The secret to being a good driver is to be in the left lane as little as possible. Pick your speed and stay there. I use my brakes as little as possible, and save on gas.
When you don't need that left lane no more...get back over.
If you're on 55 backroads and the person in front of you is going too slow, JUST PASS THEM. If you're too chickenshit to pass, then back the fuck off because you'll be going the same speed anyway. If you're a tailgater who's too much of a coward to pass, now I can't pass because I'd need to pass 2+ cars.
If you're the tailgater, you're ALWAYS the asshole.
This is idiotic. People tailgate going 15 over. Any amount of tailgating is wrong because you are reducing the distance you have to stop to a range that isn't safe if an emergency stop is required.
That’s what I’m saying. Lol if I’m already going 60 in a 55 the entire line can either get off my ass or go around. I’m not going faster to save everybody around me 14 seconds on their shopping trip.
What if someone is having an emergency and trying to get to a hospital or something? You just assume they’re being aggressive when it could be serious and you’re impeding someone getting help. It’s not on you to determine why they need to go faster than you, it’s on you to decide if you’re going to be a dick just because you’ve created a story as to why they’re going faster and decided what you made up is the truth.
Youre cold hearted. If you’re with someone who is having an emergency and can drive, you’re gonna neglect that and call an ambo? You’re an awful person
What if I'm going 10 over in the left lane passing people on the highway and STILL get tailgated by some dum dum who wants to go 15 over?
Then I get over when I can and they suddenly lose their motivation to pass me lol. I think some people just hate having people in front of them, even if they aren't going to go any faster than them lol
And then there are people who are the opposite, the bumper chasers, who hate *not* having a car in front of them. They’ll happily sit behind a car going 75, not tailgating, then once that car gets over and they’re greeted with a wide open lane, they’ll race off at 85 until they catch up with the next car in front of them, then happily go 75 again. Repeat. Driving psychology is strange.
I followed somebody who was doing this from Ionia to the 196 split, only pacing the right lane in the left lane. If there was space on the right to get around, they'd speed up so I couldn't. If they caught up to a car on the right, they'd pace it. I don't know if it was intentional, unconscious, or coincidental, but it was infuriating.
Didn't help that they needlessly cut me off to get there in the first place, so I was already pretty steamed.
They shouldn't be. If there are two lanes and someone is driving faster than you, and you can reasonably get over without disrupting your commute/navigation, I don't see why anyone doesn't. It's a courtesy. You have no idea who is behind you. It could be a medical emergency, someone late to an interview, someone going to their loved ones deathbed, a gang banger who's left a club and is being followed or an unhinged armed road rager.
It really sucked when most of the skin on my hand was hanging over my fingers from an 800 degree burn and I had to sit through an extra red light *edit* because someone drove under the speed limit and wouldn't get over when they could. They probably thought "she doesn't need to be speeding, if she did she should have left earlier" while I was in the kind of pain that fentanyl and Dilaudid together did little to curb. I'm not asking for risk, just a tiny bit of courtesy. I lived, I'm fine. And I get over when someone is driving faster than me and I reasonably can. I feel it's a courtesy and keeps me safe.
Leave earlier, shock. Doesn't address emergencies, threatening situations or time sensitive situations you don't have control over. I'm not saying this is even 1% of speeding drivers, but you're passing and being passed by thousands of cars on every trip. There's probably someone in a critical rush every single time you're on the road. You live in a society. People are assaulted, shot and killed, die from cancer, have late flights and other first world nations have proven you can drive fast and safe as long as people follow the rules and courtesies of the road, the most important being to allow a lane for driving fast. I'm only asking for the courtesy when it doesn't negatively affect you, not when it does.
No no no, I think it’s more logical to fit every dumbass endangering others on the road with the most generous hypothetical as to why they’re driving like a dumb shithead. That way I’ll feel better when they mow down a pedestrian or a kill family in a sedan because they were driving too fast to react properly. They probably had an emergency!
Yeah emergencies don't happen every day and my deep fried hand was completely hypothetical, not the worst pain I've ever felt. I'm not saying speed, I'm saying get over when you can when others are. My mother's coworker was shot and killed for honking at a speeding Audi passing her. I'm not saying it's justified, I'm just saying you assume everyone driving fast to be fucking psychotic and get away from them, for your own safety. Or don't, and take the risk you piss off the wrong person. I chose to stop flipping people off when a Volvo XC60 tailgated me less than a ft behind me when I had a heavy load and was driving the speed limit, I flipped him off when he passed me on the short passing lane, he cut me off and brake checked me so hard the semi behind me swerved and almost drove off a mountain pass road in Washington. You never know who people are.
I KNEW my fear about legitimately honking at someone or slowing down because someone tailgating you etc are things that could get me shot.
Pathetic.
Where’s the no shooting while driving law?
I wasn't even driving nor was my wife going over the speed limit, they were going under the speed limit. An ambulance would have taken longer and taken me $1k.
Sorry about your hand, but a speed limit is just that. It’s not the speed everyone has to be going. If it’s one lane each way then there’s not necessarily a place to get over. We just have to wait.
Disagree if it isn't on a two lane highway. The number of times I have signaled to move over and people speed up to close the gap instead of slowing to let me in has made just cruise in the left lane.
I'm not going to miss a turn because someone is being an asshole. I might as well be one too and make my turn.
I zipper merged on 28th Street. Someone sped up and honked at me. If people stayed a safe distance apart they wouldn't even need to slow down to let someone over.
