If you’re that close to the car in front, you’re the bigger asshole and causing by far the bigger danger
Be The Sunshine ☀️
Submitted 2 weeks ago by Krudler@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/7f3d7a0e-f1de-4fd5-b084-156dd303507a.jpeg
Comments
FishFace@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
socsa@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
The people who are obsessed with this are also the people who seem to think any person in the left lane at any time gives them justification to aggressively weave in and out of traffic, ignoring the equally present laws against speeding and undertaking.
FishFace@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
This is my impression too. The number of times I have been held up by someone hogging the outside lane, or had to change lanes twice around someone hogging the middle, is very low compared to the number of times I’ve been held up by a lorry overtaking another lorry on a two-lane road (perfectly legal, happens at least a dozen times every trip on such roads) or been aggressively tailgated while I’m overtaking traffic (not legal, happens about once per such trip)
stickyprimer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
There are only traffic laws in my town, apparently:
- “it’s my turn”
- “I wanna go fast”
The problem is everyone obeys them.
BrilliantantTurd4361@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
You close the gap gradually as a reminder to get the fuck out of the way. The sticker is correct. Get out of the fast lane.
agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
There’s no such thing as a “fast lane”. “Fast lane” implies that there’s a speed fast enough to justify staying there, which is false.
It’s the passing lane. You use it to pass slower traffic in the middle lane before getting back into the middle lane. If you’re not passing people, you do not belong in that lane.
FishFace@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Your desire to go faster than the car in front does not overrule rules of safe driving. If you think it does, or if you’re so impatient you are unable to think rationally in this situation, your attitude is not suitable for driving a two ton machine at 70-odd miles per hour.
The sticker is wrong. Get out of the driver’s seat.
SwingingTheLamp@piefed.zip 2 weeks ago
Incorrect in Wisconsin, FWIW. By law, we have the speed limit, and “slower traffic keep right.” And there’s no keeping-up-with-flow-of-traffic clause, either. So traveling at the limit in the left lane is completely legal, there’s no obligation to clear the way for lawbreakers.
666dollarfootlong@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
So true. I can’t believe how often i’ve seen morons like this also say something like “actually driving too slow is dangerous too”
architect@thelemmy.club 2 weeks ago
Because it is.
Don’t hangout in the left lane.
anyhow2503@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It is, but suboptimal driving behaviour of your fellow drivers is never an excuse to consciously make road traffic even more dangerous or behave aggresively.
snooggums@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
Going significantly slower than the rest of traffic can be dangerous in a limited number of scenarios, but not frequently enough for people to bring it up in casual conversation.
FishFace@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Yeah. And they rarely give a fully articulated reason why “driving too slow is dangerous”. Because they know that the real reason - “it makes other people drive aggressively” - is trying to place the blame on slow drivers for the actions of actually dangerous drivers.
Of course, you should drive at an appropriate speed. But in terms of safety messaging, it’s not the thing to focus on.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That was my reaction too. The worst drivers are the ones who treat the highway like a race track, always looking to pass anyone in sight, swerving into any lane to do so, and tailgating people as a strategy to get what they want. I hate those people so much. Yeah it’s super annoying to get blocked by a car in the left lane but you’re right, the tailgater is the worse person here.
this@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
For real though, I will move over to the other lane as soon as I safely can, some people don’t know how to wait for 5 fucking seconds.
FishFace@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
And they all get mad on the internet when you call them out on their shitty, selfish impatience.
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Kind of surprised by how many people are defending this shit.
If you tailgate people, you can go fuck yourself.
save_the_humans@leminal.space 2 weeks ago
Im surprised by the people indicating that they don’t pull over on purpose, literally just to be an asshole… Tailgating is idiotic, but you can do something about it by getting out of the way. Its safer to have as much room around you as possible. Don’t tailgate, let people pass, and pass quickly. Who wants to drive right next to someone, in their blind spot or in yours? Use your controls to either speed up or slow down.
Also driving fast barely saves time on short trips. You might save as much as 2 minutes on your daily 20 mile commute driving like an absolute maniac. But who wants to risk a ticket or accident doing that everyday and then paying an increased insurance rate on top of potentially losing your car and spending time in the hospital with an insane medical bill?
jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I rarely if ever see a tailgater tailgate one car that’s doing something wrong, and then immediately go back to being cool.
LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Not that it’s the right thing to do, but you can save a surprising amount of time driving fast. If traffic is averaging 60mph, and you, being a psycho BMW/etc driver manage to average 90, even over just 20 miles, you’ll get there over six minutes sooner.
The time savings of course gets pretty nuts over 200+ miles with even just a 10-15 mph difference, and sometimes reasonable speed differences are more than that in situations like getting stuck behind trucks passing other trucks at 55-60 vs the 80mph speed limit on some highways.
ericwdhs@discuss.online 2 weeks ago
I don’t think most tailgaters are driving fast for time savings. I think it really just comes down to the feeling that being forced to drive slower than you want to just feels bad, and if you’re emotionally immature or impulsive, you let that feeling impact your driving.
I don’t let it impact my driving, but I can absolutely feel my impatience rising being trapped behind a slower driver. There have even been a couple times where it was persistent enough to start affecting my focus. My solution? I parked somewhere to cool off, which you might note is the opposite of saving time.
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
In my state it is law that slower traffic move to the right lane. That means if your hall monitor ass is running the speed limit in the left lane and you are holding up traffic that wants to go faster than you, you are not only the asshole you can be pulled over and cited and I have seen it enforced.
nexguy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
So it’s legal in your state to exceed the speed limit of you want to go faster than the guy in the fast lane that is going exactly the limit?
naught101@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You’re correct, but as a schematic the image is also correct.
GuerillaGorillas@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Seriously, driving slow and clogging the passing lane is irritating and dangerous, but tailgating is just making a dangerous situation even worse. Plus, if a person is already absentminded enough to be cruising in the left lane they’re likely not going to be rational enough to interpret that as “move over.” Instead they’ll just think “some crazy asshole is on my ass” and either keep as-is, panic, or try some spiteful move like slowing down in the left lane and further compound things.
redsand@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
Can confirm. Tailgating will fuck financially and physically. Just ask any insurance agent.
dreadbeef@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Allowing someone to tailgate you is also an asshole maneuver.
stickyprimer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Zero “people” are defending this. Anyone defending this is subhuman.
vathecka@lemmy.radio 2 weeks ago
Get off your phone slowballs
Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
You know what I do if someone’s tailgating me? I imagine that they’re a bomb disposal expert on their way to diffuse a nuke at a school for blind orphan kittens, I pull over and let them on their way, and smile at the thought of all those kittens who’ll be saved. Stress level 0.
naught101@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I just think “dickheads to the front”. I’d rather have bad drivers in front of me, where I can see them and avoid their bad driving.
stickyprimer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Think of it this way: do you want them driving toward you or away from you?
tias@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
What do you do if they still stay behind you, refusing to pass?
naught101@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Slow down until they do, or even pull over if it’s safe to.
mech@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
There’s a minimum safe following distance that’s necessary to avoid accidents.
If they’re too close, I’m in danger of getting rear-ended.
The safe following distance depends on the speed we’re going.
I can’t control how close the car behind me is driving.
But what I can control is my speed.
So I let off the gas and slow down until my speed matches their distance.(They’ll pass me long before that)
WoodScientist@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I use a maneuver that I call a “reverse pass.” I make them pass me whether they want to or not!
Turns out, when a vehicle is traveling at highway speed, it’s a lot easier to slow it down by 20 mph than it is to speed it up by 20 mph. This means it takes less distance. You can slow down in a shorter clear lane window than you can speed up.
If someone clearly wants to go faster than me but they’re too chicken shit to pass, I’ll force them to pass. When an opening forms, I’ll quickly move to the left lane, push hard on the brakes, drop my speed down, and move back to the right lane. By the time the dumbass has even figured out what’s happening, they’re already in front of me. They do not get a choice in the matter.
baguettefish@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
shoot
MutantTailThing@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
If you drive normally I’ll let you pass. But if you’re up in my ass flashing highbeams when I’m still overtaking? Grab a snack buddy cause we’re going nowhere and we’re not going there fast either.
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Though I read a story (I think on lemmy, though it’s been a while) of someone trying to meet an ambulance in the middle of nowhere (Texas, I want to say?) as their friend was bleeding out, basically.
A lady did what you describe and it took critical time away. The friend ended up dying just before they met the emts.
Not everyone who looks like they are a dick, are one.
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Anecdotes aren’t data.
Ride my ass so closely that you put me in danger, and I’m taking my time.
socsa@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Shit happens and sometimes you won’t be there for it and that’s just life. It’s not a justification to put everyone else on the road in danger.
Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
If you do what the comment describes it’s fine. But if you do it to an ambulance you deserve to be shot as I do think we can all agree there is a distinct difference between any regular car and an ambulance.
stickyprimer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
For every 1 speeder who’s trying to the ER in time there are 10,000 who will die on the spot from speeding.
Give me a break with this bullshit second hand tale. I’m not going to treat tailgaters like they are on their way to save a life. They take lives.
Monument@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
What I’m hearing is you require other drivers to drive deferentially in such a way that caters to your ego in order for you to drive safely and avoid conflicts, otherwise you drive like a sociopath for sport?
MutantTailThing@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Jesus fucking christ calm down you lunatic
StillAlive@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah, play chicken with a maniac driving a 2 ton vehicle. Good luck.
MutantTailThing@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Driving at the speed limit is not ‘playing chicken’
watson387@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
If you’re that car in the first place, you’re blocking traffic. Get the fuck out of the way.
daannii@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Unpopular opinion. But my experience has been that the people who have road rage the worst, are incredibly hostile, aggressive, reckless, and dangerous drivers.
they are always riding other drivers ass. Cutting them off. Refusing to let other drivers in. Whipping around fast any time anyone in front of them isn’t going 10 miles over the speed limit. Just the worst drivers.
They cause accidents too. I know two such guys. They both have a long history of car accidents. Whereas I, a non hostile friendly driver, have none. And I’m 40.
It’s because I don’t drive like an jackass.If I see someone trying to merge. I make room for them.
I don’t drive right up behind people. I don’t honk if they are going a little below the speed limit. I mean there are speed cams all over cities.
It’s normal for people to be a little conservative with speed to not get those $150 tickets.
I also don’t assume people are intentionally trying to fuck up my day. No one drives perfect 24/7. We all miss our turn. Occasionally forget to check before merging. People make mistakes. Getting angry is not productive or helpful.
I don’t get mad at people for messing up one time. You know? But if they are driving aggressively and putting other people at risk I sometimes do use some passive aggressive methods to block them in so they can’t swerve like a maniac around other cars and cause an accident.
It’s pretty rare that I do that but I have. This comes from my opinions on anti-social behavior in society needing to be discouraged. You may or may not agree with my stance on this.
One time I did it, it was apparently an unmarked cop car. They kept using the shoulder to weave in and out of slow traffic. Very aggressively. Forcing themselves between cars. Not waiting for gaps.
So I slightly pulled to the right to block them from using the shoulder to keep doing it. Then they flashed their lights at me. I’m certain they were not on a cop mission. Just an asshole entitled cop. Otherwise he would have just drove on the shoulder with his lights on.
Being a cop doesn’t mean you get to drive where you put other people at risk because you think you shouldn’t have to sit in traffic. Everyone has places they need to get to. That’s why we are all in cars driving.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
That’s sweet and all…
Get over to the right bro. Yes people drive dangerously. Yes there are improvements everyone can make.
GET THE ABSOLUTE HECK OVER.
LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
They didn’t mention camping the lane outside of sometimes fucking with aggressive d-bags. If you read otherwise, maybe you’re the aggressive d-bag that deserves to be fucked with?
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
They never said anything indicating anything about what lane they’re driving in. How do you know they’re on roads that even have a left lane to camp in?
Dozzi92@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s a lot of words to justify camping in the left lane.
Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Not the person you responded to, and I generally don’t camp in the left lane, but when I am in the left lane and actively passing someone, more often than not there’s some dude behind me that can’t even wait for me to get 20’-30’ in front of the vehicle in the right lane before I switch and they speed up and wedge themselves through the gap on and angle between us to zoom off.
dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I doubt anyone is driving slow just to fuck with me. A stranger in another car. You know?
I’ll add to this that a lot of people are walking around with this fiction in their head about ‘good drivers’. In reality, driving is a skill and not everyone can be good at it. We really don’t want people like that driving fast, and maybe not as fast as everyone else at that.
So, I see someone driving slow and I honestly think “maybe this is the best they can do knowing that it would be dangerous to go faster, beyond what their reflexes can handle.”
WoodScientist@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
10 mph over is the normal driving speed on US highways.
If you’re going to be a slow poke, I suggest you start practicing reverse passing. Are you on a road with one lane in each direction, and someone comes up behind you wanting to pass? Instead of being an asshole and trying to stop them, be a positive influence and help them. It’s far easier to reverse pass than to pass, as you’re slowing down rather than speeding up.
