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Back in the day when my sons & I did a sideline lawn mowing service, I regularly pulled a tandem-axle trailer loaded with about 4 mowers & equipment.
At highway speed (I drove 55-60 on the 2-lane highway to our acreage) I was always dumbfounded by how many people would drive about 3 feet from the back of the trailer. Stupid, stupid, STUPID people!
The weird thing about it is that it wasn't a heavily traveled highway, and relatively flat, so it's not as though they couldn't pass me if they wanted to.
I never slammed on the brakes, but I regularly hit the brake pedal to light up the brake lights on the trailer. If they didn't get the obvious hint after doing that once or twice, I'd just slow down.
Basically, the law is that if you rear-end somebody, it is YOUR fault. Period. You can claim, in a court of law, that the person in front of you slammed on their brakes, but it's still your fault. That's why you're supposed to be 1 car-length behind for every 10 mph of speed you're traveling.
There are 2 lanes on the highway. The left lane is for PASSING. Not cruising at whatever speed you want to on your joy ride with your hand up your ass or cell phone to your ear- get the heck off your phone and drive. Some people do have places they need to get to on a time schedule and are not on a joyride. So when you are in the left lane and someone needs to pass, get yourself over in the right lane and let them pass, it doesn't matter how fast YOU are going even if it is 65 or 70, they may be going 75. They are going faster and need to pass you. If they get a ticket it is their problem, you are not the traffic police. Going too slow in the passing lane is a hazard and forces others to have to find creative ways to pass you if you do not get over in the right lane which is the cruising lane. They are not just going to accomodate your speed and ride behind you happily and let you dictate the flow of the traffic because you are going the speed that you think is adequate and you FEEL like you want to cruise in the left lane which is the passing lane. I repeat it is simple: when someone wants to pass get outta the left lane and into the right. When you want to pass pull in the the left and pass and vice versa, it is really simple.
There are 2 lanes on the highway. The left lane is for PASSING. Not cruising at whatever speed you want to on your joy ride with your hand up your ass or cell phone to your ear- get the heck off your phone and drive. Some people do have places they need to get to on a time schedule and are not on a joyride. So when you are in the left lane and someone needs to pass, get yourself over in the right lane and let them pass, it doesn't matter how fast YOU are going even if it is 65 or 70, they may be going 75. They are going faster and need to pass you. If they get a ticket it is their problem, you are not the traffic police. Going too slow in the passing lane is a hazard and forces others to have to find creative ways to pass you if you do not get over in the right lane which is the cruising lane. They are not just going to accomodate your speed and ride behind you happily and let you dictate the flow of the traffic because you are going the speed that you think is adequate and you FEEL like you want to cruise in the left lane which is the passing lane. I repeat it is simple: when someone wants to pass get outta the left lane and into the right. When you want to pass pull in the the left and pass and vice versa, it is really simple.
Ummmm, please read what he wrote.
He was doing 63 mph in a 55 mph zone. 4-lane highways are NOT 55 mph zones. Therefore, the left lane is ONCOMING TRAFFIC.
Basically, the law is that if you rear-end somebody, it is YOUR fault. Period. You can claim, in a court of law, that the person in front of you slammed on their brakes, but it's still your fault.
Legally, it depends on jurisdiction, but usually that is how it works. That, however, does not absolve the person who slams on his brakes to teach them a lesson. Around here they may get cited too. That is road rage and their are laws against that too.
I understand that. But without multiple witnesses, you'll never be able to prove that the person in front of you slammed on the brakes and caused you to rear-end him/her. And even then, the accident is still going to be at least 50% your fault.
Also, the person who wrote the lengthy response - who claimed to be a former patrolman - said that it would be "extenuating circumstances" that would cause the accident to be the fault of the driver of the vehicle that was rear-ended.
Legally, it depends on jurisdiction, but usually that is how it works. That, however, does not absolve the person who slams on his brakes to teach them a lesson. Around here they may get cited too. That is road rage and their are laws against that too.
As I've said, it's going to be a tough stretch of legal juggling to get the person in the front vehicle cited.
But the main point is for drivers to BACK OFF. And while there are several hot-heads on this thread who claim they are not advocating tail-gating, they obviously ARE advocating it. And I have absolutely no doubt that they themselves are relentless tail-gaiters.
Too many people are absolutely STUPID when driving and/or they've been watching too much NASCAR and think that drafting should be done out on the open highway.
He was doing 63 mph in a 55 mph zone. 4-lane highways are NOT 55 mph zones. Therefore, the left lane is ONCOMING TRAFFIC.
Kinda deflates your rant now, doesn't it?
No, it doesn't deflate it. My statement still applies except I guess in the case of congested traffic as that in a metropolitan area at rush hour. It doesn't matter how many lanes. The SLOWER people, whatever the speed, still need to get out of the left farthest lane and let the faster people pass. Even if you are making headway and the left land is oncoming traffic that means the people in front of you need to get themselves over for you to pass. As I said I'm sure the problem arises when there is too much traffic in a city area or something and there is just too many people on the road. But then I guess if you don't want to deal with it then don't be on the highway then or take a different route if possible. There is no reason on an open highway without congested traffic for someone to not let a faster motorist pass them, but of course if there is no traffic you can just get into the right lane and pass the slow person on the left too.
No, it doesn't deflate it. My statement still applies except I guess in the case of congested traffic as that in a metropolitan area at rush hour. It doesn't matter how many lanes. The SLOWER people, whatever the speed, still need to get out of the left farthest lane and let the faster people pass. Even if you are making headway and the left land is oncoming traffic that means the people in front of you need to get themselves over for you to pass. As I said I'm sure the problem arises when there is too much traffic in a city area or something and there is just too many people on the road. But then I guess if you don't want to deal with it then don't be on the highway then or take a different route if possible. There is no reason on an open highway without congested traffic for someone to not let a faster motorist pass them, but of course if there is no traffic you can just get into the right lane and pass the slow person on the left too.
But that's not what the OP was talking about. He spoke of going 63 mph in a 55 mph zone.
If you're on a 2-lane road - aka, one with a 55 mph speed zone - you're always in the right lane, because it's the only lane going each direction. You cannot go any farther to the right, without being on the shoulder or in the ditch.
Now... Let's get back to talking about why so many angry people on this thread are defending tail-gaiting, which evidences the fact that they themselves are angry and relentless tail-gaiters.
No, it doesn't deflate it. My statement still applies except I guess in the case of congested traffic as that in a metropolitan area at rush hour. It doesn't matter how many lanes. The SLOWER people, whatever the speed, still need to get out of the left farthest lane and let the faster people pass. Even if you are making headway and the left land is oncoming traffic that means the people in front of you need to get themselves over for you to pass. As I said I'm sure the problem arises when there is too much traffic in a city area or something and there is just too many people on the road. But then I guess if you don't want to deal with it then don't be on the highway then or take a different route if possible.There is no reason on an open highway without congested traffic for someone to not let a faster motorist pass them, but of course if there is no traffic you can just get into the right lane and pass the slow person on the left too.
If I may ask, how many years driving experience do you have?
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