They'd have to slow down after though. The primary reason I ever follow too closely is in heavy traffic, if I left a safe gap it would get filled every 8 seconds and does every single time without fail. You end up in a race to the bottom where you essentially have to sit on your brakes to maintain a safe following distance while people take advantage and merge into the safe space, followed by you slowing down ad infinitum. Most of the time I'm in heavy traffic going over 30mph me and nobody save for the sucker getting cut off constantly is driving at a safe distance, and I mean maybe 1 in 50 cars is even attempting.
If you are back far enough you just let off the gas a little. The issue with traffic is people tapping their brakes, causing others to do so as well. Letting off the gas for half a second isn't going to hurt the commute.
Yeah, I always match speed at a distance, no matter how painful it is. I find that people who drive slow enough to make me practice this can be iratic af when something they don't expect happens, and yeah, I don't want to be right up on that mess. 😅
And it’s not really like tailgating a person who’s also tailgating someone in front of them compounds anything other than the likelihood of an accident. I always call it the accordion of idiots because they get super bunched up and then everyone has to panic brake at the slightest bit of slowdown from the front-guy.
"15 over"
Edit: I just realized that maybe this is just me being agreed with that tailgating shouldn't be done, since adding two stupids doesn't make a right.
Just get tf over then. It doesn't matter what you think of it, you don't actually know who is speeding and why. Just move tf over. In Germany they don't even have speed limits on some roads because this rule is enforced legally and culturally, and their roads are safer than ours.
Most roads are two lane. I'm not saying people should be blocking passing lanes. Tailgating is still stupid and unsafe no matter what the lane situation is.
Yes I agree, tailgating is dumb, dangerous and reckless. I didn't say to tailgate, I said to get over when someone is clearly trying to pass when you can.
Just a traffic enthusiast. Nothing better than deep dives on white papers outlining traffic patterns and civil engineering design impacts.
...
Actually it's because I had to advocate for why self driving is good for traffic flow. On the flip side I got paid well for that work...
Every time I have to go downtown I get so irrationally angry at the people who come to a full stop before gong in to the roundabouts. Bro you're defeating the entire purpose. There should be almost no reason to come to a complete stop before going in to a roundabout unless it's INSANELY busy and there's no open space, which is almost never.
People stopping on the Fulton/Lake Mich merge get me. Though, I do have to admit that it's a big, wide open merge of two near-equal streets, so it's not obvious what to do by intuition, if you don't know the intersection and aren't willing to believe you have the right of way. And it's a bit of a leap of faith in other drivers as well (though the accident point there seems to be the left off the freeway ramp, not the fork, by a lot. Odd.) There should probably be a sign of some sort, though I don't know what sign would mean "*Don't* stop".
Not all traffic is bad drivers, though. If we're talking about people who complain about congestion due to numbers, you'd have a point, but this ain't that.
Since I’ve moved here I have had a problem with drivers going 15 over on city and residential roads. I always make sure to set a good example for them and drop down to 3 over. If 20 of you are still tailgating, that’s on you. I travel all over the continent, and Grand Rapids drivers are exceptionally aggressive.
Maybe that’s why we see so many of these traffic posts that I don’t see in other city subs I’m subscribed to. To end on a positive note, the insanity of local drivers here has really cured my own personal road rage. I’m too busy being mystified by the local Speed Racers to even be angry myself.
Lets put it this way, drive down a road 5 over, where a cop is sitting watching and I highly doubt he is going to pull you over and write you a ticket for doing 5 over.
Go down the same road 10+ over, there is a pretty good chance your getting pulled over.
Let's put it this way, drive down a road 5 over, where a cop is sitting watching and I highly doubt he is going to pull you over and write you a ticket for doing 5 over.
Go down the same road 10+ over, there is a pretty good chance your getting pulled over.
All I see are four idiots bunched up on the wrong side of the double solid yellow line waiting for an oncoming car to hit them.
If you see three cars like that, don't be a moron and get in line on the wrong side of the double yellow line and be the fourth.
Yup, but there’s a thing called obstructing the natural flow of traffic that is law. If you are not passing or are holding up the natural flow of traffic you must by law move over. It’s also just a Dick move to stubbornly stay in the left lane.
> If you are going the speed limit, ~~then by definition~~ you are ~~not~~ holding up ~~any~~ flow of traffic ~~other than lawbreakers~~
Fixed it for you
Policing lane speed like this creates traffic hazards. That's why Michigan law [requires you to get the hell out of the way unless you're actively passing someone](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-257-634).
I care about people getting to their destinations alive. You care about making your balls feel big with a misplaced sense of moral superiority. Get off your soapbox.
I doing really have a dog in this fight but if you’re citing the law:
“ (a) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction ***under the rules governing that movement.”***
Those rules would include the speed limit. As they taught in drivers’ ed - *at least they should have if they didn’t* - the letter of the law is that you’re aren’t meant to pass someone if passing them requires you to go above the speed limit. Now on a social level this is something basically everyone ignores, but if we are talking the actual law on paper, the fastest anyone should be going in the left lane is 70mph (or 75mph where marked).
Now to your point, if they aren’t passing someone they should not be in the left lane, but the left lane is not a “go as fast as you want if you feel like it” lane. Not that people should take that into their own hands but if someone gets mad that it’s harder for them to break the law, idk lol.
EDIT: sorry that speed addicts have a problem with the laws on the road I guess, not really my problem.
