Empty trailers take longer to STOP

Tell that to every cop that rides a bumper of a vehicle. Rank amateur crap my butt.

The hypocrisy I see on the road and here on this forum is unbeleivable.

Heres a couple of tips for the guys and gals STILL driving for a living;

Pass idiots as quickly as you can and leave them in the dust. If you have a vehicle incapable of "leaving them in the dust" then either slow down or stop for a quick pit stop. Either way the problem is solved.

KEEP UP WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC or get out of the way. I dont care how long you have been driving or how long you have studied driving techniques.

If you wanna drive the speed limit (or less than the speed limit) stay in the slow lane.

Know the limitations of your equipment as well as your personal limitations as a driver and plan accordingly.

 

Sorry but I STAND BY WHAT I SAY--and where is it written that the LEO tailgating is any kind of professional--just because they are in a MARKED police car? I see more cops on cellphones and playing with computers than any other segment of society!
The fact you are saying I DONT CARE HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEEN DRIVING etc...IMHO says alot--because it doesn't matter how long someone has been out here--anyone can recognize poor driving--and TAILGATING IS POOR DRIVING---
I'm sorry you feel everyone who disagrees with you is wrong--and as for hypocricy--I welcome you to check out any thing I have posted here on any subject and please tell me where I am being hyporcritical--
Am I perfect--of course not--do I know everything--not at all--but anyone who seriously believes that Tailgating is appropriate/or safe behavior--needs to take a long hard look at they way they think

 

No apology needed. You made a characterization that I objected to. Tailgating is caused and done by practically EVERY motorist that has ever driven or will ever drive on the highways. It happens every day in every part of the world.

On a side note there is actually technology out there being tested to squeeze more vehicles onto already crowded highways and byways. Through the use of onboard computers measuring speeds and distances it is postulated that our highways can accomodate even greater numbers of vehicles at faster road speeds (provided the computers are engaged and the human operator leaves the controls alone).

What I object to is holier than thou attitudes and hypocrisy. You came across as having a holier than thou attitude. Whether you are a hypocrite or not I leave to you to judge for yourself.

To the rest of the readers; do your job to the best of your ability. Judge for yourself what is and what is NOT appropriate for the current driving situation.

Moronic driving needs to be adressed by those tasked with enforcing the laws (even though they themselves are offenders).

I see tailgating every day by all kinds of vehicles and most of the time it has to do with slower moving vehicles that dont have the sense to get the heck out of the way.

You dont have to like what I post but pay attention to your surroundings and you will see what I am referencing.

Too many arm chair quarterbacks in here and on the roads today with nothing better to do than gripe.

 

I probably should not try to answer this--BUT--the only one getting holier than thou is you--read what I said and how I said it--and if you have really been out here as long as you say--you can't possibly try to make me believe that YOU justify any type of aggressive driving?
As for pay attention to my surroundings--I understand all to well just how bad things have gotten in the 20 years you have been out here--because I do pay attention--but it has only made me more cautious and more defensive--just because everyone around me is driving like an idiot--just means I have to be ever more vigilant--
And as for armchair quaterbacking--let's just let that go shall we?

 

Did any of you bother to read the chart on page 13 of this? Now mind you, it was a test for the Turbo300d of ABS, but the test w/o MSQR plainly show that the empty truck stopped shorter, and this was a pre-ABS combo.(And it included the one run that was significantly longer than the others in the average.) And if you took the time to read the other link, you'd see that the braking force a vehicle generates is generally independent of GVW. As long as the braking system can generate enough torque to keep the tires at impending lockup!

So if we assume that a truck can lock it's wheels at any point up to max GVW (a point I'm unsure of), why does an empty truck stop sooner? Because it takes less overall force to stop a lighter truck, and the extra force needed to stop a loaded truck causes the brakes to fade at a quicker rate than on an empty truck. (More force = more heat) And a fading brake loses it's ability to generate max torque, i.e., no more ability to maintain impending lockup.

Now there is some validity to an empty truck taking longer to stop, for all the reasons y'all have brought up: it's easier to for an empty to bounce and lock up a wheel, especially on a rough road. But with ABS and airride, that isn't the issue it once was.

But if we're talking 50K vs 80K, except in the very early stages of a stop, the lighter load wins. Think of the downhill example somebody gave, all that does is accentuate the difference fade makes by increasing the overall effort needed to stop the truck.

