🚀 go-pugleaf

In <366F69F0.3B73@xix.netcom.com> Mike Smith <m-smith@xix.netcom.com> writes:

>Well, maybe we are more at odds than I thought. I don't remember seeing
>a single post suggesting that everybody not passing should "squeeze"
>into the right lane. There should always be a safe distance between
>cars. If you are too close, you are driving dangerously....

Consider this.  In the past, any time I mentioned maintaining a 2-3
second following distance in ca.driving, a LOT of people (mostly the
same ones who espouse the "keep right except to pass" philosophy) would
jump on me offering many lame excuses such as:  That's xxx feet which is
way too much; it wastes highway capacity; it's impossible because others
will move in and take up the space.

Any time you argue with somebody it's useful to look at the person's
overall stance on things.   When the same person who espouses "keep
right except to pass" also espouses "2 seconds is way too much", you
know that his goal is something other than a safe highway.  Typically
the person is really saying: "get out of my way at any cost, and if you
don't, I will follow you at 0.1 second until you do".  And they really,
really do want you to squeeze right where there is no space so they can
get by.  To such people I say:  *TTTTHHHHPFFFT*.

I am not accusing you of being such a person (in fact based on your
comments you almost certainly are not), but you *are* aligning yourself
with a group that comprises mostly such people.  A group that spends
most of its time blaming everybody else for its driving problems.  A
group in which few ever admit to having had an accident for which *they*
were responsible, even though they often complain about *others* making
them have accidents.  A group, in other words, of mostly people who
think everything is somebody else's fault.

On the highways where I drive, typical following distance is 0.75
seconds to 1 second in all lanes except the leftmost one.  I don't merge
right into a narrow gap just to please some tailgater behind me.  My
only obligation under those conditions is to go with the average flow of
traffic in my lane, and that I do.  I do merge right if I can safely do
so, and that means being able to maintain a minimum 2-second following
distance and having nobody following too closely behind me.  Sometimes
it will take a minute or two until conditions are right for this.  So
that tailgater gets home and posts a complaint on Usenet about how
somebody wouldn't merge right to let him pass.

>What is so good about "few lane changes?" You seem to cling to this like
>it's the holy grail of driving.

Most accidents occur during lane changes.  Eliminate lane changes and
you will almost entirely eliminate non-DUI accidents.

>> >Obviously, in a situation
>> >where you ARE lead car, traffic cannot be congested so you have no
>> >excuse to block the lane.
>> 
>> It would be short-sighted to only look at the one vehicle ahead of you
>> and one vehicle behind you.  What I do is look as far ahead as I can
>> see, and as far behind as I can see, and estimate the average speed of
>> all those vehicles in my lane.  Then I either drive at that speed or
>> consider changing lanes.

>Ok, now you've completely lost me. My original comment, repeated above,
>makes no mention of a single car in front or behind. (You must stop this
>misquoting stuff, Rahul.)

Am I misunderstanding what you mean by 'lead car'?  The obvious meaning
of 'where you are lead car' is that the next vehicle ahead of you is
further away than a typical safe following distance.  And I'm saying
that this is irrelevant.  In this context what matters is not your
following distance but your speed relative to others.  If your following
distance is 10 seconds but your speed is the same as everybody else in
that lane, you are definitely a 'lead car'.  But there is no need to
change lanes -- you are not holding up anybody.  Let me emphasize this:

   In this context what matters is not your following distance but your
   speed relative to others.

>Decide if you are comfortable in your present lane at your present speed

Done.

>If you'd rather/need to go faster, check your mirror to see what's
>coming up on your left.

Done.

>If there's a vehicle coming, wait 'til it passes. Don't force it to
>brake.

Done.

>If nothings coming, or after it passes, indicate your intention and,
>after an over-the-shoulder double-check, pull into the lane to your left
>and overtake.

Done.

>If there are no further vehicles to overtake, return to the lane to your
>right after making certain no-one has crept up on you from the right.
>(This latter check wouldn't be necessary if everyone followed proper
>form.)

NO!  IF I MOVE BACK INTO THAT LANE I WILL BE BACK AT MY PREVIOUS SPEED.
I DON'T WANT TO BE AT THAT SPEED.  If I wanted to be at that speed I
would not have moved left to begin with.

>To change lanes to the right if you feel you're going too fast, use the
>method in the line above.

Done.
-- 
Rahul Dhesi <dhesi@spams.r.us.com>
a2i communications, a quality ISP
    "Any idiot can avoid automobile accidents that are his own fault.  It
     takes skill to avoid accidents that are the *other* person's fault."