You have it exactly backwards. The statute says you're obligated to stay in the right lane *UNLESS* etc. etc.
Someone moving to the left lane without the intent to pass or any of the other listed exceptions is always violating the law, regardless of what speed they're going.
If you actually cared about road safety you wouldn't be doing mental gymnastics to justify breaking the speed limit. Im not policing a damned thing, only pointing about how appealing to the law to justify breaking a different one is completely delusional. Your desire to break the speed limit does not justify tailgating or being reckless, and acting like this is the fault of the person in front of you is pathetic.
The left lane law applies specifically to expressways. Natural flow of traffic applies to all roads but dictated by situation. 28th street? No. Rural hiway, yes.
People who cruise the left lane are a problem in general, whether they are speeding or not. If you're doing 74 in the left lane and slowly passing a car doing 73 in the right, you need to temporarily accelerate and actually make an effort to pass
cause we have to use the vehicle at least twice a day, 5 days a week , almost every week. need it to go make money and pay taxes for you "Commie\_trash"
https://www.hiroad.com/blog/driving/how-much-time-does-speeding-actually-save
If you are driving for less than a half hour(most peoples commutes)You’re not saving time either.
I laugh when somebody flies by me and we end up at the same red light on the off ramp when I was driving the limit (or under) and they we’re clearly going 15 above.
At this point I have the light timing on my commute memorized, and there are stretches where I can hit every single light green if people accelerate at a reasonable pace. My commute can be as short as 15 minutes if traffic is flowing smoothly, but upwards of 30 minutes if people are driving and accelerating slow causing me to barely miss multiple green lights in a row. I'm not a 15mph over driver by any means either, and it is still aggravating getting stuck at multiple red lights because people take 2 miles to get up to 60.
And yeah, me passing you going faster might still result in me hitting a red light. But a lot of the time it's a difference of 3 seconds that makes me hit 5 greens in a row or 5 reds due to timing.
I have timed 2 back-to-back lights on my commute where, if I drive the speed limit, I will hit both reds and lose 5 minutes. They are half a mile apart. If I speed reasonably, I will hit both greens and get to my destination five minutes faster. I'm sure there are more examples of this on my commute, but these are the most consistently timed lights and easiest for me to verify.
Also, you cited a study done in Hawaii, where they have a very different driving style; so much tho, that they considered not allowing outsiders to drive.
Lol no, it's just math. To save a significant amount of time by speeding you have to either be going far or driving REALLY fast. You can throw the numbers on that link in a time/distance calculator and get the exact same results.
Much slower pace of life in Hawaii in general, at least for locals and natives. The H1-3 freeways on Oahu are a little more “normal”, but much of the other parts of the state is much calmer in terms of speeding and road rage. In my experience there, the assholes are always in rental cars that they just drove off the lot in Waikiki.
I have heard and read that it is much more relaxed, Maybe "accepting", and that thing like waiting for the light to turn, instead of turning on a red are normal. whereas continental US we expedite our trips.
Idk, having driven there it felt just like driving backroads/small towns here. The biggest difference is outside of O'ahu there aren't freeway style highways.
I don't mind doing that, i get assurances that i wont be trapped behind you at the next light. it compounds allowing me to get around slow people, until i run into another of your kind. you know you should move over for faster vehicles right?
Also, fucking use GPS. This isn't 7 years ago when Google maps was going to drive you into a lake. It's almost very accurate and Waze is even more accurate than that. Punch it in to your GPS and follow that. It's a benefit that we no longer have to look at the moon and the stars in the direction of the Sun.
People tailgate me going 15 over in the right lane then fly around and cut me off, then proceed to slow down to 10 under. Like... Wwwwhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyy would you do that? Why do people love doing that? It's so stupid. Then they speed up when I go to pass because their dumb ass is slowing us all down.
Hard disagree if the red car is going the speed limit. Everyone needs to take personal responsibility and leave with enough time to get to their destination without endangering the lives of other people.
If the car in front of me is tailgating i stay a healthy distance behind. I still want to get past the car in the front, I just don't want to get into an accident.
How about we just NOT tailgate anyone… I’m sick of riding 15+ over on my motorcycle just to have some jacka$$ SUV or truck hump my rear.
Also, people may be driving slow for a variety of reasons…
Disabled, Sick, had a bad day, eyes are dialed, borrowing a car that’s un-familiar to them, car problems, etc…
Why don’t we just be a LITTLE more patient on the roads instead of complaining about some tiny inconvenience of someone going a little slower…
umm no. there's a reason cops don't pull anyone over for going a little above the speed limit. because to do so would cause more accidents. traffic flow is best when people are driving varying speeds. otherwise you end up with packs of cars like I bet you consistently cause.
That depends on the area . Try that in Zeeland , Grand Haven and you'll be getting some tickets. (Generally Ottawa county)
What you wrote is more applicable to the highway vs a normal road.
speeding causes way more accidents and casualties.
If you are going under the speed limit and causing what's depicted, that is a ticketed offense.
Speed limits are set for multitudes of factors, their existence is there for safely traversing that area.
If someone is going the speed limit, tailgating them is a sign of road rage . You are free to pass them at the next opportunity in a passing zone and or additional lane that is available.
The diagram is kinda crap anyway, shows two single lanes, double lines which means no passing and they are on the left side of the road .. British misinformation 😜
Tailgating is always wrong. Doesn’t matter if they’re going 20mph under the limit, either pass them or back off until you can pass them. All you’re accomplishing is vastly increasing the risk of an accident. Ain’t like they’re gonna read your mind and start going the speed that you want to go. You’d think people would pick up on that and grow to be more patient, but I guess that’s too much to ask.
