Who me?
I worked an overtime assignment today that targeted aggressive drivers. After writing 15 tickets for tailgating, I learned an interesting fact. It appears that everyone in my town loves to tailgate but none of them actually think that they tailgate.
I swear I had the same conversation at least 10 times.
Me: I pulled you over because I observed you traveling too close to the car in front of you.
Driver: I thought I had plenty of room.
Me: You were going 70 mph and were less than one car length away from them.
Driver: I had plenty of room to stop if I needed to.
Me: There is no way you could have stopped in time if the guy had put on his brakes.
Driver: Yes I could. I am a good driver.
Me: You may be a good driver but you cannot drive well enough to change the laws of physics.
Driver: I'll see you in court!!
I felt like banging my head against the wall. Don't they teach anything in driver's ed anymore? Use the three second rule people!
19 bits of radio chatter:
Wow! I didn't know you could get a ticket for tailgating. That's probably good. The whole ounce of prevention = pound of cure. I wonder if I drive too close. I doubt it, because my Spidey Sense starts tingling when I feel too close.
Come on out to Atlanta and write some tickets for tailgating here. Few things piss me off more than someone driving up my butt even though I'm more than 5mph over the speed limit.
Wish the PD in Ft. Wayne would ticket a lot more for that...!
I know the Philly PD did.
Used to be a car length for every TEN MPH over 40 (yeah, I'm showing MY age...and at 55MPH, the rule of thumb was about 3-4 car lengths as normal distance - plenty of time to stop or GTH out of the way).
You do the math...
Still sounds about right.
Stay Safe.
B.G.
I leave a lot more distance than most-I'll slow down or speed up to find a gap that lets me keep more than 3 seconds if possible, but sometimes it just isn't. Where I drive, every car length between you and the car ahead doubles the number of idiots who squeeze in-Often when the lane beside is perfectly clear.
We had a similar operation here. It's the low-level traffic offences that spark the anti-police brigade. But then when something goes wrong its "why didn't the police do something about this!"
I'm with sevesteen on this one. I was taught the two-second rule "One Mississippi, two Mississippi" and it has served me well. However, in heavy traffic it can be nearly impossible to maintain. In those instances, you just have to be on your toes all the time and drive well ahead of yourself. (That's one reason I *hate* getting stuck behind any semi or box truck.)
Still, I have had some very close calls that were avoided only because I had left a more than usual gap in front of me.
Thanks so much for ticketing these jerks. I'm always putting on my rear flashers to tell these stupid drivers to get off my tail! Jeez....
I too despise the tailgaters.
That said, I too tend to follow too close, but only because I am forced to do so - it is a defensive measure.
Every time I leave 3-seconds, some @$$hole will jump into the empty space, forcing me to back off to regain my 3 seconds. At this point, some @$$hole will jump into the empty space... Repeat add nauseum.
Now, also toss in a dash of alternate-flavor @$$hole - the kind which has a fit if there's any empty space between the car in front of him (ie: me) and the car in front of me. This somehow makes this brand of @$$hole believe he is being held up, for he'll flash lights, tailgate, even pass on the shoulder if necessary to enforce closing up that bit of space.
I live this every day.
The one accident I've had in 25 years happened just this way - 3-lane (Each way) divided highway.
I left 3-seconds between me and the car in front of me. We're in the slow lane with 500+ yards of clear highway in front of her. 2nd female runs up onto my rear bumper, tailgating me for a bit, then guns it and swings around me and jumps into my 3-second space.
At just this instant, bimbo in the lead car locks up her brakes - I mean SMOKES 'em - 4-wheel lockup/4-wheel skidmarks -- locked 'em UP!
I hit mine, but try to steer out of it, cutting wheel hard to the right, but middle-bimbo has done the same so I catch her and knock her into bimbo #1.
Now we have a 3-vehicle crash which is legally my fault.
Thank G*d noone was hurt.
Bimbo #1 admits she smoked her brakes because she missed her exit.
Bimbo #2 admits she had swung around me and into my safety-zone because she was in a hurry and wanted to shave the 2-seconds it would have saved her to cut through between me and bimbo #1 then off the exit instead of waiting a few more seconds in the rear then exiting when it was her turn to do so.
