Rant

[s5tuart]

Why oh why, when I pull up behind someone at the lights or in some other queue do they then move 1 or 2 metres forward and leave a big gap between us?
It's not as though I pull up too close or too swiftly to them!!!!!!
Grrrrrrrr

 

[Dean Fletcher]

objects in the mirror seem closer than they appear

 

[Wighty]

Why oh why, when I pull up behind someone at the lights or in some other queue do they then move 1 or 2 metres forward and leave a big gap between us?
It's not as though I pull up too close or too swiftly to them!!!!!!
Grrrrrrrr

Maybe they want to better admire your wheels in the mirror buddy

 

[rorywquin]

Why oh why, when I pull up behind someone at the lights or in some other queue do they then move 1 or 2 metres forward and leave a big gap between us?
It's not as though I pull up too close or too swiftly to them!!!!!!
Grrrrrrrr

What gap do you leave?

I do exactly the same thing. I don’t want the person behind me shunted into me when someone hits him/her/they......in the butt.

I also always leave a big gap in front to move away from people who park too close..

 

[Dean Fletcher]

What gap do you leave?

I do exactly the same thing. I don’t want the person behind me shunted into me when someone hits him/her/they......in the butt.

I also always leave a big gap in front to move away from people who park too close..

ill have to remember this in a day or so when the auto comes, the old car was a manual. note to self left foot is out of use.

 

[Blobcat]

ill have to remember this in a day or so when the auto comes, the old car was a manual. note to self left foot is out of use.

You'll have "brake hold" as well - extra "dab" on the pedal when you come to the lights - then right foot is redundant as well

 

[Dean Fletcher]

You'll have "brake hold" as well - extra "dab" on the pedal when you come to the lights - then right foot is redundant as well

im going to be spoilt for choice BC.

 

[s5tuart]

What gap do you leave?

I do exactly the same thing. I don’t want the person behind me shunted into me when someone hits him/her/they......in the butt.

I also always leave a big gap in front to move away from people who park too close..

I leave what I consider a sensible gap. Around a metre or so, often more.

 

[Blobcat]

I leave what I consider a sensible gap. Around a metre or so, often more.

"Tyres & Tarmac" is the recommended - i.e. what you can see in front of you - although difficult to do in a lot of scenarios

 

[EmilysDad]

.... note to self left foot is out of use.

left foot is for the brake pedal ..... 2 feet .... 2 pedals

 

[Rockron]

Why oh why, when I pull up behind someone at the lights or in some other queue do they then move 1 or 2 metres forward and leave a big gap between us?
It's not as though I pull up too close or too swiftly to them!!!!!!
Grrrrrrrr

The driver may be thinking of your health, that 2m gap may be saving you from inhaling the stinking exhaust fumes of his/her +200g/km unserviced SUV.

 

[Dean Fletcher]

left foot is for the brake pedal ..... 2 feet .... 2 pedals

I tried that once in my manual I swore never again.

 

[rorywquin]

ill have to remember this in a day or so when the auto comes, the old car was a manual. note to self left foot is out of use.

Tuck your left foot backwards until you are used to teh auto.

 

[rorywquin]

I leave what I consider a sensible gap. Around a metre or so, often more.

I’d consider you too close to me @ 1m.

I was taught on more than one defensive driving course that, at a minimum, you should be able to see where the car ahead’s tyres touch the road when stopped.

 

[rorywquin]

left foot is for the brake pedal ..... 2 feet .... 2 pedals

Takes a lot of getting used to if you are used to right foot braking. I’ve tried several times because it does make sense to me (and others).

 

[Mr Greedy]

I also leave a bigger gap when pulling up behind someone because:

- They might be a learner and roll back on a hill.
- They might make a mistake (does happen, and happened with cars in front of me) and roll back on a hill.
- They might make a mistake and put it in reverse (this has happened to someone in front of me and boy was I glad I left a bigger gap).
- They might breakdown, and I want enough room to be able to pull around them without having to expect/wait for the person behind me to reverse out of the way which they can't because everyone is too close).
- I might need to pull out from the person in front due to emergency reasons (someone attacking the car, car approaching from behind not seen the queue, passenger falls very ill and stuck in jam).

If someone pulls too close to me, I like to move a bit further forwards because:
- if they get rear shunted I don't want them shunting into me (as per Rory's comment).
- I might make a mistake pulling off on a hill and roll back or accidentally engage reverse (very unlikely, but as a human, in a lifetime of driving it would be arrogant to think I can never make a mistake).

