a long trip. I was driving my '83 Saab 900 Turbo (which I still have), and came up behind a left-lane hog. I flashed my lights (broad daylight, BTW), nothing happened, flashed again, nothing happened ... finally, I gave up and passed on the right. My friend was behind me in his "well-equipped" Chevy Suburban. He pulled up behind the same left-lane hog, hit a switch that turned on a rather impressive array of very bright lights, then picked up his microphone and SHOUTED through the loud-hailer mounted on his roof, "GET THE #*@% OUT OF MY WAY!" To this day, never have I seen a car move over faster...

forklift

I wonder if I can replace my fog lights with one of those instead of brake ducts? Maybe they make a smaller model?

mlincoln

Mike,

I agree absolutely, in most parts of Northern Europe driving standards are high. It starts early: you pay for your driving school and test, done to a very high standard. The cost is not paid for by the public schools. I can't really figure out why U.S. parents put up with easy to obtain (free = teenage "right"), poorly done public school drivers' training and resulting carnage and insurance rates for teenagers. These are generally the same people who would be aghast if their little Jimmy or Sue were subjected to any remote risk of harm from a third party (slip and fall, teacher giving a failing grade, you name it). Perhaps it is because, unlike most European cities, our suburbs and cities are zoned and built upon the assumption that one must drive everywhere, even for a quart of milk. I suspect parents are just worn out from being shuttle bus drivers by the time the first kid turns 16.

I agree completely with your point that European driving skills, roads, and cars are generally in accord with a much higher standard. One point where I might differ from some others might be in the advisability, given our situation in America, of taking our superior driving skills (that we at least suppose we have) and our definitely good cars into the anarchy of poorly supervised, constructed, and maintained American road, and then pretending we're on the autobahn (when we're patently not).

Mike

FastMaz

I too live in Oregon and have never experienced so many "left lane, self-appointed, traffic monitors". I agree these people are more of a hazard than most all other drivers.

What to do?

Bruce SEA 993

I have a subtle and non aggressive method to cure the cronic tailgaiter of a specific episode of tailgaiting.

I like to drive as fast as feasable concidering conditions and traffic but around town or when traffic is bunched up in front of me I do end up with tailgaiters.

Here in the Northwest, some drivers (operators) of cars will pull up way too close and tailgate you using you as a pace car. They are not thinking because if you slightly increase and then decrease your speed then they have to start paying attention to you and they back off. Seems to work about 9 out of 10 times. I gives you a little room in case some other idiot screws up in front of you and you have to stop fast.

I think all 3 of my cars have superior brakes to 99% of the rest of the cars out there. I would hate to avoid an accident infront of me and then get rear ended. Oh wait. I have been hit 5 times in Washington after moving here 15 years ago and they all have been rear enders. Hmmmmm.... There is no mechanical inspection in the states that I know of and the "drivers test" is a joke.

Anyhow, I think tailgaiting is a subset of the dainbread ( I mean brain dead!) people who sit for mile after mile in the passing lane at or under the speed limit with nobody in front of them.

Speedraser

When I was 16, my licensing "road test" lasted a total of 4 minutes and 30 seconds (!), and my speed never exceeded 25 mph. Although that may be enough to tell that someone canNOT drive, it's surely not nearly enough to determine whether someone CAN.

When I took Driver Ed, the in-car instructor had me demonstrate literally everything because I had already passed my road test. He thought his only job was to get us to pass the test; since I'd already done that, he figured he had nothing to teach me! While I was delighted to get more wheel time, I thought that was truly pathetic.

I've been told that in some places in PA, the "road" test doesn't even utilize a road -- it's all done in a parking lot.

No wonder the standard of driving in the US is so poor.

Carrera Mike

Tod/Speedraser, I agree 110% You made some very good points. If other drivers would just take the head light flash and the left signal left on as "excuse me, I need to overtake your slow ___" it would have been a better world.

I grew up in Philippines where driving rules are almost non-existent(and there's seems to be less accidents), but those 2 gestures are welcomed and acknowledge with no problem at all., Here, you seem to be the A** H*le if you do that instead of him/her holding up the fast lane.

Matt H

The flash to pass lenses on my RX-7s are the greatest invention in history. They dont blind people just let them know you want by, works like a champ. Too f*ing bad if they dont like it.
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forklift

Ron (and anyone else), please see: https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...hreadid=114873

This is from the last of the article, "Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, a co-sponsor of the bill, said left-lane drivers force others to pass them on the right, causing accidents and frustration.

"It's the No. 1 cause of road rage in South Carolina," he said.

We need this passed in VA!!! Hell, it might be a law here, but if it is, it certainly is not enforced.