TAILGATING

[tramper]

Olog Hai:

Tramper:
jimmy0000 what do you think you’ll accomplish by coming on an internet forum and blurting on about driving standards? Phis off and grow up!

Who knows, but ill bet it’s more than you accomplished by posting that. Real classy Tramper!

Let me explain…class has nothing to do with it. Moaning little [zb] like him and you get up my nose. Some people are bad drivers, end of story, deal with it!
(and before some talentless moderator comes on here editing this post , yes I do know if it needs alteration to get past the auto censor that’s the clue it’s not allowed, but as we’re all adults on a profesional drivers forum, I really don’t care.)

(As you already know the rules I won’t bother explaining them too you. Simon)

[robb39]

Mike-C:

robB39:
Tailgating is not that unsafe.
No I’ll correct myself driving inside the braking distance is not that unsafe if you imagine that you have a big soft balloon around your vehicle. Safe braking distance at front same space at rear.

Let me guess Rob, you’re smoking skunk? Right? I’d love you to expand on your theory about spacial awareness and balloons and also put it into context with your statement that ‘tailgating is not that unsafe’. Ok, go !!

I corrected myself, what I meant to say was you can compensate for limited braking distance by checking and being aware of available space around you.

I used the analogy of a soft balloon if you compress one part then the air displaces and the balloon will stretch into available space.

So if someone is driving too close behind and there is no available space to your left or right then the you need to allow double the space as if you imagined the balloon stretching in front.

If you have space either side then you can safely not extend your available braking distance as you have somewhere else to go and take evasive action to stop the clown behind running into you.

If you have a tanker full of flammable toxic behind you, as I have had, you need to be aware of this.(and no I didn’t sniff the stuff)

I corrected myself because if you tailgate you have no reaction time and you’re a dead zb.

But let’s be realistic how many drivers have sufficient braking distance all the time on a busy motorway.?

If you slow down to give yourself the braking distance the driver in the wagon behind moves into the middle lane and tries to get past (Ricardo Cranium)

You have eased off to say 54 so think I’ll maintain this speed so he can zb off out of the way.

Then what? He slides in right in front and takes your braking distance and the process starts all over again.

You can brake or maintain your current speed 54 and eventually you will have your braking distance back. But you need to check your ‘balloon’ space if someone else as come alongside then the safest think to do then is slow down as I’ve already stated above.

I’m saying you can travel within your braking distance as long as you know you have available space.

What happens to a balloon if compressed with no available space■■?

BANG!!!
Not a theory, an analogy

[rog]

The problem with your theory is this…
you may immediately have space to the left or the right BUT that space can be filled very quickly and sods law says it probably will, just when you need it

senario on a motorway - the overtaking lorry cuts in a bit too quick and you have someone up your backside - at this precise moment there is no-one to your right and the shoulder is clear - 5 seconds later - still got one up backside and still too close to one in front-WHO NOW SLAMS ON - broken down car on hard shoulder, car to right overtaking - where you gonna go

BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY as soon as someone takes your forward safety space away from you - it is the ONLY SAFE option.

[robb39]

ROG:
The problem with your theory is this…
you may immediately have space to the left or the right BUT that space can be filled very quickly and sods law says it probably will, just when you need it

senario on a motorway - the overtaking lorry cuts in a bit too quick and you have someone up your backside - at this precise moment there is no-one to your right and the shoulder is clear - 5 seconds later - still got one up backside and still too close to one in front-WHO NOW SLAMS ON - broken down car on hard shoulder, car to right overtaking - where you gonna go

BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY as soon as someone takes your forward safety space away from you - it is the ONLY SAFE option.

Same scenario. If you are observing the road ahead then you should have noticed a a good quarter to half mile in front if there is somebody on the hard shoulder. You know whether they are there or not when the truck cuts in front.
So no space that way. If someone is closing the rear (check mirrors) he is compressing your balloon which will push it way into the third outside lane or if a dual carriageway, off the road = unsafe, backoff.

If you can’t see the road ahead because the vehicle in front is too close then you are too close anyway back off.

You’re concentrating and checking your mirrors constantly; a car is approaching fast in middle lane if you haven’t backed off your imaginary balloon will be burst by the car as it is already compressed into the outside lane.

So if at that point the proverbial hits the fan you’re Fzb’d.

But like I said I am being realistic if you keep backing off you will end up traveling at 50.

Now who’s going to do that?? Everyone on here??

Like I said Keep checking your available space - not every five seconds your brain can take in all that information in less than a second.