All the above is my choice about driving defensively.
People are entitled to be annoyed by whatever they want, but maybe some of the scenarios above (which I'm sure are not exhaustive) might help people understand and empathise with the thinking of the driver in front who has a different risk appetite. Again, this is also okay; not everyone has the same risk appetite.
In other situations, some people I know cannot even contemplate thinking through the sorts of risks highlighted above, and will mock my driving. The same people who later then end up is some other driving accident and crying and looking for sympathy about how could this happen and it was the fault of everyone else on the road. Again, I'm pretty philosophical on this: they can choose to live their life their way, and that's okay and I just need to do what I can do to minimise my risk in the proximity of others approaching life/situations differently.

 

[markben]

I also leave a bigger gap when pulling up behind someone because:

- They might be a learner and roll back on a hill.
- They might make a mistake (does happen, and happened with cars in front of me) and roll back on a hill.
- They might make a mistake and put it in reverse (this has happened to someone in front of me and boy was I glad I left a bigger gap).
- They might breakdown, and I want enough room to be able to pull around them without having to expect/wait for the person behind me to reverse out of the way which they can't because everyone is too close).
- I might need to pull out from the person in front due to emergency reasons (someone attacking the car, car approaching from behind not seen the queue, passenger falls very ill and stuck in jam).

If someone pulls too close to me, I like to move a bit further forwards because:
- if they get rear shunted I don't want them shunting into me (as per Rory's comment).
- I might make a mistake pulling off on a hill and roll back or accidentally engage reverse (very unlikely, but as a human, in a lifetime of driving it would be arrogant to think I can never make a mistake).

All the above is my choice about driving defensively.
People are entitled to be annoyed by whatever they want, but maybe some of the scenarios above (which I'm sure are not exhaustive) might help people understand and empathise with the thinking of the driver in front who has a different risk appetite. Again, this is also okay; not everyone has the same risk appetite.
In other situations, some people I know cannot even contemplate thinking through the sorts of risks highlighted above, and will mock my driving. The same people who later then end up is some other driving accident and crying and looking for sympathy about how could this happen and it was the fault of everyone else on the road. Again, I'm pretty philosophical on this: they can choose to live their life their way, and that's okay and I just need to do what I can do to minimise my risk in the proximity of others approaching life/situations differently.

Absolutely agree on all counts. I used to run Police associated Speed & Driver Awareness course for 'naughty speeders'. As well as reminding drivers about the dangers of tailgating at speed (+ it breaking the law), we also advised drivers about the 'tyres & tarmac' / 1.5m gap 'tip' when stationary at traffic lights, junctions etc. Apart from anything else, it shows some courtesy to the driver in front, especially if they aren't very confident (younger / older drivers, children in the car etc?).

Personally, even in my big & tough Mercedes S Class, it annoys me when in stationary traffic drivers pull-up so close behind (e.g. less than 12" from my bumper) that I wonder if they are going to rear-end me, and more-so on a gradient. I'm sure some drivers innocently try to 'nestle up close' in a traffic queue, as they are trying to line-up 'neatly' (a bit like squeezing-in so tightly in between other cars in a supermarket car park that they can't open their doors fully and / or ding the vehicle next to them! - when it's easier & more practical to find a less congested area?). The Herd Instinct maybe? Strangely, I've noticed that many drivers who 'nudge-up' (too?) close at traffic lights etc often keep a sensible distance behind and don't tailgate once the traffic sets off.

Another important reason for the 'tyres & tarmac' / minimum 1.5m gap in a stationary 2 vehicle-wide queue (e.g. dual carriageway traffic lights) is that it allows drivers some wriggle-room to manoeuvre out of the way of an emergency services vehicle (police, fire, ambulance) when they need to 'unzip' the queue & drive through the middle to save precious time on a callout. I've been in this situation a few times, and the 'tyres & tarmac' strategy can make it much easier for them.

Defensive driving is about Situational Awareness on the roads - i.e. anticipating road conditions & other drivers' behaviour, and creating / leaving enough space between you & them to avoid the risk of conflict (road rage?) or collisions - even in a stationary queue.

 

[rorywquin]

Why oh why, when I pull up behind someone at the lights or in some other queue do they then move 1 or 2 metres forward and leave a big gap between us?
It's not as though I pull up too close or too swiftly to them!!!!!!
Grrrrrrrr

My biggest bug bear is where two lanes merge and everyone moves into the left lane. Then when I travel up the right lane (as we are supposed to do) to the merge point, some moron inevitably tries to block me.

There are a couple of locations around York where the idiots cause traffic jams in the roundabouts because everyone is in the left lane ahead of a merge, after the roundabout, backing up traffic into the roundabout.

We need signs like this to educate drivers.

 

[SL63 Mark]

If someone pulls up too close behind me, my warning beepers go off, if the car is in neutral. Doesn't do it in drive.

 

[s5tuart]

Well I tried it tonight. Pull up 3 metres behind someone and they still move forward so I don't think it's me getting too close