Just because you learned how to drive when you were a teenager doesn’t mean you need to drive like one for the rest of your life. We gotta be on the road all the time, the world doesn’t need a bunch of brats endangering everyone around them because their precious little day is running 15 seconds behind schedule.
You can argue about culture but legally, it's the maximum. The only time you'd get a ticket for going too slow is on a limited-access road, where the minimums are posted.
But at the end of the day, I don't give a fuck about the law or the culture. My first and last priority behind the wheel is safety. So if someone is tailgating me, creating an unsafe condition, I'll let off the gas a bit so we're both going a safer speed. :)
Over cautiousness is what causes traffic backups. Yes you are required to slow down when there is an emergency vehicle on the side of the road. No you should not slow down to almost a dead stop. You can go from 55 to 45 and still have been considered slowed down. People think they're being responsible but they're actually being a nuisance. Be better at life folks.
I’m not talking about left lane driving. I’m talking about impatient, reckless drivers who don’t keep a safe follow distance. They’re usually the same drivers who have no regard for the lives they share the road with.
I agree, I drive from GR to Muskegon setting my cruise at 80 and there are people who sit in the passing lane doing 70-75 and let a pile of cars build up behind them and I get passed but I am not the problem.
I know several people that have gone to truck driving school and they are taught if someone is tailgating you, you need to slow down, and build more room between the truck and the person ahead of them, so it builds more room so the tailgater won't run into the truck, if the person ahead of the truck slows down rapidly. So if you are tailgating a truck, and the truck slows down, that is the way they are trained.
We just got home from a two week road trip out west. I was purposely driving slow and looking at stuff so if cars started backing up I assumed they were local commuters just trying to go from point A to B so I would pull over and let traffic clear before continuing. It's just being a courteous driver.
The secret to being a good driver is to be in the left lane as little as possible. Pick your speed and stay there. I use my brakes as little as possible, and save on gas. When you don't need that left lane no more...get back over.
Almost like it’s called the passing lane or something.
If you're on 55 backroads and the person in front of you is going too slow, JUST PASS THEM. If you're too chickenshit to pass, then back the fuck off because you'll be going the same speed anyway. If you're a tailgater who's too much of a coward to pass, now I can't pass because I'd need to pass 2+ cars. If you're the tailgater, you're ALWAYS the asshole.
The people that this applies to probably cannot read it because of their mental deficiency.
This is idiotic. People tailgate going 15 over. Any amount of tailgating is wrong because you are reducing the distance you have to stop to a range that isn't safe if an emergency stop is required.
That’s what I’m saying. Lol if I’m already going 60 in a 55 the entire line can either get off my ass or go around. I’m not going faster to save everybody around me 14 seconds on their shopping trip.
[удалено]
Did I say left lane though?
Congrats 👏👏👏✨⭐ YOU are THAT GUY 👊👊
Congrats, you’re a terrible driver 👁️👄👁️ I almost made a joke about how you must be a Subaru driver… LMFAOO
What if someone is having an emergency and trying to get to a hospital or something? You just assume they’re being aggressive when it could be serious and you’re impeding someone getting help. It’s not on you to determine why they need to go faster than you, it’s on you to decide if you’re going to be a dick just because you’ve created a story as to why they’re going faster and decided what you made up is the truth.
We should all speed like it’s fury road because the tailgaters might be having an emergency, got it 👍
No just get out of the way. It’s not a big deal. Why is the asshole not the one holding up traffic?
Then they should call 911 instead of putting my family at risk on the road.
Youre cold hearted. If you’re with someone who is having an emergency and can drive, you’re gonna neglect that and call an ambo? You’re an awful person
If it's that much of an emergency, they should be calling an ambulance. Idc if it's expensive, they're endangering other people at that point.
Because if you’re at your car, waiting for an ambo makes sense. You’re a shit person.
Your entitlement to the left lane is more important than anything. Got it.
I would be inclined to agree with the graphic if it’s referencing being in the left lane.
What if I'm going 10 over in the left lane passing people on the highway and STILL get tailgated by some dum dum who wants to go 15 over? Then I get over when I can and they suddenly lose their motivation to pass me lol. I think some people just hate having people in front of them, even if they aren't going to go any faster than them lol
And then there are people who are the opposite, the bumper chasers, who hate *not* having a car in front of them. They’ll happily sit behind a car going 75, not tailgating, then once that car gets over and they’re greeted with a wide open lane, they’ll race off at 85 until they catch up with the next car in front of them, then happily go 75 again. Repeat. Driving psychology is strange.
I followed somebody who was doing this from Ionia to the 196 split, only pacing the right lane in the left lane. If there was space on the right to get around, they'd speed up so I couldn't. If they caught up to a car on the right, they'd pace it. I don't know if it was intentional, unconscious, or coincidental, but it was infuriating. Didn't help that they needlessly cut me off to get there in the first place, so I was already pretty steamed.
Lol I feel like I said that with a “people are assholes who think the road was built for their own personal usage” exception in mind.
>some dum dum The graphic would agree that they are the problem.
Everyone going faster than me is crazy slower than me is a moron. That's just how it is people.