[matt_f_1]

MrFlibble:

Simon:

jimmy0000:
< snip > one example of many—driving a car towing a motorbike on a trailer doing 50mph.articulated truck with loaded trailer about 10 feet at the most behind me < snip >.

So why were you driving so slowly?

WTF?

He said that the truck driver first tried to overtake on a solid white line, and met oncoming traffic. This strongly suggests a single carriageway road.

What’s the speed limit for a car towing a trailer on a single carriageway road? 50 mph according to my copy of the highway code.

Simon:
You say it was a loaded articulated truck. The driver of the truck would have to sustain speeds of over 50mph to be able to catch you up. For a loaded articulated truck to be able to sustain speeds of over 50mph, the road has to be fairly straight. They aren’t exactly built for high speed handling.

A loaded artic will happily hit 50 mph downhill which is where he said it was.

Simon:
If a loaded artic’ can sustain speeds of over 50mph, why couldn’t you?

So, it’s his fault that the truck was tailgating him and trying to overtake dangerously because he stuck to the speed limit (which was actually 10 mph over the truck’s speed limit)? You have an interesting grasp of the Highway Code.

in no way sticking up for jimmy nothing but shouldnt the artic be doing 40 on single carriageway

[borderer]

jimmy0000:
Why do the majority of so called Proffesional drivers act like big bullies by following rediculously close to the vehicle in front?As anyone with an ounce of sense knows this is a very dangerous practice and causes many bad accidents.The sooner the Police get these morons off the road the better.No doubt some will come up with the pathetic excuses of speed limiters or fuel saving or not enough time to do the job but basically they are bad drivers with no consideration for the safety of other road users or their own.Most pople these days have no respect for truck drivers and its not hard to se why with such a poor standard of driving.[/b]

Thyre the worst type of ■■■■■ on the road and need getting off it for everyones good, they wouldnt agree of course,… till there missus or someone that could break through the selfish ■■■■ barrier was crushed under a truck!

[shrek]

Borderer:
Thyre the worst type of [zb] on the road and need getting off it for everyones good, they wouldnt agree of course,… till there missus or someone that could break through the selfish [zb] barrier was crushed under a truck!

Is it just me, or does this make no sense at all?

What are you trying to say Borderer?

[matt_f_1]

beats me too shrek

[rog]

But like I said I am being realistic if you keep backing off you will end up traveling at 50.

Did a non scientific experiment for 2 weeks in 1999 I think it was
Had regular run from J22 M1 to M25. I think this was over about a 90 minute drive
First week - did not back off
second week - backed off - added average 30 seconds to time

[rog]

keep backing off

That word is the problem - call it amything else but that it puts the thought of ‘going backwards’ into the mind even though there is still forward momentum.
easing off - making more forward room - regaining my space - increasing safety gap - All these make for a different way of thinking and perception.

[robb39]

Thats right Rog but what I’m saying is the safety space you have is not always in front. As I said in my previous posts; If there is no space to rear or either side that is the only space you can control and adjust it accordingly. Even to the point of doubling safe stopping distance if you’re pulling some hazardous crap behind you.
Because if the clown behind wacks it, you’re ■■■■ is probably going skyward too.
My dad taught me the balloon rule and had 6,000,000 miles of driving under his belt when he retired.
I have over 2,500,000+ miles behind me with no blame accidents to me on the road, and my ■■■■ hasn’t gone skyward either.(obviously)
So I believe it is a good rule of thumb same as the two second rule.
Pick a point on the road a bridge or sign etc when the vehicle in front passes it. Say - Only a fool breaks the two second rule. If you’ve passed it before you’ve finished then you’re too close. You will not stop in time!
Experienced drivers should not need to do this as they can perceive their stopping distance. I’m saying if you are within the stopping distance what are your alternatives?
= balloon theory or analogy
I still say the two second rule in FOG, pick out a sign or object at road side that is not lit as soon as you see it. Say the two second rule etc.
Do not pick out something that is lit or tail lights because if there is an accident in front most lights will have been bust or the vehicles ‘side on’.
If you pass it before you’re finished you’re going too fast!
Spacial awareness is the key.
So keep it safe guys.

[rog]

robB39, I think you may be saying what the book ‘Mind Driving’ says but in another way

The formula is:-

SPEED X SURPRISE
…SPACE…

[robb39]

Sounds like a good read.

