niugnip

<GRIPE>

Why do people in this area insist on riding the back bumper of the person in front of them? I could have had a tahoe as a new bumper sticker if I would have needed to stop quickly - which we can do and they can not - but they did not seem to care/notice. I have this horrible feeling that one morning I will be yelling at a SUV driver for failing to notice my brake lights.

</GRIPE>

Ok back to being productive.

marcucci

I hope you never take your car to the track- you get used to tailgating.

You might be surprised at the brakes on some SUVs. Your average Tahoe can stop pretty quick. Your average Soccer Mom, however, has a slightly slower reaction time than I think the average S2k driver does.

Texas25RS

it was a Honda Odyssey for me this morning...

mxt_77

... says the guy that'll ride your ass in a 1980-something SuperTrooper!

My favorite is driving at night. Apparently, it's really hard work to lug around 6000 lbs of scrap metal, and the headlights on those SUVs get really tired, so they like to rest on your trunk lid and take a breather. It's really comforting to think that there is about 24" of sheet metal and body structure between the back of your head and the front of that 3-4 ton SUV.

But yeah, get used to the tailgaters. You'll learn to become one, too, unless you want people cutting in front of you to fill that space that's about 6 inches longer than their car.

Welcome to Dallas!

Oh... and just wait till the first snow! You're in for a real treat!

niugnip

I don't mind people cutting in front of me if they can catch-up. The real bad habit I have is boxing people in due to being raised in the NW

marcucci

The Civic is my DD right now, and I won't tailgate in it as the brakes are far better than the rubber- it's too easy to lock up 2 or all 4 in an emergency situation. I learned that autocrossing and had it happen when someone pulled out in front of me during my commute.

The Trooper has upgraded brakes from a newer Rodeo and slightly wider tires than OEM that are pretty sticky. I dare say the braking ability of my truck outperforms that of most sports cars on the road right now.

Acceleration is another issue.

turbolane

Especially because she's on the phone putting on makeup and yelling at the kids, leaving her without the required feet/eyes/hands/etc. available for driving or making decisions.

altiain

Just curious - were you in the far right lane when this happened?

I'll tailgate your ass all day long if you're camped out in the passing lane while I'm trying to pass.

Which lane is the passing lane, you ask? It's any lane other than the far right lane, on a multi-lane road. If you're camped out in the center right lane on 635 and the space to your right is open (assuming you're not overtaking someone in the far right lane or approaching an on ramp), you're in the wrong bloody lane. Learn it, live it, love it.

There. That's my gripe for the day.

marcucci

What happens to me more than anything is that people get into the leftmost lane so that they don't have to think. They get on, slide all the way to the left, then proceed to zone, talk on the phone, read the paper (I've really seen this), etc., etc... drives me nuts. WhyTF people can't just "drive" I will never understand.

Compare this to the UK, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong... most drivers are just that- drivers. They pay attention to what they are doing and enjoy the experience. You'll find automatics are a rarity, not so much due to increased cost but because it's just part of driving there.

mxt_77

Yeah... other than the steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car and having to negotiate all of those roundabouts, I loved driving in the UK for this reason. If they want to make a pass, they change lanes, accellerate (if needed), complete the pass, get back into the slow lane. And yeah... my rental car had a manual tranny... took a bit to learn to shift left-handed.


And just as a side-note to Iain's message... keep in mind that there is no passing lane on normal city streets. Just because a street has 2 lanes, doesn't automatically mean that the left lane is the passing lane. That is the lane for people that have to make a left-hand turn soon.