Im surprised by the people indicating that they don’t pull over on purpose, literally just to be an asshole… Tailgating is idiotic, but you can do something about it by getting out of the way. Its safer to have as much room around you as possible. Don’t tailgate, let people pass, and pass quickly. Who wants to drive right next to someone, in their blind spot or in yours? Use your controls to either speed up or slow down.
For the tailgater’s here, driving fast barely saves time on short trips. You might save as much as 2 minutes on your daily 20 mile commute driving like an absolute maniac. But who wants to risk a ticket or accident doing that everyday and then paying an increased insurance rate on top of potentially losing your car and spending time in the hospital with an insane medical bill?
I don’t think most tailgaters are driving fast for time savings. I think it really just comes down to the feeling that being forced to drive slower than you want to just feels bad, and if you’re emotionally immature or impulsive, you let that feeling impact your driving.
I don’t let it impact my driving, but I can absolutely feel my impatience rising being trapped behind a slower driver. There have even been a couple times where it was persistent enough to start affecting my focus. My solution? I parked somewhere to cool off, which you might note is the opposite of saving time.
Not that it’s the right thing to do, but you can save a surprising amount of time driving fast. If traffic is averaging 60mph, and you, being a psycho BMW/etc driver manage to average 90, even over just 20 miles, you’ll get there over six minutes sooner.
The time savings of course gets pretty nuts over 200+ miles with even just a 10-15 mph difference, and sometimes reasonable speed differences are more than that in situations like getting stuck behind trucks passing other trucks at 55-60 vs the 80mph speed limit on some highways.
In my state it is law that slower traffic move to the right lane. That means if your hall monitor ass is running the speed limit in the left lane and you are holding up traffic that wants to go faster than you, you are not only the asshole you can be pulled over and cited and I have seen it enforced.
I meant passing lane. But I was just asking the question because nowhere in the United States are you allowed to exceed the speed limit legally…even to keep up with traffic. Was just funny that he suggested someone was doing something illegal that prevented him from doing something illegal.
You can say that, but there are practicalities here. Where I live, it is highly unusual for someone to be going the speed limit on the freeway. It is completely unfeasible for cops to try to do anything to curtail that on an individual basis, so only the people doing truly dangerous things tend to get pulled over. I just play zebra and enjoy blending into all the other people going 15 over.
It is completely unfeasible for cops to try to do anything to curtail that on an individual basis
It’s actually very easy to do and some municipalities actually invest the traffic enforcement time in doing so. The police simply need to ramp up enforcement. Bring a half dozen squad cars and pull over anyone going over the posted speed during rush hour and repeat this a few times and the visibility of multiple cars being pulled over at a time slows traffic down pretty immediately
I just play zebra and enjoy blending into all the other people going 15 over.
If you’re going 15 over then you’re going 15 over. Doesn’t matter if others are doing the same thing, you’ve joined into the unsafe, financially irresponsible and illegal behavior
I’m not saying don’t move right… just saying the guy used the law to say you need to move over(so he can break the law)… and that this was the law… which it obviously isn’t. JUust thought it was funny.
The law specifically states that you must yield the left lane to faster traffic. Every few months the highway patrol gets real energetic about enforcing it too. Hall monitors are rewarded with fat fines.
The speed limit is the maximum speed allowed by law. Doesn’t matter if you’re passing, delivering a baby or have gone over that speed a million times and never been pulled over, if you exceed the posted speed limit you are breaking the law. It’s one of the few extremely cut and dry traffic laws
I regularly have my cruise set at 10 over, going 80 on the 70 mph highway. Most people seem to only go like 75. In well over a decade of traveling forty miles each way doing this and not once slowing down when I see a cop in the median have I ever been pulled over. I like when cops are in the median because then jackasses tend to move over. My adaptive cruise keeps me several car lengths back but it’s still annoying that people just hang out going five over in the far left lane when there’s no other cars around. I prefer not to pass on the right but I’m not sitting behind some jackass for miles just because they think they own a lane of the road. It pleases me the dozen or so times I’ve seen a cop whip out and I’m sure they think I’m going to be pulled over for passing on their right going faster than them and so far every single time their dumbass has been the one the cop pulled over.