[wrecktech100]

tailgating is a problem.
here’s a few examples of tailgating issues…
have a think about this=what happens when your red air line fails while shunting in the yard?
the same thing can happen on the motorway.
i went out to one fella who had a major brake malfunction when using his puffy air blower thing in the cab(you know the orange dangly thing)…while waving it about it pulled the pipe off under the dash…some clown had piped into the handbrake valve there and this had the effect of putting the handbrake on at 56 mph…blocking lane 1 and the hard shoulder of the m69…luckily no one was tailgating this tanker and the driver just had to surgically remove the seat cushion to be able to continue his journey.

another job i was sent out to was an rac patrol van that the patrol man had been killed by a renault magnum…there was a broken down transit on the hard shoulder,he was stood in between the drivers door and the van,reaching in and cranking the engine via the key.there was a woman sat in the drivers seat…all she saw was glass from the door as it shattered then an empty space.
the magnum had hit the back of the van with a glancing blow…he swerved to the right…the trailer overhang caught the fellow and took him and the door and booster pack along the hard shoulder for a fair distance…the driver drifted over the white line momentarily,didn’t see the patrol for whatever reason…
it’s a good idea to be able to see where you are going…

[rog]

robB39:
Sounds like a good read.

It is
Mind Driving by Stephen Haley - the only book that has been produced which goes into the ‘thinking’ aspects of driving and it does not tell you ‘how’ to drive.

[mike-c]

Shrek:

Borderer:
Thyre the worst type of [zb] on the road and need getting off it for everyones good, they wouldnt agree of course,… till there missus or someone that could break through the selfish [zb] barrier was crushed under a truck!

Is it just me, or does this make no sense at all?

What are you trying to say Borderer?

Looked clear to me. He used jimmy0000’s quote to reply to , regards tailgaters (bullies) being the worst drivers on the road and how would they like someone to do that to their own?
ANd Rob39, what you say about slowing down is correct. When you do, they pull out and try (or do) pass you . Dopes.

[simon]

MrFlibble:

Simon:

jimmy0000:
< snip > one example of many—driving a car towing a motorbike on a trailer doing 50mph.articulated truck with loaded trailer about 10 feet at the most behind me < snip >.

So why were you driving so slowly?

WTF?

He said that the truck driver first tried to overtake on a solid white line, and met oncoming traffic. This strongly suggests a single carriageway road.

What’s the speed limit for a car towing a trailer on a single carriageway road? 50 mph according to my copy of the highway code.

Simon:
You say it was a loaded articulated truck. The driver of the truck would have to sustain speeds of over 50mph to be able to catch you up. For a loaded articulated truck to be able to sustain speeds of over 50mph, the road has to be fairly straight. They aren’t exactly built for high speed handling.

A loaded artic will happily hit 50 mph downhill which is where he said it was.

Simon:
If a loaded artic’ can sustain speeds of over 50mph, why couldn’t you?

So, it’s his fault that the truck was tailgating him and trying to overtake dangerously because he stuck to the speed limit (which was actually 10 mph over the truck’s speed limit)? You have an interesting grasp of the Highway Code.

[roytheboy]

seems evryones having a dig jimmy,but theres no excuse for poor driving, i dont like tailgaters (whatever class of vehicle) ,or for that matter, i havent much time for drivers who cant be bothered to indicate their intentions either.

[wheel_nut]

wrecktech100:
tailgating is a problem.
here’s a few examples of tailgating issues…
have a think about this=what happens when your red air line fails while shunting in the yard?
the same thing can happen on the motorway.
i went out to one fella who had a major brake malfunction when using his puffy air blower thing in the cab(you know the orange dangly thing)…while waving it about it pulled the pipe off under the dash…some clown had piped into the handbrake valve there and this had the effect of putting the handbrake on at 56 mph…blocking lane 1 and the hard shoulder of the m69…luckily no one was tailgating this tanker and the driver just had to surgically remove the seat cushion to be able to continue his journey.

another job i was sent out to was an rac patrol van that the patrol man had been killed by a renault magnum…there was a broken down transit on the hard shoulder,he was stood in between the drivers door and the van,reaching in and cranking the engine via the key.there was a woman sat in the drivers seat…all she saw was glass from the door as it shattered then an empty space.
the magnum had hit the back of the van with a glancing blow…he swerved to the right…the trailer overhang caught the fellow and took him and the door and booster pack along the hard shoulder for a fair distance…the driver drifted over the white line momentarily,didn’t see the patrol for whatever reason…
it’s a good idea to be able to see where you are going…

Nowt else to add really

except maybe that; “you will never be a virgin again” and once you’re dead, you’re dead