Since this day, I try to walk the line of leaving as much space as possible between me and the car in front, but not enough to allow anyone else to jump in there. I also watch well up the road, looking for as much warning of slowdown as possible.
What we really need is rigid enforcement of courtesy rules - you don't drive down the shoulder to pass traffic waiting at the toll-booth. You don't pass 2/3 of a mile of cars waiting to exit then jump in at the front, cutting through the paint and forcing the exiting car to brake to avoid hitting you.
When someone is being courteous and driving rationally, and that person signals a desire to change lanes, you will ease off and let them in.
Violation of these or any other "simple common courtesy" rules will require trial before a jury of other drivers, who shall decide your punishment up to and including revocation of your license if they think you're a big enough jerk.
If we could restore simple courtesy, most of these other problems would solve themselves - if it wasn't necessary to survival, most of us would not drive so aggressively, but when in Rome...
PS: I have taken several performance-driving classes, including trail and evade courses taught to military and law enforcement - I am one of the most capable drivers on the road, but still try to be as courteous as possible... My point is that most people THINK they are highly skilled, I KNOW I am... Still, I TRY to be as safe and courteous as possible since I am surrounded by idiots who have no idea how weak they are...
DD
When I lived in Dallas, I could proudly say that I was a tailgater.
That being said, I always consider that I'm not really tailgating because I'm looking past the car in front of me. I'm looking two or three cars ahead and what they're doing.
So yes, if the guy in front of me randomly locks his brakes, I'm screwed. However, if the guy two/three cars ahead locks his brakes...I'm fine.
That being said. If you would have written me a ticket...I'd gladly pay it.
Hey, where'd you get that picture of me?
I kid.
J's taught me enough about the formulas of how fast a car is really traveling in feet per second, and I remember enough high school physics to know better than to follow a single car length on the freeway.
Kinda cool that you had an overtime detail aimed at aggressive drivers, though!! Wish they'd do that here, there are FAR to many angry people on the Cincinnati roads.
Personally I prefer the phrase 'only a fool breaks the two second rule' but hey, whatever works for you. (if it's said at normal pace it's around 3 seconds long...)
McCain/Palin '08
I keep a hand spotlight in my civ car. Keeps them off my ass. Only works nights. Thinking of a green laser for days(kidding).
My ex boyfriend got a ticket for following me too close one night. He argued the same thing with the cop. Then he had the nerve to call and ask me to come back and try to help him get out of it (WTF?). I guess he thought if I told the cop it was ok, he'd let him off with a warning.
My peace of mind: The cop said he saw us both come through the intersection and was actually worried that ex bf was stalking me because he was THAT close to my car. What a nice cop! This gave me warm fuzzies!
:)
People ride my bumper all the time and I don't even drive in the fast lane. I don't go much over the speed limit - maybe 5 mph - but these people think we're on the Autobahn. It's horrible. And scary.
And then when I won't hurry for them (or have anyway to move out of their way), I'm always afraid road rage will set in with the nitwits and you never know what could happen.
Any suggestions for people who do abide by the law but at petrified of some sort of retaliation? It's already happened here twice - once in Philly and once a few blocks from my home.
Does the 3 second rule apply to Gwinnett county cars on 85s south returning to the JCB/NE Expy precict building at the end-of-shift????
besides, if all vehicles on 85 obeyed the 3 second rule, rush hour would never end...
Man I used to love doing Aggressive Driver details using my unmarked Crown Vic.
The damn thing had a visible spotlight and extra antenna and the red and blue lights on the rear deck were hardly invisible, but just because the car had a license plate from another state (done on purpose), people routinely tailgated, passed and cut of...me!
The usual resonse: "Well yeah, I saw your car and knew it was some sort of cop car, but I didn't think you could do anything here."
Yeah, THAT sure went a log ways towards convincing me not to write the ticket.
People just plain suck !! No common sense, no courtesy, no respect!!!
Yeah, the whole swerve around, jump in the 'hole' and then slam on your brakes.... I hate it. I've almost rear ended one or two of those drivers.
The Marine!Goth got pulled over when he was home mid deployment for erratic driving (he kept swerving and speeding up or braking when he went under overpasses), but he just got a warning, not a ticket and a reminder that he shouldn't let that reflex get blunted until he got back to the real world permantly. I'd like to kiss that cop, btw.
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