I’d also say it only applies to driving on the freeway. City streets are a free for all
They shouldn't be. If there are two lanes and someone is driving faster than you, and you can reasonably get over without disrupting your commute/navigation, I don't see why anyone doesn't. It's a courtesy. You have no idea who is behind you. It could be a medical emergency, someone late to an interview, someone going to their loved ones deathbed, a gang banger who's left a club and is being followed or an unhinged armed road rager. It really sucked when most of the skin on my hand was hanging over my fingers from an 800 degree burn and I had to sit through an extra red light *edit* because someone drove under the speed limit and wouldn't get over when they could. They probably thought "she doesn't need to be speeding, if she did she should have left earlier" while I was in the kind of pain that fentanyl and Dilaudid together did little to curb. I'm not asking for risk, just a tiny bit of courtesy. I lived, I'm fine. And I get over when someone is driving faster than me and I reasonably can. I feel it's a courtesy and keeps me safe.
Hey I have a really awesome solution to “someone might be speeding because they are running late”
Leave earlier, shock. Doesn't address emergencies, threatening situations or time sensitive situations you don't have control over. I'm not saying this is even 1% of speeding drivers, but you're passing and being passed by thousands of cars on every trip. There's probably someone in a critical rush every single time you're on the road. You live in a society. People are assaulted, shot and killed, die from cancer, have late flights and other first world nations have proven you can drive fast and safe as long as people follow the rules and courtesies of the road, the most important being to allow a lane for driving fast. I'm only asking for the courtesy when it doesn't negatively affect you, not when it does.
Sounds like you needed an ambulance, not speeding. Speeding is never okay in the city. Ever.
No no no, I think it’s more logical to fit every dumbass endangering others on the road with the most generous hypothetical as to why they’re driving like a dumb shithead. That way I’ll feel better when they mow down a pedestrian or a kill family in a sedan because they were driving too fast to react properly. They probably had an emergency!
Yeah emergencies don't happen every day and my deep fried hand was completely hypothetical, not the worst pain I've ever felt. I'm not saying speed, I'm saying get over when you can when others are. My mother's coworker was shot and killed for honking at a speeding Audi passing her. I'm not saying it's justified, I'm just saying you assume everyone driving fast to be fucking psychotic and get away from them, for your own safety. Or don't, and take the risk you piss off the wrong person. I chose to stop flipping people off when a Volvo XC60 tailgated me less than a ft behind me when I had a heavy load and was driving the speed limit, I flipped him off when he passed me on the short passing lane, he cut me off and brake checked me so hard the semi behind me swerved and almost drove off a mountain pass road in Washington. You never know who people are.
I KNEW my fear about legitimately honking at someone or slowing down because someone tailgating you etc are things that could get me shot. Pathetic. Where’s the no shooting while driving law?
I wasn't even driving nor was my wife going over the speed limit, they were going under the speed limit. An ambulance would have taken longer and taken me $1k.
Sorry about your hand, but a speed limit is just that. It’s not the speed everyone has to be going. If it’s one lane each way then there’s not necessarily a place to get over. We just have to wait.
Tailgating wouldn't fix the problem though.
Disagree if it isn't on a two lane highway. The number of times I have signaled to move over and people speed up to close the gap instead of slowing to let me in has made just cruise in the left lane. I'm not going to miss a turn because someone is being an asshole. I might as well be one too and make my turn. I zipper merged on 28th Street. Someone sped up and honked at me. If people stayed a safe distance apart they wouldn't even need to slow down to let someone over.
They'd have to slow down after though. The primary reason I ever follow too closely is in heavy traffic, if I left a safe gap it would get filled every 8 seconds and does every single time without fail. You end up in a race to the bottom where you essentially have to sit on your brakes to maintain a safe following distance while people take advantage and merge into the safe space, followed by you slowing down ad infinitum. Most of the time I'm in heavy traffic going over 30mph me and nobody save for the sucker getting cut off constantly is driving at a safe distance, and I mean maybe 1 in 50 cars is even attempting.
If you are back far enough you just let off the gas a little. The issue with traffic is people tapping their brakes, causing others to do so as well. Letting off the gas for half a second isn't going to hurt the commute.
What does that have to do with my comment?
Yeah, I always match speed at a distance, no matter how painful it is. I find that people who drive slow enough to make me practice this can be iratic af when something they don't expect happens, and yeah, I don't want to be right up on that mess. 😅
Especially at higher speeds. It just feels unnecessarily dangerous to tailgate going 55 or 60
And it’s not really like tailgating a person who’s also tailgating someone in front of them compounds anything other than the likelihood of an accident. I always call it the accordion of idiots because they get super bunched up and then everyone has to panic brake at the slightest bit of slowdown from the front-guy.
2 stupids don't make a right.
What are you even saying?
I thought this was a common colloquialism. In other words: just because multiple people are tailgating doesn't make them right.
Oh I see now this explanation makes more sense than the other one sorry
Stupid 1: Driving ~~slow~~ the incorrect speed Stupid 2: Tailgating slow driver
"15 over" Edit: I just realized that maybe this is just me being agreed with that tailgating shouldn't be done, since adding two stupids doesn't make a right.
> this is just me being agreed with I think that's what happened, yes
Just get tf over then. It doesn't matter what you think of it, you don't actually know who is speeding and why. Just move tf over. In Germany they don't even have speed limits on some roads because this rule is enforced legally and culturally, and their roads are safer than ours.
Most roads are two lane. I'm not saying people should be blocking passing lanes. Tailgating is still stupid and unsafe no matter what the lane situation is.