You misunderstood what I was inferring. The post I was referring to used the fact that driving in the passing lane at the speed limit is illegal if there is someone behind them that’s wants to pass while driving over the speed limit… which is not true. They sighted using the law to allow them to break the law. Ir was just funny.
That actually is illegal where I live though. If you are in the far left lane going the speed limit and not letting someone pass you will get an impeding the flow of traffic ticket for holding up a vehicle trying to go above the speed limit. In my experience that will be prioritized over ticketing the speeding vehicle.
I’m not saying it’s specifically legal, I’m saying the police never pull anyone over for speeding on this particular highway unless they are going over 10mph over or have another reason to stop someone. Almost everyone goes 5 over. A decent amount go 10 over.
Yes. In practice it is legal to exceed the speed limit, as speed limits are written artificially low with the understanding that people will violate them.
“But it’s technically illegal” is a terrible argument. There are so many rules of the road, and you, like every driver, are constantly making minor violations of the law. If every driving law were enforced 100%, there would be no more drivers on the road within a matter of weeks.
There’s a reason it’s long been understood that cops can pull anyone over any time they want. Technically they can only pull people over for violating traffic laws, but it is literally impossible to drive without violating traffic laws.
Seriously, driving slow and clogging the passing lane is irritating and dangerous, but tailgating is just making a dangerous situation even worse. Plus, if a person is already absentminded enough to be cruising in the left lane they’re likely not going to be rational enough to interpret that as “move over.” Instead they’ll just think “some crazy asshole is on my ass” and either keep as-is, panic, or try some spiteful move like slowing down in the left lane and further compound things.
Kind of surprised by how many people are defending this shit.
If you tailgate people, you can go fuck yourself.
Im surprised by the people indicating that they don’t pull over on purpose, literally just to be an asshole… Tailgating is idiotic, but you can do something about it by getting out of the way. Its safer to have as much room around you as possible. Don’t tailgate, let people pass, and pass quickly. Who wants to drive right next to someone, in their blind spot or in yours? Use your controls to either speed up or slow down.
For the tailgater’s here, driving fast barely saves time on short trips. You might save as much as 2 minutes on your daily 20 mile commute driving like an absolute maniac. But who wants to risk a ticket or accident doing that everyday and then paying an increased insurance rate on top of potentially losing your car and spending time in the hospital with an insane medical bill?
I don’t think most tailgaters are driving fast for time savings. I think it really just comes down to the feeling that being forced to drive slower than you want to just feels bad, and if you’re emotionally immature or impulsive, you let that feeling impact your driving.
I don’t let it impact my driving, but I can absolutely feel my impatience rising being trapped behind a slower driver. There have even been a couple times where it was persistent enough to start affecting my focus. My solution? I parked somewhere to cool off, which you might note is the opposite of saving time.
Not that it’s the right thing to do, but you can save a surprising amount of time driving fast. If traffic is averaging 60mph, and you, being a psycho BMW/etc driver manage to average 90, even over just 20 miles, you’ll get there over six minutes sooner.
The time savings of course gets pretty nuts over 200+ miles with even just a 10-15 mph difference, and sometimes reasonable speed differences are more than that in situations like getting stuck behind trucks passing other trucks at 55-60 vs the 80mph speed limit on some highways.
I rarely if ever see a tailgater tailgate one car that’s doing something wrong, and then immediately go back to being cool.
So? I don’t want to be the one they crash into.
Get off your phone slowballs
You’re correct, but as a schematic the image is also correct.
In my state it is law that slower traffic move to the right lane. That means if your hall monitor ass is running the speed limit in the left lane and you are holding up traffic that wants to go faster than you, you are not only the asshole you can be pulled over and cited and I have seen it enforced.
So it’s legal in your state to exceed the speed limit of you want to go faster than the guy in the fast lane that is going exactly the limit?
It isn’t the fast lane, it’s the PASSING LANE. If you are in that lane and you aren’t passing, YOU are the problem.
Edit: And if you are going 2167 mph in a 55 and not passing, you are STILL THE PROBLEM.
I meant passing lane. But I was just asking the question because nowhere in the United States are you allowed to exceed the speed limit legally…even to keep up with traffic. Was just funny that he suggested someone was doing something illegal that prevented him from doing something illegal.