And Injun, few things stir me up more than some idiot chewing me out on the radio for calling out someone for something stupid, like pushing a car down the freeway. "Don't be calling out a fellow driver, we gotz to stick together!" REALLY?!? I'm not sticking with anyone driving like a moron. If we won't police ourselves, they'll do it for us.
So... do you need some more dimes?

 

Aggressive driving has its place. Such as passing motorists that are acting stupid. Driving around obstacles is almost always faster and safer than braking.

Of course you are more than welcome to drive slow and hit your brakes every time some jackoff cuts you off or encroaches on your "following distance." I will be at my customer and loading/unloading while your still poking along the high way driving "defensively."

By the way stupid or moronic behavior includes swerving between lanes without signaling, passing on the right because some fool wants to hang out in the passing lane, traveling at or BELOW the speed limit even when vehicles are traveling at much higher speeds.

I drive based on my surroundings. No traffic; Cruise control as fast as I can get away with which could be 5 to 10 mph above the posted limit depending on road conditions and weather. Light traffic, passing clusters of vehicles when ever the opportunity affords it. Heavy traffic; holding back until I find an opportunity to get around it.

A down grade with a steep hill on the other side will find me maxing out the vehicle speed governor to keep up my momentum for the other grade. It never ceases to amaze me how many idioits see a fast moving truck on a down slope and decide it is their duty to slow that truck down and jump in front.

Do me a favor old hand. Stay in the slow lane and let the rest of us do our job. Might be time to retire if you cant keep up though.

 

Seriously??

 

How can anybody possibly drive through heavy urban traffic and maintain a "safe" following distance?

Try being on 405 or 880 in California and not be guilty of tailgating.

If you try to drive 55 and maintain a safe distance in those situations you will be;

1. Less safe than if you try to flow with the traffic (and I mean truck traffic because not many trucks are actually doing 55 in these situations)

2. More exposed to getting strafed from both sides by 4 wheelers.

3. Out there and exposed to all the bad possibilities that could occur for a lot longer time.

 

Nonsense. I drive LA fairly often and have no trouble keeping a reasonable* following distance and am not slowing anybody else down. Not saying I drive exactly 55 all the time, but most times I've been to LA (and the Bay Area, for that matter) I've been lucky to get up to that speed. Traffic is usually slowed before I ever get there.

However. There is no excuse for blasting up on someone's butt and then riding 10-12 feet off their bumper.

*That's reasonable following distance. Not Big Insurance following distance.

 

The point I was trying to make is aggressive driving techniques are not only legitimate but in some cases are the safest technique to use. It all depends on the situation and should not be dismissed as "rank amateur bull."

There are way to many folks on here that come up with a pat answer and expect some kind of "atta boy." How about we look a little deeper into the topic?

WHY are drivers speeding? Why are other motorists impeding the natural flow of traffic? Why does some jackoff wannabe cop think its his/her duty to play traffic cop and intentionally slow down traffic in the passing lane?

The answers are usually tied to some kind of inattention on the offending vehicles driver such as texting, cell phone use, etc.

I have given up counting the times I encounter trucks and four wheelers with a cell phone stuck to their ear riding in the passing lane oblivious to the traffic around them and holding traffic up. Would be nice to see the cops pull these folks over and ticket them instead.

Good drivers will be aware of the situation and take appropriate measures to get around these mental midgets. Whether that be honking the air horn to wake the lead vehicle driver up and encourage them to clear the lane, flash to pass which may be enough to get the vehicle to clear the lane or simply switch to another lane and go around the slower vehicle.

Of course we have foolish laws such as "no trucks in the left lane" which make it more difficult to pass in the above situation. Just another example of how foolish law makers can be. Had they any sense whatsoever they would realize the majority of trucks on the highway are going through an area and would be far better served by keeping trucks away from the entrance and exit ramps unless they are making a local delivery.

Other times so called "tailgating" may be appropriate is in stalled traffic waiting to get through a construction zone with a bottle neck. I will close up the gap in front of me to discourage others from even trying to cut in front of my vehicle. They should have got into the correct lane when I did. Their failure to plan accordingly does not translate into me being a nice guy and letting them cut the line ahead of every other driver. I will use another truck or large vehicle and pace alongside until the merge point when necessary as well to get my point across.

You don't have to agree with me but at least think about what I write and try to go a bit deeper into the discussion to understand the underlying factors which cause drivers to tailgate or follow too close.

On a side note anything less than a 7 second following distance at highway speeds is deemed following TOO close. Get within 2 seconds of the lead vehicle and you may find yourself getting one of these so called tailgating tickets. All depends on the officers perception. Which is one of the main problems I have with cops in general; Hypocrisy.