How do you deal with tailgaters?
#91
04-03-2007, 07:10 PM
HypoFueler
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Ohio
Posts: 405
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
I got tailgated a couple of times on the way home - made me a little upset as they were riding too close behind me - then they passed me without incident.
Later, I rode right up behind a semi to get a "good draft" - also called tailgaiting.
I thought that maybe I was a hypocrite when I got home.
Later, I rode right up behind a semi to get a "good draft" - also called tailgaiting.
I thought that maybe I was a hypocrite when I got home.
#92
04-04-2007, 07:47 AM
G.H. Contributor
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: The Music City, Tennessee
Posts: 1,396
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
I got tailgated a couple of times on the way home - made me a little upset as they were riding too close behind me - then they passed me without incident.
Later, I rode right up behind a semi to get a "good draft" - also called tailgating.
I thought that maybe I was a hypocrite when I got home.
Later, I rode right up behind a semi to get a "good draft" - also called tailgating.
I thought that maybe I was a hypocrite when I got home.
I Hate 
anyone right up on my Bumper and one of the reasons and not the only one is, I drive new vehicles and keep them serviced so they {Stop} the way they were designed to. I work at a dealer now for like the past 12 yrs. and just as a FYI, hardly any of these people driving all around you and especially right on your tail ends don't have Brakes, Tires etc. worth a Crap. So beware is the word for the day. They are more than likely going to be right up in your backseat if anything happens and you have to apply your brakes in an Emergency. This is No-Joke most vehicles on the road are in Pitiful shape as far as Brakes and Tires:
So get them off your Tail-End if possible.Have a nice day all. Hope this heads-up gives you the extra edge you need to stay {Safe}. And your Families riding with you.
Terry (tiger)
Last edited by tigerhonaker; 04-04-2007 at 07:50 AM.
#93
04-04-2007, 07:49 AM
Ridiculously Active Enthusiast
Join Date: May 2004
Location: New England
Posts: 1,518
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
The US Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the Transportation Research Board have all studied speed limits nationwide within the last decade. As a general rule, speed limits are based on the design speed of the roadway (determined by your state's highway engineers and based on, among other things, geometry of the roadway, bottlenecks, surrounding land uses, and population density) and the average speed that drivers travel in observed free flow, minus a discount (called the 85th-percentile rule) for the safety of all modes of traffic. (This is all a quick summary and varies slightly from state-to-state.)
So, according to that 85-percentile rule, your 55-mph highway is actually designed for 65-mph free-flow traffic. Traffic and highway engineers build in a margin of safety to account for naturally slower elements of traffic, such as trucks, cautious drivers, and so on. This is for the safety of both these naturally slower drivers and those operating around them.
I should include that these rules and methods are continuously revisited as roadway and automotive safety improvements warrant. That's why in the late 1990s most states abandoned the old 55-mph federal mandate for more localized solutions. I don't know what your state did, but I suspect they made similar determinations based on real-world observations. In fact, 40 states follow some form of the method I summarized above that was included in the AASHTO "Green Book" on highway design in 2004 (and previous editions).
Caveat: I'm not a DOT employee. Someone out there will understand the nuances that I don't know. I welcome corrections to my understanding of this issue.
So, according to that 85-percentile rule, your 55-mph highway is actually designed for 65-mph free-flow traffic. Traffic and highway engineers build in a margin of safety to account for naturally slower elements of traffic, such as trucks, cautious drivers, and so on. This is for the safety of both these naturally slower drivers and those operating around them.
I should include that these rules and methods are continuously revisited as roadway and automotive safety improvements warrant. That's why in the late 1990s most states abandoned the old 55-mph federal mandate for more localized solutions. I don't know what your state did, but I suspect they made similar determinations based on real-world observations. In fact, 40 states follow some form of the method I summarized above that was included in the AASHTO "Green Book" on highway design in 2004 (and previous editions).
Caveat: I'm not a DOT employee. Someone out there will understand the nuances that I don't know. I welcome corrections to my understanding of this issue.