You can say that, but there are practicalities here. Where I live, it is highly unusual for someone to be going the speed limit on the freeway. It is completely unfeasible for cops to try to do anything to curtail that on an individual basis, so only the people doing truly dangerous things tend to get pulled over. I just play zebra and enjoy blending into all the other people going 15 over.
It’s actually very easy to do and some municipalities actually invest the traffic enforcement time in doing so. The police simply need to ramp up enforcement. Bring a half dozen squad cars and pull over anyone going over the posted speed during rush hour and repeat this a few times and the visibility of multiple cars being pulled over at a time slows traffic down pretty immediately
If you’re going 15 over then you’re going 15 over. Doesn’t matter if others are doing the same thing, you’ve joined into the unsafe, financially irresponsible and illegal behavior
Move. Right.
I’m not saying don’t move right… just saying the guy used the law to say you need to move over(so he can break the law)… and that this was the law… which it obviously isn’t. JUust thought it was funny.
The law specifically states that you must yield the left lane to faster traffic. Every few months the highway patrol gets real energetic about enforcing it too. Hall monitors are rewarded with fat fines.
All the people saying move right just want to drive in the left lane at illegal speed. Crazy lack of self reflection.
Yes. The speed limit in most states isn’t a hard limit.
The speed limit is the maximum speed allowed by law. Doesn’t matter if you’re passing, delivering a baby or have gone over that speed a million times and never been pulled over, if you exceed the posted speed limit you are breaking the law. It’s one of the few extremely cut and dry traffic laws
I regularly have my cruise set at 10 over, going 80 on the 70 mph highway. Most people seem to only go like 75. In well over a decade of traveling forty miles each way doing this and not once slowing down when I see a cop in the median have I ever been pulled over. I like when cops are in the median because then jackasses tend to move over. My adaptive cruise keeps me several car lengths back but it’s still annoying that people just hang out going five over in the far left lane when there’s no other cars around. I prefer not to pass on the right but I’m not sitting behind some jackass for miles just because they think they own a lane of the road. It pleases me the dozen or so times I’ve seen a cop whip out and I’m sure they think I’m going to be pulled over for passing on their right going faster than them and so far every single time their dumbass has been the one the cop pulled over.
You misunderstood what I was inferring. The post I was referring to used the fact that driving in the passing lane at the speed limit is illegal if there is someone behind them that’s wants to pass while driving over the speed limit… which is not true. They sighted using the law to allow them to break the law. Ir was just funny.
That actually is illegal where I live though. If you are in the far left lane going the speed limit and not letting someone pass you will get an impeding the flow of traffic ticket for holding up a vehicle trying to go above the speed limit. In my experience that will be prioritized over ticketing the speeding vehicle.
Which area do you live that allows exceeding the speed limit legally? I’ve never heard of this traffic law anywhere in the United States at least.
Edit: it turns out there are 5 stats that technically allow you to briefly exceed the limit to pass another vehicle.
I’m not saying it’s specifically legal, I’m saying the police never pull anyone over for speeding on this particular highway unless they are going over 10mph over or have another reason to stop someone. Almost everyone goes 5 over. A decent amount go 10 over.
No doubt… but it turns out it is actually technically legal in a handful of states like Washington and Montana.
Yes. In practice it is legal to exceed the speed limit, as speed limits are written artificially low with the understanding that people will violate them.
“But it’s technically illegal” is a terrible argument. There are so many rules of the road, and you, like every driver, are constantly making minor violations of the law. If every driving law were enforced 100%, there would be no more drivers on the road within a matter of weeks.
There’s a reason it’s long been understood that cops can pull anyone over any time they want. Technically they can only pull people over for violating traffic laws, but it is literally impossible to drive without violating traffic laws.
Seriously, driving slow and clogging the passing lane is irritating and dangerous, but tailgating is just making a dangerous situation even worse. Plus, if a person is already absentminded enough to be cruising in the left lane they’re likely not going to be rational enough to interpret that as “move over.” Instead they’ll just think “some crazy asshole is on my ass” and either keep as-is, panic, or try some spiteful move like slowing down in the left lane and further compound things.
Can confirm. Tailgating will fuck financially and physically. Just ask any insurance agent.
Zero “people” are defending this. Anyone defending this is subhuman.
Allowing someone to tailgate you for an extended period is also an asshole maneuver.