• AdmiralShat@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    40
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Had a guy losing his fucking mind behind me in bumper to bumper traffic. I always like to keep about 1.5ish vehicle length (obviously not a real metric, just a guess) between me and the person in front in case people need to switch lanes or if I’m hit from behind.

    When I say the guy behind me was mad, he was fucking LOSING it. He was screaming, he was flailing his arms, he was beating on his steering wheel, he was honking a shit ton.

    He eventually just cut the lane beside me and the person next to me, just to get into the 30 feet of empty space in dead slow traffic. No idea why he thought this would somehow make any difference.

    I honked at him several times just to fuck with him

    • kite@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      1 year ago

      My father taught me to leave enough space in front of me in case of being hit, but also in case I need to get out of the line for some reason. I’ve had to get out of line a number of times over the years due to accidents. I have 3 routes I can take to get to work, so once I realize there’s an accident I can just turn around and go another way. Works out well, but sure does piss off people behind me sometimes.

      • Patapon Enjoyer@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Most importantly, you need enough space to account for your reaction speed + the time your vehicle takes to brake. On slow traffic that’s one or two cars but as you approach highway speeds it’s like 15, which no one observes. And higher during snow or rain.

    • ThePuy@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      There’s something like a spring effect, you should try to keep the same distance between the car in front of you and the one behind you, watch this it’s very informative: https://youtu.be/iHzzSao6ypE

      • barsoap@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        18
        ·
        1 year ago

        Most importantly you should do your best to drive at one, single, steady, speed, and not stop and go. In civilised countries that kind of thing gets taught in driving lessons, three or four people acting correctly can dissolve a traffic jam.

        • JoJoGAH@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          8
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          We (United States) were taught this in 1987 when I took drivers ed at school. When my oldest got her license there was no longer a driver’s ed course. Must have cost more than the conservatives wanted to pay.

          • AdmiralShat@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            1 year ago

            It’s better to build multi million dollar football stadiums and buy sports equipment than it is to actually give an education, obviously. Why else would we send them to school everyday?

      • Iron Lynx@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 year ago

        (sidenote: the real solution to traffic is getting all the reluctant and unnecessary drivers to not take the car during rush time. I.e. providing viable alternatives to driving & the freedom to choose the means by which to go from point A to point B)

    • JoJoGAH@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      As if … Where’s he going? That many feet changes nothing. I live in a city famous for leaving a lot of space between cars, there are memes about it. So for this thread I’ll explain a couple of why’s:

      1. Me personally , it became a habit when car jackings became a possibility. A less easy target mentality.
      2. Insurance is crazy high here and so ,as you mentioned, the not being forced into the car ahead of you .
      3. There have been multiple shootings in road rage in this city over the last year. Everyone kinda wants space and eyes on others or what may be happening, room to react or move. Also not into riding a cars bumper and maybe causing another incident.

      I’m sure there are as many reasons as there are people, but these are the obvious ones.

    • drewfro66@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      I’ve had people pass me in traffic when I’m leaving a couple car lengths between me and the person ahead of me. It’s like, what’s the point?