The newer Honda Jazz cause some problems with the auto-folding mirrors for the tech-averse older driver. I had the joy of following one (at a safe distance) where the driver couldn't get them deployed. It was a slow drive!
My auto mirrors unfold themselves at approx 20mph. But then I've got one of those evil German cars that I terrorise Honda Jazz drivers with.
Re the slowing with someone following you I really think you're best off just continuing as you are, don't be intimidated and pull over when you can if you want them past you.
I don't agree about carrying on until you can pull over. During that period when you are carrying on you are being put at risk by that driver. If you slow down you reduce the risk
I for one am delighted that this thread has not descended into the expected willy-waving contest.
I for one like Roman numerals.
Bad, inconsiderate and reckless driving is one very strong reason why we can't wait to leave Lancashire and move to rural Scotland. At least for nine months of the year we will have the roads almost to ourselves.
I don’t agree about carrying on until you can pull over.
That's fine, we can disagree 🙂
My take on it is it's safer to have someone tailgate you than it is to wind up the driver behind who then becomes irate/irrational and then does something stupid.
Recently I've seen a car slow to a crawl on the motorway to stop a van getting past, I have no idea what started it but I'd wager it was one of the drivers reacting to the other doing something that they saw as wrong and decided to get vigilante on them.
And it's not a one off.
I’ve seen a car slow to a crawl on the motorway to stop a van getting past
I don't understand this - if the car slowed to a crawl why didn't the van simply overtake?
I don’t understand this – if the car slowed to a crawl why didn’t the van simply overtake?
Because 2 lanes and the car was swerving over both of them to stop him.
I was in traffic on the opposite carriageway.
Bloody rubberneckers. :p
you are being put at risk by that driver.
Still not seen the explanation as to how it's actually dangerous for the car in front at <30mph.
Jambo – I don’t actually hit the brakes – just light up the brake lights for a second.
tapping the brakes and hitting the hazard lights at the same time is also very effective.
you are being put at risk by that driver.
Still not seen the explanation as to how it’s actually dangerous for the car in front at <30mph.
Because if I have to emergency stop then the car behind will hit me. basic physics.
Still not seen the explanation as to how it’s actually dangerous for the car in front at <30mph.
Other speed limits are available.
... besides which, if someone's been road-raging on your bumper and then subsequently runs into the back of you, do you think they're going to jump out and go "frightfully sorry old bean"? Or do you think there's a risk - you might say a "danger" even - of them getting a bit punchy?
In any case, just because you're unlikely to die in a 20mph collision doesn't mean it's desirable, does it. "Oh, I'll let the guy run into me, it'll only be a couple of grand's worth of damage, a load of hassle and increased insurance premiums for the next five years" said no-one ever.
Because if I have to emergency stop then the car behind will hit me. basic physics.
No it won't - it'll hit your car. Or it might, if the driver is too slow to react. That's pretty basic.
Well, that's OK then. No-one ever got hurt in a <30mph collision.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9455663
Oh.
No - they WILL hit your car - thats because they are too close. It matters not one jot how quick their reactions are At 30 mph if they are closer than 3 - 4 m and you emergency stop they will have hit you before they have time to react ( reaction time around 0.4 seconds, 13 m/s at 30 mph)
A few years ago I w on the M^ on my motorbike. As often happens traffic was concertinaing up in the outside lane which I was in . Car behind got to close, I couldn't acceolerate because of the car in front. I slowed, the car behind got closer. I decided it was too dangerous and moved into lane two 30 seconds later the car that had been infront of me braked adn the car that had been behind me hit it. Less than 5 m between the cars at 70mph. If I hadn't moved over I would have been hit very hard indeed.