Reverse passing is just like it sounds - passing in reverse. You enter the left lane, slow down rapidly, and then move back over. You force the driver behind you to pass you whether they want to or not.
There, now you’re the driver in the following position. You just eliminated a traffic hazard, and you can go at your own pace without inconveniencing anyone. Take your slow Sunday drives if you want, but don’t be an asshole. It’s extremely anti-social behavior.
schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Insurance actuaries agree: men are worse drivers.
RattlerSix@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This the the guy two inches behind me when I’m already doing 15 over the speed limit
BranBucket@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Same.
If I’m going faster than other traffic and already over the limit by a decent amount, I’ll move over once the middle lane is clear, but I’m not speeding up just because you’re impatient.
In fact, I’ll slow down just a wee bit.
I give no fucks.
But, the caveat to that is that I don’t loiter in the passing lane at ten under the limit. It’s the passing lane. I’m there because, you know, I’m passing people and not because I think I need to do 95 mph in a lifted truck just to assert my dominance over the morning commute.
nexguy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think that looks like tailgating because you couldn’t have a sticker to scale with the cars at proper distance from each other. It’s just a model showing cars need to drive in the driving lane not the passing lane.
stickyprimer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s his god given right to get a speeding ticket and you are trampling his freedom!!! /s
joeljoelle@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Says the bumper sticker on the giant ass pickup truck who blocks your entire view and always drives 5mph below the limit.
VitoRobles@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
They can be an asshole and still be right.
timeghost@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The North American truck schmuck, there are many and they grow larger each year due to environmental pressures brought on by higher temperatures, worsening education and shrinking penises.
mech@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
If the car behind that is you, you’re also an asshole.
Stop fucking tailgating, no matter what the car in front does.jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The tailgater is always the asshole, if there is to be just one.
TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
The asshole in his giant micropenis truck is right, you are also an asshole when you behave like that.
rockerface@lemmy.cafe 2 weeks ago
That’s the secret, all 3 drivers are assholes. Fuck cars.
obsolete@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
The tailgater is also an ass hole.
stickyprimer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“If I’m tailgating you, you’re an asshole.”
The small dick energy of this truck is amazing.
absGeekNZ@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
I looked at the picture and was initially wondering why the front car is in the wrong…took a moment to realize that this is probably from a country where they drive on the wrong side of the road.
Murse@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Slow drivers on the left are annoying; tailgaiters are a threat to my safety. Become a threat to my safety, and suddenly I don’t give a shit about your safety. Get on my ass like that middle car and the first thing I’m doing is scanning ahead for a pothole or piece of debris on the road: if spotted, I’m waiting until the last millisecond to dodge it, and you get to drive full-speed into it. If not spotted, we get to drop a mph on the cruise control every few seconds until you fuck off.
chunes@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The middle driver is also an asshole in that situation. Stop tailgating.
Folstar@lemmus.org 2 weeks ago
Putting a sign for the car infront of you to read on the back of your vehicle is incredibly on brand for Pavement Princesses.
QuinnyCoded@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
It sure does smell here like an american driving culture.
Dearth@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It makes me feel good to know that done jaggoff in a lifted truck thinks i am an asshole
HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
But… how is “you” supposed to see that?
hanrahan@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
i hired a car in Miami, driving to Disney world, as an Australian we “keep left” in this situation,. so along with trying to drive at the speed limit, in a foreign country, on the “wrong” side of the road, I kept getting the finger and beeping… wtf. Took me about 4 dudes in trucks “polietly” informing me of my trangression for me to realise… keep right :)
curiousaur@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
If you drive that close behind me, you’re the asshole and I’m doing that on purpose.
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Can’t believe they got the apostrophe in the right place.
TheStaffmaster@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I like to drive about 20 over on long hauls, so technically “I’m passing.” PERMANENTLY
MehBlah@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
If I’m in traffic and I need that lane and I’m going at least the speed limit you can suck it bro dozer.
RepleteLocum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Sorry that I want to create enough space for safety. If you’d just drive the speed limit instead of switching between 15 and 5 under the speed limit, I wouldn’t have had to overtake you.
9point6@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Isn’t this a message that the intended recipient will never see?
lime@feddit.nu 2 weeks ago
if this is you, you’re probably me
Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
He’s going to go around them and make them read it.
a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Fuck that, this is the asshole that rides endlessly in my blind spot.