Do You Tailgate?

Evidently he doesn't know the 1 second for every 10 mph rule. What's that? Just as long as you don't kill them it's okay to hit them? It amazes me the mentality of some. You can get down the road just as fast 200 ft behind someone just as you can 10 ft behind someone. That over aggressive, over confident driver pushes and pushes just so he can get off a truck stop down the road, I'm sixty seconds behind you. WTF is sixty seconds? Some actually think they are doing something when the truth is they ain't doing squat. This is one difference between a one year driver and a five year driver.

You're out there driving ten hours a day, day after day. You have to develop habits for the long haul. If you drive in a manner which puts you at 5:1 of getting in a wreck and someone else drives in a manner your odds are 10:1 of getting in a wreck, who do you think is most likely to have a wreck first. Bent Wrench, +5 is not okay just because everyone else is doing it. You fall into the monkey see monkey do mentality, lawyers are going to have a field day with you. Truck drivers don't follow bad four wheeler habits. Speed limit.....what's the second word? It's not speed limit +5. You'll learn when some confused driver locks em down in front of you.

 

While I agree with some points, (cell phone, look ahead etc.) I can't believe you would condone tailgating because someones not doing the speed you think you should be able to travel.

 

I did not condone tail gateing.

I was saying that if you are doing 54.5 MPH in the fast lane and that is slower than the flow of traffic then you are more wrong than the tailgater.

This is even a more sensitive issue in lane control states.

 

"Obey the slower vehicles must travel in the right lanes law!!!!!!!
That does not mean you can do the speed limit in the fast lane. If you're not doing +5 MOVE THE HECK TO THE RIGHT!!! There is being right (obeying the speed limit to the letter of the law) and being DEAD RIGHT. Travel with the flow of traffic, if you can't maintain that speed YOU ARE THE SAFETY ISSUE!!!!!!! Move to the right or get off the road..... Go with the flow douche bag. A trucker can see 20 cars ahead of you and he will base his speed on that, not watch your rear bumper playing follow the leader (inchworm)."

Sorry if I misunderstood you, but the quote above looked like you were condoning tailgating.

Personally, I hang out in the granny lane (exception: large cities, lot's of on/off traffic). In OR, the truck limit was 55mph. I'd do 58 and have trucks (and 4 wheelers) climb on my ICC bumper with a clear left lane. I ran fat rigs (100k gross vans) so I learned to maintain my braking distances.

 

i drive the same roads every other day at my job and i always drive slow, and careful. well maybe not SLOW but you get the idea. i drive a speed that im 100% comfortable at and i feel like im just cruising and taking in the scenery

 

It's not going to matter who is more right or more wrong when the person who was more right has to live with themself after killing the three-year-old in the back of that car they just ran over after the driver got terrified of that truck grill coming up so fast and close ...and hit the brakes.

Yes, the brake-hitter was more wrong. But now the trucker has to live with the death of a child that could have been prevented by the trucker. And it will be the trucker who goes to prison for it.