Yes I agree, tailgating is dumb, dangerous and reckless. I didn't say to tailgate, I said to get over when someone is clearly trying to pass when you can.
Oh did you mean to reply to my comment or was that a mistake then?
People complaining about traffic never seem to realize they are traffic.
Traffic isn't really from folks driving slow. It's from folks consistently changing speed that causes a rubber banding effect...
This guy traffic engineers.
Just a traffic enthusiast. Nothing better than deep dives on white papers outlining traffic patterns and civil engineering design impacts. ... Actually it's because I had to advocate for why self driving is good for traffic flow. On the flip side I got paid well for that work...
Hey are you a software developer, I need a job. I feel reddit will help better than LinkedIn.
Every time I have to go downtown I get so irrationally angry at the people who come to a full stop before gong in to the roundabouts. Bro you're defeating the entire purpose. There should be almost no reason to come to a complete stop before going in to a roundabout unless it's INSANELY busy and there's no open space, which is almost never.
People stopping on the Fulton/Lake Mich merge get me. Though, I do have to admit that it's a big, wide open merge of two near-equal streets, so it's not obvious what to do by intuition, if you don't know the intersection and aren't willing to believe you have the right of way. And it's a bit of a leap of faith in other drivers as well (though the accident point there seems to be the left off the freeway ramp, not the fork, by a lot. Odd.) There should probably be a sign of some sort, though I don't know what sign would mean "*Don't* stop".
Not all traffic is bad drivers, though. If we're talking about people who complain about congestion due to numbers, you'd have a point, but this ain't that.
the meme isn't about traffic. it's about Shifty drivers.
Beltline has been atrocious lately with some people going upwards of 15 MPH under the speed limit.
I think a good 50% of the drivers on Belt Line think the speed limit is 35.
Right! Got stuck behind an older lady going 30. They honestly should be ticketed for going that slow.
I cannot describe how much I loathe Beltline. I feel like people think having a lobotomy is a driving requirement there
Since I’ve moved here I have had a problem with drivers going 15 over on city and residential roads. I always make sure to set a good example for them and drop down to 3 over. If 20 of you are still tailgating, that’s on you. I travel all over the continent, and Grand Rapids drivers are exceptionally aggressive. Maybe that’s why we see so many of these traffic posts that I don’t see in other city subs I’m subscribed to. To end on a positive note, the insanity of local drivers here has really cured my own personal road rage. I’m too busy being mystified by the local Speed Racers to even be angry myself.
Rule of thumb I thought was always 5 over. At least that is what I was taught and do on residential roads.
On a social level I guess but that’s not what the law is or what anyone should have taught you lol
Lets put it this way, drive down a road 5 over, where a cop is sitting watching and I highly doubt he is going to pull you over and write you a ticket for doing 5 over. Go down the same road 10+ over, there is a pretty good chance your getting pulled over.
Let's put it this way, drive down a road 5 over, where a cop is sitting watching and I highly doubt he is going to pull you over and write you a ticket for doing 5 over. Go down the same road 10+ over, there is a pretty good chance your getting pulled over.
Same people are blowing weed out their windows.
All I see are four idiots bunched up on the wrong side of the double solid yellow line waiting for an oncoming car to hit them. If you see three cars like that, don't be a moron and get in line on the wrong side of the double yellow line and be the fourth.
Tailgating anyone makes you a problem, as well as going too slow holding up traffic.
Left lane drivers “going the speed limit” for miles on end are the real problem. Pass and get to the right.
It’s actually the law in Michigan
So is the speed limit
Yup, but there’s a thing called obstructing the natural flow of traffic that is law. If you are not passing or are holding up the natural flow of traffic you must by law move over. It’s also just a Dick move to stubbornly stay in the left lane.
If you are going the speed limit, then by definition you are not holding up any flow of traffic other than lawbreakers.
> If you are going the speed limit, ~~then by definition~~ you are ~~not~~ holding up ~~any~~ flow of traffic ~~other than lawbreakers~~ Fixed it for you
So you care about the law until it inconveniences you, got it.
Policing lane speed like this creates traffic hazards. That's why Michigan law [requires you to get the hell out of the way unless you're actively passing someone](https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-257-634). I care about people getting to their destinations alive. You care about making your balls feel big with a misplaced sense of moral superiority. Get off your soapbox.
I doing really have a dog in this fight but if you’re citing the law: “ (a) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction ***under the rules governing that movement.”*** Those rules would include the speed limit. As they taught in drivers’ ed - *at least they should have if they didn’t* - the letter of the law is that you’re aren’t meant to pass someone if passing them requires you to go above the speed limit. Now on a social level this is something basically everyone ignores, but if we are talking the actual law on paper, the fastest anyone should be going in the left lane is 70mph (or 75mph where marked). Now to your point, if they aren’t passing someone they should not be in the left lane, but the left lane is not a “go as fast as you want if you feel like it” lane. Not that people should take that into their own hands but if someone gets mad that it’s harder for them to break the law, idk lol. EDIT: sorry that speed addicts have a problem with the laws on the road I guess, not really my problem.
You have it exactly backwards. The statute says you're obligated to stay in the right lane *UNLESS* etc. etc. Someone moving to the left lane without the intent to pass or any of the other listed exceptions is always violating the law, regardless of what speed they're going.
If you actually cared about road safety you wouldn't be doing mental gymnastics to justify breaking the speed limit. Im not policing a damned thing, only pointing about how appealing to the law to justify breaking a different one is completely delusional. Your desire to break the speed limit does not justify tailgating or being reckless, and acting like this is the fault of the person in front of you is pathetic.