#94
04-19-2007, 02:50 PM
Enthusiast
Join Date: May 2006
Location: San Dimas, CA
Posts: 21
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
Had a funny thing happen to me on the commute home yesterday. I was in the HOV lane, in stop and go traffic, but leaving room in front to help maximize my MPG. Up comes someone behind me, riding my rear bumper and flashing his high beams. A HOV lane entry/exit comes up and he zooms by on the right while throwing me "the look"! Of course, since it was stop and go traffic, he didn't have far to go before he was tailgating the next guy in line. I just laughed and ended up right behind him for the next 15 miles until he got off the freeway.
Now the funniest thing, what vehicle do you think he was driving? A huge, gas guzzling, V8 SUV? Nope! It was a silver '06 HCH II !! I guess all hybrid drivers haven't achieved that zen state of mind yet!
(Now I understand how some HCH II owners get under 40mpg!)
Now the funniest thing, what vehicle do you think he was driving? A huge, gas guzzling, V8 SUV? Nope! It was a silver '06 HCH II !! I guess all hybrid drivers haven't achieved that zen state of mind yet!
(Now I understand how some HCH II owners get under 40mpg!)
#95
04-19-2007, 04:52 PM
G.H. Contributor
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: The Music City, Tennessee
Posts: 1,396
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
Had a funny thing happen to me on the commute home yesterday. I was in the HOV lane, in stop and go traffic, but leaving room in front to help maximize my MPG. Up comes someone behind me, riding my rear bumper and flashing his high beams. A HOV lane entry/exit comes up and he zooms by on the right while throwing me "the look"! Of course, since it was stop and go traffic, he didn't have far to go before he was tailgating the next guy in line. I just laughed and ended up right behind him for the next 15 miles until he got off the freeway.
Now the funniest thing, what vehicle do you think he was driving? A huge, gas guzzling, V8 SUV? Nope! It was a silver '06 HCH II !! I guess all hybrid drivers haven't achieved that zen state of mind yet!
(Now I understand how some HCH II owners get under 40mpg!)
Now the funniest thing, what vehicle do you think he was driving? A huge, gas guzzling, V8 SUV? Nope! It was a silver '06 HCH II !! I guess all hybrid drivers haven't achieved that zen state of mind yet!
(Now I understand how some HCH II owners get under 40mpg!)
Terry (tiger)
#96
04-19-2007, 05:02 PM
Active Enthusiast
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 195
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
I can't tell you how many times a hybrid has blown by me. Especially the Prius. It's no wonder people who drive hybrids this way are complaining about the lack of high mpgs. You can't blame the car, only the person driving it.
Driving the HCHII has completely mellowed me out. I'm more into FE, now, than passing the car in front of me.
Take Care,
Jess
Driving the HCHII has completely mellowed me out. I'm more into FE, now, than passing the car in front of me.
Take Care,
Jess
#99
04-19-2007, 07:06 PM
Ridiculously Active Enthusiast
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: So. California
Posts: 1,120
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
This may sound weird but I once heard we try to cram more into every day because deep down we know we are going to run out of time when we die.
We are always trying to cram more of life into every day
We overbook our time.
When I first heard this I thought it was nuts.
Now I think there may be something to it.
We are always trying to cram more of life into every day
We overbook our time.
When I first heard this I thought it was nuts.
Now I think there may be something to it.
#100
04-19-2007, 09:15 PM
Hyper Hybrid Dude
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: CA
Posts: 58
Re: How do you deal with tailgaters?
Driving like there is no tomorrow, is how most of us used to drive before we got our hybrids. I didn't care much about fuel efficiency, and even if I had, what could I do about it? Our hybrid's give instant feedback that allows us to react or ignore useful information.
I am a totally different driver now. Like in ex-smoker who can't even stand the smell of smoke anymore, fast drivers **** me off. However, we need to realize that they are just as ignorant as we used to be.
Tailgaters or not, OPEC be damed; I AM NOT SPEEDING UP!
I am a totally different driver now. Like in ex-smoker who can't even stand the smell of smoke anymore, fast drivers **** me off. However, we need to realize that they are just as ignorant as we used to be.
Tailgaters or not, OPEC be damed; I AM NOT SPEEDING UP!
