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I'm really fed up with driving these days. It's as if driving is some kind of race.
The way I drive is very relaxed driving style which allows me to get very good MPG from my car. I am very gentle on the throttle and I coast for the majority of anticipating what is ahead.
Seriously everyone here drives with such a high stress style of driving.
Not only am i easy on my engine, brakes, transmission etc I also get excellent MPG with my relaxed driving style.
You have to realize that everyone drives with a different personality and a different goal and everyone can rationalize why their driving style is "fine." Even people who drive recklessly can tell you why they're the ones who are the good drivers and everyone else is a horrible driver. And usually everyone does at least something that would count as bad driving.
The worst people are the ones who try to "force" you to drive faster by tailgating you. They're the ones who stress everyone else out. I'll be driving at 50 mph in a 40 mph zone and they'll come up on me close. At that point, you sort of unconsciously start speeding up gradually unless you make a real effort not to. They know this -- and anyone who drives like this will tell you that's why they do it, if they're being honest. So I'll notice my speed edging up and they just keep tailgating. Once I get tired of this, I just slow down drastically. So, usually my cut-off is a 5 to 10 mph increase. In this example, if I notice I'm at 55 mph and they're still tailgating me, I just take my foot off the gas and we start coasting until I hit about 45 mph. Then I just stay at that speed, regardless of how close they get to me. I don't play the "slam on the brakes" game, but neither do I speed up. I just drive nice and easy and meanwhile they're usually going crazy in their car, which only makes it more enjoyable for me. A good deal of drivers will realize what I'm doing and just back off, at which point I'll resume driving at my initial speed and they will no longer tailgate me.
You have to realize that everyone drives with a different personality and a different goal and everyone can rationalize why their driving style is "fine." Even people who drive recklessly can tell you why they're the ones who are the good drivers and everyone else is a horrible driver. And usually everyone does at least something that would count as bad driving.
The worst people are the ones who try to "force" you to drive faster by tailgating you. They're the ones who stress everyone else out. I'll be driving at 50 mph in a 40 mph zone and they'll come up on me close. At that point, you sort of unconsciously start speeding up gradually unless you make a real effort not to. They know this -- and anyone who drives like this will tell you that's why they do it, if they're being honest. So I'll notice my speed edging up and they just keep tailgating. Once I get tired of this, I just slow down drastically. So, usually my cut-off is a 5 to 10 mph increase. In this example, if I notice I'm at 55 mph and they're still tailgating me, I just take my foot off the gas and we start coasting until I hit about 45 mph. Then I just stay at that speed, regardless of how close they get to me. I don't play the "slam on the brakes" game, but neither do I speed up. I just drive nice and easy and meanwhile they're usually going crazy in their car, which only makes it more enjoyable for me. A good deal of drivers will realize what I'm doing and just back off, at which point I'll resume driving at my initial speed and they will no longer tailgate me.
i never speed up when someone tailgates me, in fact i have been known to slow way down gradually.
OP, dont change your driving style, just relax when driving, and let the idiots do what they do. just be prepared when the idiots act like idiots so you can avoid them.
Lulz - you would get ran off the road in the DC metro driving like that.
I'm not so sure. The DC area has both crazy fast drivers and slower, more relaxed drivers in abundance. I think that's why traffic is so screwed up here.
And if there is a line of cars backed up behind you at rush hour because you are "relaxed?" What then? Does it matter at all to you that you are blocking traffic? What is wrong with moving along with traffic at a reasonable rate?
i never speed up when someone tailgates me, in fact i have been known to slow way down gradually.
I'll do that, too, depending on how obnoxious the tailgating is. For example, some people like to ride you so close that you basically can't even see the hood of their car in your rear window. If they do that, I just slow down to a ridiculous speed. If they don't get the hint, then they'll enjoy a nice 25 mph cruise for miles.
And if there is a line of cars backed up behind you at rush hour because you are "relaxed?" What then? Does it matter at all to you that you are blocking traffic? What is wrong with moving along with traffic at a reasonable rate?
In general, rush hour has heavy traffic. In other words, it's not backed up because there's one guy in the very front with empty road in front of them. It's backed up because everyone in the area is trying to drive at the same time. You're just trying to make up a criticism.
In general, rush hour has heavy traffic. In other words, it's not backed up because there's one guy in the very front with empty road in front of them. It's backed up because everyone in the area is trying to drive at the same time. You're just trying to make up a criticism.
Thank you Carnak for trying to tell me what I am thinking.
No, driving at purposefully low speed during rush hour is a ROAD HAZARD. Right or wrong people will get impatient and upset and make irrational moves just to get around some jerk in the road who cannot be bothered to press down on the speedometer because he can save 2 cents in gas.
Is that his fault? Yes, because he is the one unnecessarily causing the bottleneck. That is why it is a ticket-able offense.
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