Back off Jack...

i do this as well. although partially out of selfishness, i don't want to have to come to a stop and have to wear out my clutch leg....lol

 

For me space management in traffic is all about creating "outs" for people around me. If I can help traffic flow around me I am frequently clear of anyone on either side of me.

Another classic example is running in the middle lane of a three lane freeway at the 60 mph speed limit. My lane is clear for a quarter mile in front. There are cars daisy chained in the right lane, setting up for a popular exit within the next mile. The exit also features traffic merging onto the freeway, with an exit/merge lane. The light turned and a tightly clustered dozen cars are coming up the entrance ramp just before the exit.

It's not hard to predict that some folks coming onto the entrance will need to merge onto the freeway AND will want to get quickly into the middle lane or hammer lane. Meanwhile some folks in the right lane need to move over to the exit lane.

What should I do? I could be self centered and continue to roll at 60 mph. I have lots of room in front of me in my lane AND I have the right of way. OR I could look out for the safety of the folks trying to get past one another. I could choose to slow down to match the speed of the right lane, well behind the the cluster of cars merging into heavy traffic and WAIT until everything is sorted out.

Just because you legally have room to maintain your speed doesn't mean you should. Common sense and courtesy go a long way towards safety. NEVER EVER run significantly faster than the lane next to you. Slow to a speed that allows for the FACT that somebody will want to get out of that lane into your lane.

 

Are you driving a Prius?

 

I've always done exactly this minus the scoring system but never thought of a good way to explain it. For me it came more from learning on and driving nothing but manual transmissions long before trucking became a thing for me. It was more not wanting to do all the steps to get going from a stop than anything else but it does do that too.

 

The reason is that people seem to only learn the hard way. Most of us that have been driving for years and years know the hazards and drive accordingly its like every time i crossed Emigrant pass in Oregon i was just so amazed at how many truck drivers didn't bother to stop and use low gear down the mountain, and they may get away with it and only if something happens will they learn just to use low gear but why take the risk its just that folks seem to feel there walking on some kind of cloud and nothing will ever happen to them regardless of how reckless they drive.

 

I was tailgated

at 3am this morning by a brand new Cascadia. In a construction zone, with less than a honda’s Length between my tailgate and his front bumper..... it would have been disastrous if I had to brake suddenly.