[N/A] Rear Mounted Light Bars

When I get a tailgater (rare) I found that engine braking scares the crap out of them, and then they back waaaaaaaay off because they think my brake lights don't work.
 
RJM62 said:
The only ones more annoying than that bunch are the slow drivers whom you legally pass; but who then speed up up, pass you, and slow down again in front of you, often accompanied by a self-satisfied smirk that says, "Ha! I'm in front of you again!" I only come across that type once or twice a year, and I really don't understand them. Even aside from speculation about what weird mental disturbances underlie their bizarre behavior, one has to wonder how these people manage to get through their day-to-day lives if they insist on driving slowly but also hate being passed.

Close behind them (see what I did there?) in terms of puzzlement are the ones who will tailgate, flash their lights, blare their horns, and bare their digits at drivers in front of them in the right lane who are driving too slowly for their liking, when a perfectly good left lane is available for their passing pleasure. I don't understand that bunch, either. I always suspect extreme self-centeredness bordering on sociopathy. They want to do what they want to do, and they consider even having to changing lanes to be an intolerable imposition.



Other than non driving while impaired, I've become persuaded that observing the three-second rule is the simplest and most effective way to dramatically reduce your chances of being in an accident. Most people up here religiously observe it, probably because of the deer. We're lousy with deer. Having to suddenly brake to avoid hitting another vehicle that suddenly braked to avoid a suicidal deer is a very common thing.

Rich
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I'd go as far as saying that tailgating is MORE dangerous than driving drunk! , well minus like blackout drunk, I'll take a guy who blows a .08 and follows the 3 second rule over a stone sober soccer mom riding my butt in her minivan.

I've been tailgated a few times in my vette and my tall jeep, in the vette I just think, man if I lay into the 6 piston brakes on the lightweight, low vette for whatever reason the disposable econo box riding my azz is going to end up going straight through my car and it's lights out for me.

With the Jeep it's the opposite with most folks cars, if I hit my brakes and manage stop before you can, you're going to be eating my steel bumper and I'm going to have to go home with a jacked up truck, maybe some injuries and having to have a image of your dead body.

Yeah, tailgating is probably the top most dangerous common thing I see driving.
 
1 thing I saw yesterday: surface street, 2 lanes each direction, at a red light - foggy, dreary morning. The guy in the right lane across the intersection from me wanted to make a right turn on red. His vision was blocked by the taller vehicle in the left lane, so he did the "creep forward until I can see" thing. He did this to where he could see over the hood of that vehicle, didn't see a car coming, and started to go. That was right when the bicycle came into view and they very nearly collided. There was some arm-waving, yelling, and swearing action going on for a while.

Something I see a lot on interstates: Not giving a semi a chance to change lanes. I see it all the time, but I watched a guy end up sideways in the median one day. The semi, in the right lane, was coming up on a slower vehicle. I was coming up from behind, and had the sense that he was about to change lanes, so I slowed down behind him. The truck started to move, and had his signal on, when a knucklehead probably on cruise control, passed me and got even with the rear wheels of the trailer. He slowly got forced onto the left shoulder and eventually slid down into the median.
 
Matthew said:
1 thing I saw yesterday: surface street, 2 lanes each direction, at a red light - foggy, dreary morning. The guy in the right lane across the intersection from me wanted to make a right turn on red. His vision was blocked by the taller vehicle in the left lane, so he did the "creep forward until I can see" thing. He did this to where he could see over the hood of that vehicle, didn't see a car coming, and started to go. That was right when the bicycle came into view and they very nearly collided. There was some arm-waving, yelling, and swearing action going on for a while.

Something I see a lot on interstates: Not giving a semi a chance to change lanes. I see it all the time, but I watched a guy end up sideways in the median one day. The semi, in the right lane, was coming up on a slower vehicle. I was coming up from behind, and had the sense that he was about to change lanes, so I slowed down behind him. The truck started to move, and had his signal on, when a knucklehead probably on cruise control, passed me and got even with the rear wheels of the trailer. He slowly got forced onto the left shoulder and eventually slid down into the median.
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I think some semi truck drivers put on the signal, count to 5, and move whether there are cars there or not. Most are pretty good, but some just use the might is right philosophy.
 