Witnessed the most amazing lucky escape a few years ago on the M56 near Frodsham. It's a typical tail gating situation, focus driver not watching traffic slowing, hit the brakes hard, and completely span the car 360. Ended up on the inside lane without hitting anything.
thats because they are too close. It matters not one jot how quick their reactions are At 30 mph if they are closer than 3 – 4 m and you emergency stop they will have hit you before they have time to react ( reaction time around 0.4 seconds, 13 m/s at 30 mph)
extend that logic, and its actually safer for them to be closer as the speed differential will be less...
😉
Bloody rubberneckers
😂 guilty
If someone tailgates me, I continue driving the same, but i aim to increase the gap to the vehicle in front, this gives me more time to react gently, if necessary, plus it gives the tailgater a chance to pass me.
If someone is driving like a dick, I’d rather they were in front of me, that way i can ensure a safe gap.
Nobody wins if there’s a collision.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9455663
/blockquote>Thanks! That's what I was after.
I know what I'm doing next time I get tailgated...
Putting my bloody foot down 😆
If you remove your mirrors you won't know the tailgater is there.
Or mix it up a bit and drive with your eyes shut, adds a little fizz to the daily grind.
WHat about drivers who tailgate and 'loom' , they really grind my gears.
driving 1mtr further out in the lane so you appear big and close in my mirror in a vain attempt to bully me into speeding up and breaking the law.... there may be cats around ,who knows.
Then dropping back 5mtrs to accelerate up to the previous 2mtr position again.
I will either drive wide so their pointless 'loom' manoever puts then right across the oncoming carriageway , or if I feel they are a danger I just stop
Sometimes, if they are incapable of completing an actual overtake , because they are so close their line of sight is compromised I just pull across the road and let them undertake and be off on their merry way
Or , if I am being a dickhead I will indicate left and stop , but only when there is a stream of cars coming so they come to a complete fuming standstill with steam coming out of their ears, then they overtkae in a wheelspinning fury and disappear off at 60mph , only to catch the car that I was following at a safe distance in approx 10 seconds time.
Then there are the tailgaters who cannot read traffic flow. We are approaching a roundabout and there are 10 cars waiting , so I will slow down with the aim of arriving with 1 -2 cars left , or preferably none. It is therefore much more likely that I can continue without coming to a halt, and makes it physically impossible to hit thhe car in front if they do something daft like a go-stop move ,or a crash for cash scam. But invariably there is a white van 1mtr from my back bumper who is determined to join that queue as quickly as possible , when the journey time will be exactly the same.Just using more fuel and more brake pad material.
I think roundabouts are about the only place I get wound up by other drivers. It's those folk who sit in a queue moving slowly towards a roundabout , get to the lines, then stop, then look, then go. They paid no attention to traffic flow up until the point they have to when they're at the line. No thought for anyone else.
They are probably making sure they don't drive into the back of the car in front (as many seem to have done) What is wrong with stopping and looking once you get to the roundabout?
Not sure that really counts as no thought for anyone else.
Done the impatient on a motorway undertake and cut in front with an inch of space types yet?
I get that from time to time. Queue of traffic and there's virtually no gap between me and car in front but left lane has a space so guy behind will aggressively dash into that space then race to cut in front into a space that didn't even seem to exist meaning I'm now an inch from his bumper. He's still going the same speed with the queue of traffic, but hey, he's one car in front so success! Until the traffic clears and I speed up cruising past as it seems he doesn't want to be fastest, just in front.
It's the fear of penile atrophy.
It's a well known fact that tail-gaters are big pricks.
What is wrong with stopping and looking once you get to the roundabout?
In lots of cases, very little at all, especially when it's busy. But the whole point of roundabouts is that they're supposed to ease the flow of traffic by not stopping people with lights (yes I know some r/abouts have lights) But when traffic is light, you're supposed to be aware of what's going on, and adjust your speed approaching the r/about so that you disrupt the flow of traffic as little as possible.
