keep your distance

s_b

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TrickyWicky

Our lorry drivers all do the same thing too - I saw one once with literally 1 foot of space between him and the lorry in front. It's shocking how many of them don't give a stuff about their own lives (or anyone elses for that matter).

Joe_Horner

Trouble is, it's not just the lorry drivers, Tricky. Won''t guess a "percentage" cos I'm not on Jezzer Kyle but easily more than half the drivers out there don't leave enough gap.

We've all seen them playing sardines with the motorway "keep your distance" chevrons - the most I've counted to date was 4 cars between two chevrons, with another trying to fit, all doing 70 +.

They must think that their airbags and ABS somehow change the laws of physics!

Strider590

Joe_Horner wrote: »

They must think that their airbags and ABS somehow change the laws of physics!

There would be far less road accidents/deaths if every vehicle had a stainless steel spike fitted to the steering wheel in place of the airbag.

worried_jim

Strider590 wrote: »

There would be far less road accidents/deaths if every vehicle had a stainless steel spike fitted to the steering wheel in place of the airbag.

She can drive!

Shimrod

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Trouble is, it's not just the lorry drivers, Tricky. Won''t guess a "percentage" cos I'm not on Jezzer Kyle but easily more than half the drivers out there don't leave enough gap.

Pretty close on your guess! Here's a report on a traffic survey from 2004.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3526692.stm

Nearly 50%, and up to 70% of drivers on some stretches of motorway don't leave enough of a gap.

Lum

And of course, if you do leave the correct gap, as soon as an obstruction comes up further ahead, at least 3 cars will fill that gap for you.

Back off to leave a correct gap... 3 more cars.

It's not surprising that many people just give up trying these days.

Crabman

Strider590 wrote: »

There would be far less road accidents/deaths if every vehicle had a stainless steel spike fitted to the steering wheel in place of the airbag.

You'd be surprised how many facial/eye injuries are caused by airbag deployment. Especially among those who sit close to the steering wheel.

If the initial inflation doesn't get you, the noxious gas can cause respiratory issues. I heard recently about a death, seemingly as a direct result of gas inhalation from the airbag propellant.

Airbags are not as soft, safe and cushy as car manufacturers' marketing people would have you believe

mikey72

Lum wrote: »

And of course, if you do leave the correct gap, as soon as an obstruction comes up further ahead, at least 3 cars will fill that gap for you.

Back off to leave a correct gap... 3 more cars.

It's not surprising that many people just give up trying these days.

What's three cars nose to tail? 30ft, not even a second. I let them, then back off again. Eventually it could add a minute or two to my day.

Lum

Yes, but eventually some people just get fed up and stop opening up the gap and thus they start contributing to the problem.

Common logic to justify this is "since people keep filling the gap, I'm never going to have a safe stopping distance, so I may as well just stop letting these ****ers in. I'll be just as unsafe either way but this way gets me home quicker".

Joe_Horner

Lum wrote: »

Yes, but eventually some people just get fed up and stop opening up the gap and thus they start contributing to the problem.

Common logic to justify this is "since people keep filling the gap, I'm never going to have a safe stopping distance, so I may as well just stop letting these ****ers in. I'll be just as unsafe either way but this way gets me home quicker (if I don't crash first)".

There ya go, fixed the logic flaw in there for you - I know it's not your logic btw