Why do drivers speed up and close the gap when you try and change lanes?!!

Mr_Thrifty

interstellaflyer wrote: »

So by accelerating to close the gap aren't they bringing their braking distance down anyway, surely a good driver would just ease off and maintain a safe braking distance, what the OP is describing is just plain ignorance.

Yes, they are reducing their braking distance, but only to say 2 seconds or so (just enough to stop somebody pushing in) rather than 0.5 to 1 second or so if somebody were to force their way into say a 3 second gap. I think the thing is, the person who is pushing in basically forces the other driver to either brake or accept a dangerously small stopping gap until the traffic spreads out again.

Mr_Thrifty

wba31 wrote: »

but for 3 reasons i just wanted him to p1ss off and let me get home. 1) the wife was pretty scared and upset by his attitude and behaviour toward me. 2) it was friday evening and it was our journey home from work - just wanted to get home. 3) we had frozen fish in the car that needed to get in the freezer... missus works for frozen seafood place and gets to bring stuff home, so although it hadnt cost us anything, she was getting it for her old man, so i was conscious he was expecting his fish, wouldnt want him missing out as i went all chuck norris on some grandad with anger issues

please, please please tone your anger down on the roads.

there is no place for violence on UK roads

in the USA people get shot during road rage, so lets be glad that doesn't happen here

just stay calm, be polite and friendly and remember that you are setting a good example for other people to follow

Mr_Thrifty

Also guys another good idea is to get a hat that looks a bit like a policeman's hat (maybe from a fancy dress shop) and leave it on the parcel shelf. hehe the tailgaters tend to play it safe if you do that

zappahey

Tobster86 wrote: »

I'd suggest you're well within reason to make a citizens arrest by that point.

Literally just put the !!!!!! on the floor and sit on him until the police arrive. Aikido's a good martial art for that which I'd recommend to everyone.

Lordy me, the armchair warriors are out in force in this thread.

Wongsky

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

Yes, they are reducing their braking distance, but only to say 2 seconds or so (just enough to stop somebody pushing in) rather than 0.5 to 1 second or so if somebody were to force their way into say a 3 second gap. I think the thing is, the person who is pushing in basically forces the other driver to either brake or accept a dangerously small stopping gap until the traffic spreads out again.

Sorry, but that's absolute rubbish.

Somebody changing lanes into a 3 second gap - or even a 2 second gap is hardly compromising anybody's safety.

The problem is people get some weird wild hair that makes them believe that piece of tarmac in front of them is actually theirs. It's not.

Somebody wanting to overtake and move into a gap like that, isn't compromising anybody's safety, is hardly forcing anything or pushing in - they're just overtaking. It doesn't, or shouldn't need anything in terms of sudden acceleration or sudden braking. All people would need to do is not be so stupidly aggressive, and perhaps slightly ease of the throttle momentarily.

Why do so many drivers behave like this, and others describe and explain it - it's beyond me. If you don't want somebody to overtake you, then the onus is on you to maintain a faster driving speed, if not, you have to accept you'll get overtaken from time to time, and that road in front of you is not yours to defend, it's public road space you share with other road users.

Time to leave petulance, churlishness, and petty behaviour in the playground, grow-up and be a man (or a woman, as the case may be).

RICK..._2

Loanranger wrote: »

You really shouldn't be on the road, should you?

Do you drive a Merc by any chance? Plonker! :rotfl:

I see this all the time and it's not limited to motorways. Pull out of a junction with loads of space either way, person coming up the road floors it then slams the horn, flashing lights and starts tailgating etc.

Another I see a lot is when approaching a roundabout, plenty of space so begin to pull out, and the person coming round it slams the accelerator to the floor and flies up behind you and sticks to your bumper.

It amazes me how people actually put themselves in a position where they may have a serious accident, purely because they don't want someone infront of them.

wba31

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

please, please please tone your anger down on the roads.

there is no place for violence on UK roads

in the USA people get shot during road rage, so lets be glad that doesn't happen here

just stay calm, be polite and friendly and remember that you are setting a good example for other people to follow

I was calm, that's why i didnt jump out the car or try to race him or none of that business! I just wanted him to disappear, take his mood elsewhere and let me get home...

Mr_Thrifty

Wongsky wrote: »

Sorry, but that's absolute rubbish.

Somebody changing lanes into a 3 second gap - or even a 2 second gap is hardly compromising anybody's safety.

The problem is people get some weird wild hair that makes them believe that piece of tarmac in front of them is actually theirs. It's not.

Somebody wanting to overtake and move into a gap like that, isn't compromising anybody's safety, is hardly forcing anything or pushing in - they're just overtaking. It doesn't, or shouldn't need anything in terms of sudden acceleration or sudden braking. All people would need to do is not be so stupidly aggressive, and perhaps slightly ease of the throttle momentarily.

Why do so many drivers behave like this, and others describe and explain it - it's beyond me. If you don't want somebody to overtake you, then the onus is on you to maintain a faster driving speed, if not, you have to accept you'll get overtaken from time to time, and that road in front of you is not yours to defend, it's public road space you share with other road users.

Time to leave petulance, churlishness, and petty behaviour in the playground, grow-up and be a man (or a woman, as the case may be).

Wongsky, if somebody pulls in front of you at high speed even though you're only say 3 seconds behind the car in front, and by doing that they leave only a 1 second or so gap behind them, then in effect they have "cut you up" and compromised your safety. Remember nigel mansell's saying, "only a fool breaks the 3 second rule"

Seeing somebody quarter of a mile down the road trying to move into a different lane and then accelerating flat out to block them is totally different, but what we're talking about here are the people who leave their manoeuvres to the last second and try and push their way into a tiny little gap in the traffic, forcing everybody behind to move out of their way

Mr_Thrifty

wba31 wrote: »

I was calm, that's why i didnt jump out the car or try to race him or none of that business! I just wanted him to disappear, take his mood elsewhere and let me get home...

yes that's the best atittude, just stay calm and remember everything is OK really

never lose your temper on the roads and always show kindness to other people whether they are on the roads or not

Wongsky

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

Wongsky, if somebody pulls in front of you at high speed even though you're only say 3 seconds behind the car in front, and by doing that they leave only a 1 second or so gap behind them, then in effect they have "cut you up" and compromised your safety. Remember nigel mansell's saying, "only a fool breaks the 3 second rule"

This is quite bogus and spurious.

People, in general, don't just move into lanes out of nowhere. It's not YOUR lane, so long as you don't have to brake to avoid them and they're not that close, it's just normal use of the available road space, that can easily be accommodated with gentle lifting of the throttle.

That's part of driving, observing what's around you, looking at what people may do, accepting their values and judgement may not be quite the same as yours, and reacting appropriately - not just acting as if the tarmac immediately in front of you is just for your sole usage.

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

Seeing somebody quarter of a mile down the road trying to move into a different lane and then accelerating flat out to block them is totally different, but what we're talking about here are the people who leave their manoeuvres to the last second and try and push their way into a tiny little gap in the traffic, forcing everybody behind to move out of their way

A 3 second gap, at motorway speeds, is not a tiny gap.

You're on a hiding to disappointment, if you expect that nobody will use gaps like that.

People will, and merely having to react, gently, to retain an ideal braking distance, is not being cut up. Having to react by braking because somebody has moved in too close is one thing, but merely having to react to improve following distances, shouldn't require braking, and can easily be accommodated by gentle easing of the throttle momentarily.

It's over-dramatising to suggest that having to ease off a little to reinstate ideal braking distances, is being cut-up.