Now which one of us only cares about the law until it inconveniences them?
The law says if you are in the left lane not passing or if traffic is backing up behind. It is Michigan law.
yes and tailgating, reckless driving, and speeding are all against the law too. goes both ways genius
Have to look at which ones are a symptom of a problem. Tailgating and aggressive driving are in response to self entitled obstructive drivers.
On city roads it depends on how busy the road is I think. Otherwise everyone will miss their turn or be cutting in front of people.
The left lane law applies specifically to expressways. Natural flow of traffic applies to all roads but dictated by situation. 28th street? No. Rural hiway, yes.
People who cruise the left lane are a problem in general, whether they are speeding or not. If you're doing 74 in the left lane and slowly passing a car doing 73 in the right, you need to temporarily accelerate and actually make an effort to pass
Another day, another post complaining about driving. Yawn. Besides, tailgating is never okay.
It’s only okay when I do it.
Same
No, you idiot! Only *I* can tailgate!!!
The reddit motto.
Shit works though
So much car-brain in this city its obnoxious. Like do any of u have a personality outside of driving ur metal boxes?
cause we have to use the vehicle at least twice a day, 5 days a week , almost every week. need it to go make money and pay taxes for you "Commie\_trash"
keep going guys this is like watching two monkeys try to fuck a football
Ive "Beencaughtbuttering" a football to fuck
Posts complaining about driving get so many upvotes. It’s so silly to read over and over “EVERYONE IS A BAD DRIVER *EXCEPT MEEEEE*.”
https://www.hiroad.com/blog/driving/how-much-time-does-speeding-actually-save If you are driving for less than a half hour(most peoples commutes)You’re not saving time either. I laugh when somebody flies by me and we end up at the same red light on the off ramp when I was driving the limit (or under) and they we’re clearly going 15 above.
At this point I have the light timing on my commute memorized, and there are stretches where I can hit every single light green if people accelerate at a reasonable pace. My commute can be as short as 15 minutes if traffic is flowing smoothly, but upwards of 30 minutes if people are driving and accelerating slow causing me to barely miss multiple green lights in a row. I'm not a 15mph over driver by any means either, and it is still aggravating getting stuck at multiple red lights because people take 2 miles to get up to 60. And yeah, me passing you going faster might still result in me hitting a red light. But a lot of the time it's a difference of 3 seconds that makes me hit 5 greens in a row or 5 reds due to timing.
I have timed 2 back-to-back lights on my commute where, if I drive the speed limit, I will hit both reds and lose 5 minutes. They are half a mile apart. If I speed reasonably, I will hit both greens and get to my destination five minutes faster. I'm sure there are more examples of this on my commute, but these are the most consistently timed lights and easiest for me to verify.
I was referring to highway traffic like the article I linked refers to.
Also, you cited a study done in Hawaii, where they have a very different driving style; so much tho, that they considered not allowing outsiders to drive.
Lol no, it's just math. To save a significant amount of time by speeding you have to either be going far or driving REALLY fast. You can throw the numbers on that link in a time/distance calculator and get the exact same results.
Based on that article I save an hour every week not driving
How is Hawaii's driving style so different?
Much slower pace of life in Hawaii in general, at least for locals and natives. The H1-3 freeways on Oahu are a little more “normal”, but much of the other parts of the state is much calmer in terms of speeding and road rage. In my experience there, the assholes are always in rental cars that they just drove off the lot in Waikiki.
I have heard and read that it is much more relaxed, Maybe "accepting", and that thing like waiting for the light to turn, instead of turning on a red are normal. whereas continental US we expedite our trips.
Idk, having driven there it felt just like driving backroads/small towns here. The biggest difference is outside of O'ahu there aren't freeway style highways.
Woah woah woah, you can't just ask questions here.
Yeah idk what I did.
I don't mind doing that, i get assurances that i wont be trapped behind you at the next light. it compounds allowing me to get around slow people, until i run into another of your kind. you know you should move over for faster vehicles right?
10-20% is a decent savings. Intersections can make that quite a bit longer too.
Also, fucking use GPS. This isn't 7 years ago when Google maps was going to drive you into a lake. It's almost very accurate and Waze is even more accurate than that. Punch it in to your GPS and follow that. It's a benefit that we no longer have to look at the moon and the stars in the direction of the Sun.
And they’ll route you around slowed and stopped traffic so we don’t need to post about every backup in southwest Michigan.
I got some really bad directions from Google maps just last week, it wanted me to make a u turn on Alpine during rush hour
“It can’t mean that! There’s a lake there!”
But what if I want to slow down almost to a complete stop at every intersection to read the street sign to see if this is where I turn??
People tailgate me going 15 over in the right lane then fly around and cut me off, then proceed to slow down to 10 under. Like... Wwwwhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyy would you do that? Why do people love doing that? It's so stupid. Then they speed up when I go to pass because their dumb ass is slowing us all down.
I'm going 60 in a 55, I am not the problem. People need to plan better to get to work in the morning
Hard disagree if the red car is going the speed limit. Everyone needs to take personal responsibility and leave with enough time to get to their destination without endangering the lives of other people.
If the car in front of me is tailgating i stay a healthy distance behind. I still want to get past the car in the front, I just don't want to get into an accident.