Some folk though, don't bother with any of that. They just drive to the line regardless of the weight of traffic, Stop. have a look about and then go, To me, on an otherwise light traffic round-about that's an indication of someone who's not paying attention to what's going on around them, See also; not looking in their mirror, not indicating, 40 mph regardless of the actual indicated limit. In lots of ways these folk are worse than tailgaters. At least in some respects those folk are Having to pay attention to you, the others are often just rolling along blithely indifferent to the chaos around them.
Never been in an accident, seen hundreds... as my dear old dad would say...
Other than those with lights, roundabouts in the UK have Give Way lines, not Stop lines. If there's nothing coming you're supposed to roll on through.
There does seem to be a certain mentality of driver that wants to drive in front of you, slower than you. I had one the other day on a drive up to the Lakes, I guess he took umbrage at being overtaken by a Skoda or something. Soon after I’d overtaken he came flying past me, a minute later I’d caught him up as he was doing about 60 in the middle lane so I passed him again. Rinse and repeat for miles, I had the cruise control set to (an actual) 70mph and didn’t accelerate or brake once. Bizarre.
I had that on the M1 the other day. Cruise control, 70mph and I passed the same car half a dozen times. He'd fly past at 80, then I'd catch up to him as he was doing 55. Repeat. Maybe he was texting or something - slow down to type a message out! 😆
Also, I'm convinced that the M1 has special magnetic centre barriers that attract all cars into the outside lane. My car must be made of plastic, I seem to be able to use the inside lane with no issues but apparently I'm in a minority.
Other than those with lights, roundabouts in the UK have Give Way lines, not Stop lines. If there’s nothing coming you’re supposed to roll on through.
I would prefer them to have stop lines as people pulling out in front of me when I am on the roundabout is a much bigger issue than people not rolling through when I am behind them going onto roundabout.
just to add a whinge about people who drive so close down a 20mph residential street that when you stop to reverse parallel yourself into a space, they have to reverse back up to give you enough room. Can't you even manage to leave a single car length? FFS
Arseholes innit?
Loads of drivers are drugged up to the eyeballs either legally or illegally, loads are on the phone, watching shit on social media or whatever and a lot just don’t care about anyone else.
If someone tailgates me in a speed limit I just ease off the accelerator a bit until they’re forced to brake. It usually sinks in after a couple of cycles.
What winds me up is all of the above, plus the folk who think the national speed limit is 39mph. You follow said biffer (usually in a Honda Jazz or equivalent) at 39mph for miles on a 60mph road, then when you get to a residential 30mph zone they accelerate up to 45mph as you slow down to 30... I used to overtake these people, but nowadays they catch you up at the next red light, wearing that smug 'that didn't get you anywhere any faster, did it?' look on their faces...
YES, IT GOT ME TO THIS RED LIGHT FASTER, MUPPET!
I must admit since I bought my Discovery I generally don't give a toss any more. I just let people get on with their shenanigans. Driving like a plank generally saves minutes at best off the same journey, so why stress yourself? The roads are just too busy.
My drive to work partially involves a seemingly* safe and straight section of NSL road, so I'll be doing 60 (if appropriate!) along it and regularly get overtaken by muppets doing 70 or 80.
I always catch them on the steep hill down to Taunton that follows.
*Not as safe as it seems, as there numerous hidden dips and small side roads along the 3-4 mile stretch. I do a lot of wincing as people nearly head-on other cars.
Highways and interstates, crank up to 55 to 70 depending on the limit, and cruise along again.
When I was driving on the interstates around LA, I’d be doing 70-ish, and be overtaken by Porsches and other sports cars who’d leave me behind like I was doing 30!
a Honda Jazz or Hyundai i10’s which seem to be built with 19 mph speed limiters
I can promise you, they aren’t, I’ve driven lots of them. Same as lots of small city cars like Smart fourtwo’s and the VAG Citigo/Up!/Mii, they’re quite spritely given half a chance, most drivers of such cars tend to be of the ‘40mph regardless of what’s indicated’ persuasion.