drdiesel1 Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Slowing down when you are being tailgated is the safe thing to do. That way the tailgater has more of a chance to not hit you if you have to slam on the brakes. Defensive driving is giving yourself and other drivers room to make mistakes. It can also allow them to have room to go around if their hair is on fire too :lol: ptjones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleytoons Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Yeah, I always slow down when a tail-gater approaches (the other thing I have ALWAYS done, even when I drove fast in my sports car, is turn on my right signal when in the right lane and a fast driver comes up behind me if I don't have time to change lanes. I'm basically saying "hey, I understand I need to get over and I will as soon as I safely can" and usually they at least back off a smidgeon. Or at least don't try and swerve around me). Long before hybrids there has been this problem. I was once driving on the California freeways and we were all doing, ahem, well let's say well over the limit but traffic was all flowing together, when a cop car got in front of the four lanes and began swerving back and forth over all four lanes, like he was crazy. It was scary but effective, as we all had to slow down. It was his way of getting dozens of cars to start doing the limit (and I mean the LIMIT, not five or ten miles over it) without trying to give out hundreds of tickets. You might fool yourself and say "well, everyone else is speeding so it's safe and good to drive this fast over the limit" but NO cop will ever agree with you. And they may well decide you are the one they will pick out to make an example of. Your absolute best course of action is to not speed (and I mean NOT at all. Seriously. There are tons of statistics to back this up but the two most telling are that road fatalities decreased by a LOT when the national 55 mph limit went into effect. And that excessive speed is a factor in 1/3 of all fatalities. It's just not worth it and this is coming from a former speeder who prided himself on going 130mph one time on a freeway for over 2 hours). anaphora68 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotomoto Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Idiot: everyone driving faster than you.Moron: everyone driving slower than you. drdiesel1, SnowStorm, kostby and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowStorm Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 .... going 130mph one time on a freeway for over 2 hours).I suppose you only stopped because the tank was on empty?!? What was your MPG? :lol:Now that's what some folks would call "hypermiling"! :lol2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleytoons Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) It was "back in the day" when there were no speed limits in Nevada and I was having fun with my small sports car (IIRC it still got about 25 mpg even at those speeds, but that was when gas was so cheap we never really even thought about it -- WAY under $1 per gallon). It was also a rotary engine and the performance characteristics of it are long lost to my ancient brain. So -- probably a full tank and I made the Vegas to LA run in just a little bit over two hours with no gas stops (normal travel time was about four hours, although back then I never took longer than three to do it). Oh, but it was SO stupid -- I actually think back and am amazed I'm still alive (because just driving insanely fast wasn't my only issue -- I would perform reckless turns and other maneuvers that at the very least tested my guardian angel's patience to the limits. Then again, I was a very unhappy person then who was so lucky I got to a point in my life where it's so good I'm just content to putter along at exactly the limits now). Edited January 17, 2015 by Kelleytoons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Smith Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Kelly, I happened to be in traffic court one day many years ago... A speeder was trying to argue that the cope singled him out of the group of other speeders. Judge- Sir, have you ever been fishing?Speeder- Yes sir, of course.Judge- Did you ever catch ALL the Fish?Speeder- Of course not your honor...Judge- My point exactly sir.. Been triple digits in several vehicles and motorcycles A few cases it was legal and on a track. in other cases no so much. It is pretty amazing how quick the line dividing stripes go by when you get north of 120... ptjones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowStorm Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 It was also a rotary engine ...May they live forever! My dad had one once (Mazda RX-2 4-speed, IIRC). Get it up past 5000 rpm and it would really go! So here's my dad running about in this nifty thing while I get a Rambler American flat head 6! Talk about a contrast in engine technology! Back to the OP - if someone is going out "lead foot driving", isn't it best they do it in a Prius? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptjones Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 May they live forever! My dad had one once (Mazda RX-2 4-speed, IIRC). Get it up past 5000 rpm and it would really go! So here's my dad running about in this nifty thing while I get a Rambler American flat head 6! Talk about a contrast in engine technology! Back to the OP - if someone is going out "lead foot driving", isn't it best they do it in a Prius? :lol:It is amazing that even lead foot drivers aren't slowed down much by a Prius. :lol2: Did it ever occur to you that tailgaters are NASCAR driver wannabees ! :lol: :lol2: :shift: Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anaphora68 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 I actually got flipped off by a Prius driver the other day. It was rather amusing. I'm going for a vanity plate - PRSKLR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 when a cop car got in front of the four lanes and began swerving back and forth over all four lanes, like he was crazy. That is a standard tactic to create a break in traffic so that a road hazard (e.g. something that fell off a truck) can be safely removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtb9153 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Thank god for lane splitting in CA Lane splitting for motorcycles should be outlawed in all states, why should they be allowed to pass through in traffic. BS I hear is because they are air cooled and can't sit in traffic. Too Damn bad I say. First thing that would change if I was in a decision making position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 1/12/2015 at 1:28 AM, SPL Tech said: I love seeing drivers get pissed off about other drivers in the left lane. Funny thing is the guy in the left lane is doing the speed limit, so while breaking the law (speeding) drivers are complaining about others breaking the law... Pretty ridiculous. If the dude in the left lane is driving the speed limit, you have no grounds to get pissed off as you are asking another driver to help permit you to break the law by speeding. As a Prius and C-max driver I 100% agree with you. I drive the limit +2, and I do try to stay tot he right- BUT if I am in the left and I cannot get to the right- I will not entertain someone honking or riding me- they can sit back and enjoy the ride. The speed limit is the speed limit, and this idea the Left lanes are a free for all- is self entitled jerks. I have always driven this way and that is the reason my friends NEVER let me drive. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzchen Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 On 2/6/2022 at 7:15 AM, Dino said: As a Prius and C-max driver I 100% agree with you. I drive the limit +2, and I do try to stay tot he right- BUT if I am in the left and I cannot get to the right- I will not entertain someone honking or riding me- they can sit back and enjoy the ride. The speed limit is the speed limit, and this idea the Left lanes are a free for all- is self entitled jerks. I have always driven this way and that is the reason my friends NEVER let me drive. ? (I just approved this post, so I feel like I have the right to post regarding it. As a moderator I feel my duty to be impartial. At the same time I'd like to post a comment). Notes on driving in Japan 2 1/2 years ago: Most roads were only two lanes in the one direction. When not busy, everyone stayed in the (left/slow lane, RH traffic). This left the one lane wide open. If you were faster all you needed to do was change lanes to the "fast lane" and pass by. There were posted speed limits and a lot seemed to oblige. But I never once saw a police nor any police pulling someone over. Didn't see an accident the 4 days that I drove there. Boy did that help on the last day when we were in a hurry to the airport for our flight, the airport on the far side of Tokyo from where we were staying. (I only had to get our Toyota Roomy rental out of the way of a BMW 3 series)... So to comment I appreciate it when people do stay out of the "fast lane" if they aren't driving fast. (Say thanks to your friends for me. ? But in all fairness you did say you make a conscious effort to change over to a slower lane if you can, which I think is fair enough).... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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