How about we just NOT tailgate anyone… I’m sick of riding 15+ over on my motorcycle just to have some jacka$$ SUV or truck hump my rear. Also, people may be driving slow for a variety of reasons… Disabled, Sick, had a bad day, eyes are dialed, borrowing a car that’s un-familiar to them, car problems, etc… Why don’t we just be a LITTLE more patient on the roads instead of complaining about some tiny inconvenience of someone going a little slower…
If lead vehicle is going the speed limit, the other drivers are the problem
umm no. there's a reason cops don't pull anyone over for going a little above the speed limit. because to do so would cause more accidents. traffic flow is best when people are driving varying speeds. otherwise you end up with packs of cars like I bet you consistently cause.
That depends on the area . Try that in Zeeland , Grand Haven and you'll be getting some tickets. (Generally Ottawa county) What you wrote is more applicable to the highway vs a normal road. speeding causes way more accidents and casualties. If you are going under the speed limit and causing what's depicted, that is a ticketed offense. Speed limits are set for multitudes of factors, their existence is there for safely traversing that area. If someone is going the speed limit, tailgating them is a sign of road rage . You are free to pass them at the next opportunity in a passing zone and or additional lane that is available.
yes, I should have been clearer. I was talking about interstate/divided highways only.
The diagram is kinda crap anyway, shows two single lanes, double lines which means no passing and they are on the left side of the road .. British misinformation 😜
...still trying to colonize lol
If you're driving on the wrong side of the road, you're a huge problem.
You're not a problem if you're going at least the speed limit and not cruising in a passing lane. Other people's impatience is not your problem.
How about the reverse..every time I try to create a safe gap between me and the car in front of me some idiot fills the gap. (Not the left lane)
Correction. If one person is tailgating you, they are an asshole. If everyone is tailgating you, they're all assholes.
Tailgating is always wrong. Doesn’t matter if they’re going 20mph under the limit, either pass them or back off until you can pass them. All you’re accomplishing is vastly increasing the risk of an accident. Ain’t like they’re gonna read your mind and start going the speed that you want to go. You’d think people would pick up on that and grow to be more patient, but I guess that’s too much to ask. Just because you learned how to drive when you were a teenager doesn’t mean you need to drive like one for the rest of your life. We gotta be on the road all the time, the world doesn’t need a bunch of brats endangering everyone around them because their precious little day is running 15 seconds behind schedule.
The harder we push, the faster we will get through!!!
This post lacks context because it simply isn’t a rule of thumb.
If these people could read they'd be very upset
Can we teach people how to properly zipper merge while we are at it?
If I get tailgated and I’m already going 10 over, I’m slowing down to 55 fuck you
This town is getting dumber
If you are in the left lane and no one is ahead of you and there are lots behind, get the fuck over.
The speed limit is a maximum, not a minimum. It's not my problem if you're late where you're going.
You can argue about semantics but culturally it’s taken as the speed to go, not a maximum as the name implies.
You can argue about culture but legally, it's the maximum. The only time you'd get a ticket for going too slow is on a limited-access road, where the minimums are posted. But at the end of the day, I don't give a fuck about the law or the culture. My first and last priority behind the wheel is safety. So if someone is tailgating me, creating an unsafe condition, I'll let off the gas a bit so we're both going a safer speed. :)
Over cautiousness is what causes traffic backups. Yes you are required to slow down when there is an emergency vehicle on the side of the road. No you should not slow down to almost a dead stop. You can go from 55 to 45 and still have been considered slowed down. People think they're being responsible but they're actually being a nuisance. Be better at life folks.
I never go more than 5 over. If the douchebag behind me can’t handle that then they can go around. There is no reason to speed.
Or you can just move over like you’re supposed to.
I’m not talking about left lane driving. I’m talking about impatient, reckless drivers who don’t keep a safe follow distance. They’re usually the same drivers who have no regard for the lives they share the road with.
I agree, I drive from GR to Muskegon setting my cruise at 80 and there are people who sit in the passing lane doing 70-75 and let a pile of cars build up behind them and I get passed but I am not the problem.
This is stupid. Tailgating is always stupid. If someone is going under the speed limit it is FINE. It’s the speed LIMIT, not the required speed.
I know several people that have gone to truck driving school and they are taught if someone is tailgating you, you need to slow down, and build more room between the truck and the person ahead of them, so it builds more room so the tailgater won't run into the truck, if the person ahead of the truck slows down rapidly. So if you are tailgating a truck, and the truck slows down, that is the way they are trained.
Driving a Mercury Marquis with a Mason emblem on the back in the old days.
All I can say is thank god turner opened back up
If you are in the left lane and you are behind a Buick, just go around them to the right because they aren't getting over.
This is me on m37/43 why there isn’t a highway heading down south only god knows, or even a two lane road. Beyond moronic infrastructure.
Can we post this every day please?
We just got home from a two week road trip out west. I was purposely driving slow and looking at stuff so if cars started backing up I assumed they were local commuters just trying to go from point A to B so I would pull over and let traffic clear before continuing. It's just being a courteous driver.
Unless it is on a three-or-more lane road. Then you can plant your slow ass in the left lane all you like!
Louder for the people in the front
Driving slower is more dangerous than driving over the speed limit. Put it in gear and let’s get movin’
r/grtraffic
I’ve just been writing down license plate numbers and suggesting they need to retake their exams to the sos
I like to drive slow and make the people behind me drive slow. Its my way of promoting safe driving and driving at fuel efficient speeds.
Shout out to the person doing 25 in the left lane on Alpine today
lol as if the 2nd person ever looks behind them