Norman said:
In my corner of Michigan if you leave a three second gap, three cars will fill it. God, I hate the Detroit area freeways.
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We don't get that much here except around Albany and Kingston. I think it has to do with driver frustration because most of the people are the same ones who are very polite drivers elsewhere.

Albany is the state capital. It's also where a number of large hospitals (including a V.A. hospital that serves a huge geographic area) that get patients from all over the region are located. Consequently, a lot of people driving in Albany aren't quite sure where they're going, but are in a major hurry to get there. Being an important state capital, there are also the occasional motorcades, terror threats, and other annoyances that go along with that status. All of those factors make for a lot of frustration, and frustrated drivers tend to be less polite and rational than relaxed ones.

When I have to go to Albany, I always allow myself at least half an hour to 45 minutes extra time. I kill it drinking coffee near my destination if I wind up not needing it. But I'm semi-retired and have that luxury. Most people don't.

Kingston is the only city of any consequence (and barely, at that) within about a hundred miles to the west and sixty miles to the north, so it gets a lot of shopping-by-necessity traffic. It's the nearest place where probably a hundred thousand or more people can get certain things, and on a typical day, there are two or three times as many people who don't live in Kingston on its roads as there are people who actually live there and know the lay of the land. It's also a city that's grown much too busy for its physical size and infrastructure, which also makes it a frustrating place to drive.

Rich
 
EdFred said:
I think some semi truck drivers put on the signal, count to 5, and move whether there are cars there or not. Most are pretty good, but some just use the might is right philosophy.
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The problem is that the visibility and rear distance perception from the cab is extremely poor, especially on the right. My technique when driving big rigs was to signal, then wait for someone in the lane that I wanted to flash or dim their lights (and hope that they weren't suicidal or psychotic) to tell me I was clear. About a quarter to a third of "four-wheeler" drivers have the common sense, presence of mind, and courtesy to do so.

Rich
 
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My dad used to drive a truck in his early days for a summer job. When I was a kid I watched him signal with his headlights whenever semis were wanting to change lanes. I do it, too. It's nice to see them acknowledge so I figure I made somebody's day a little easier.
 
Matthew said:
My dad used to drive a truck in his early days for a summer job. When I was a kid I watched him signal with his headlights whenever semis were wanting to change lanes. I do it, too. It's nice to see them acknowledge so I figure I made somebody's day a little easier.
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The headlight signal means "You have enough room to move over in front of me now."
 
Sac Arrow said:
The headlight signal means "You have enough room to move over in front of me now."
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Yup, I frequently use the headlight flash for truckers or someone towing a trailer to let them know they've got enough clearance to move over if they want. Most trucks seem to be pretty good on the highway about staying out of the way when they can, but every now and you come across one that hates people with non-commercial DL's and decides traffic will pass when they allow it. I'm always amazed at some of the people who cut off a truck towing 40K lbs+ going 75mph. If you've ever towed a trailer, especially one with any consequential length/weight to it, you learn to appreciate giving a generous berth to them just to help out.
 
There are some pretty substantial hills on I-70 in the west half of MO. Trucks go up slow, and come down fast. There are enough non-situationally aware car drivers out there to screw things up. They'll pull right up to the back of the trailer, then swoop around and pull right back in front, usually just at the top of the hill when the truck picks up speed again. Then they get mad when the truck either passes them right back on the downhill or has to ride his brakes on their bumper.
 
When I was little I used to see my parents flash their lights at trucks to let them know they could move back over....later, taking my driver's test I was puttering along at the speed limit with the examiner in the right seat and got passed by a truck. I flashed my lights to let him know he could move back over and the examiner was happily incredulous that I knew about that. Up until then I assumed it was common knowledge to be courteous on the road, and of course once I really started driving I realized the ugly truth.
 
EdFred said:
When I get a tailgater (rare) I found that engine braking scares the crap out of them, and then they back waaaaaaaay off because they think my brake lights don't work.
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It's really uncommon for someone to tailgate the dually but when they're THAT dumb, I just pull on the shifter mounted exhaust brake switch (added to the truck, Cummins approved version before Dodge started adding them, and it's a WONDERFUL addition for a trailer-puller) and let off the throttle pedal.

A second after releasing the pedal all the way, the truck starts barking and heads for their bumper with no brake lights activated. Most of the time they have no idea what just happened and I'm back up to speed and chuckling by the time they figure out why they had to activate their ABS on dry pavement.

If one of them ever missed it, I leave the long hitch in the receiver just to give their radiator a welcoming gift to meeting my bumper. Hasn't happened yet, but it'll be quite satisfying to use the torque of the diesel to extract it. :)

RJM62 said:
We don't get that much here except around Albany and Kingston. I think it has to do with driver frustration because most of the people are the same ones who are very polite drivers elsewhere.

Albany is the state capital. It's also where a number of large hospitals (including a V.A. hospital that serves a huge geographic area) that get patients from all over the region are located. Consequently, a lot of people driving in Albany aren't quite sure where they're going, but are in a major hurry to get there. Being an important state capital, there are also the occasional motorcades, terror threats, and other annoyances that go along with that status. All of those factors make for a lot of frustration, and frustrated drivers tend to be less polite and rational than relaxed ones.

When I have to go to Albany, I always allow myself at least half an hour to 45 minutes extra time. I kill it drinking coffee near my destination if I wind up not needing it. But I'm semi-retired and have that luxury. Most people don't.

Kingston is the only city of any consequence (and barely, at that) within about a hundred miles to the west and sixty miles to the north, so it gets a lot of shopping-by-necessity traffic. It's the nearest place where probably a hundred thousand or more people can get certain things, and on a typical day, there are two or three times as many people who don't live in Kingston on its roads as there are people who actually live there and know the lay of the land. It's also a city that's grown much too busy for its physical size and infrastructure, which also makes it a frustrating place to drive.
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For a while I've been guessing about the location of Sparrow Fart and thought you were north of Albany. I guess not. Have a friend who is up in Inlet most of the time and commutes to Albany for some IT stuff there every so often. Haven't seen him for a hell of a long time.

Matthew said:
There are some pretty substantial hills on I-70 in the west half of MO. Trucks go up slow, and come down fast. There are enough non-situationally aware car drivers out there to screw things up. They'll pull right up to the back of the trailer, then swoop around and pull right back in front, usually just at the top of the hill when the truck picks up speed again. Then they get mad when the truck either passes them right back on the downhill or has to ride his brakes on their bumper.
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Gah. I hate when people can't figure that out. I can pull those hills at 65 easy and often 75 without over temping the EGT on the Cummins pulling the big trailer but it happens to me on a smaller scale than the big rigs, and then I get mixed up in the mess of idiots getting in front of me on downhills, too. The aforementioned exhaust brake helps, but sometimes you just wonder if people in cars have even the tiniest amount of clue about what it's like to tow a large trailer.

Scariest stupidity I ever had happen to me was just a few miles from home in the exiting metropolis of Parker, CO. Some guy pulling an empty lawn service trailer behind a half ton comes over into my lane and forgot he has his trailer on behind. I had the ABS pounding and the trailer brakes locked up on rainy asphalt just hoping his trailer would clear my bumper before I hit it. It missed by about two inches. Wasn't anything I could do to maneuver or stop slower. I did have the compression brake activated and was glad j did. I learned to leave it active in cities or heavy traffic. Never know when you'll need more stopping power.

pikespeakmtnman said:
When I was little I used to see my parents flash their lights at trucks to let them know they could move back over....later, taking my driver's test I was puttering along at the speed limit with the examiner in the right seat and got passed by a truck. I flashed my lights to let him know he could move back over and the examiner was happily incredulous that I knew about that. Up until then I assumed it was common knowledge to be courteous on the road, and of course once I really started driving I realized the ugly truth.
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Most prefer (but some wehicles with daytime running lights can't do it properly) folks turn the lights momentarily off and back on. Brights in their side mirror when trying to pass is painful.
 
Speaking of tailgating...

My daughter got rear ended by a mid-80s Jaguar a few weeks ago. She was at a stoplight, the idiot was texting, all the usual stupidity.

Her 2004 Toyota Matrix was damaged, but driveable. The hatchback even still works.

The Jag? Totalled! Drive shaft on the ground, the whole 9 yards. It's unreal how much better cars are built now compared to the 1980s.
 
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