What a difference a metre makes
What's half a car length?
Depends of course on the car.
Could be a metre or two.
Not much.
But judging from the look on the face of the driver of a red Acura Integra I saw on the 401 the other day, he wishes he had left more than that between himself and the car in front of him.
Because from my vantage point (the adjacent lane) it appeared as if he had stopped very close to said car, and when the transport truck nailed him from behind, both ends of his little car got squashed.
A good rule of thumb is to always stop at least far enough behind the car ahead of you so you can see where his rear tires meet the pavement.
Not only might this prevent someone from shoving you into the back of the car in front, it might just give you enough room to get the heck out of there if you're paying enough attention to notice the transport truck bearing down on you, tires locked and smoking.
Tailgaters and middle lane drivers are just asking to be a part of the collision sandwich. Stay right, leave room ahead. Seems easy enough. They just never get it.
Posted by: nakman | August 21, 2008 at 11:21 AM
" ... stop at least far enough behind the car ahead of you so you can see where his rear tires meet the pavement."
This requires that people actually think ahead, plan, drive with regard for other motorists, etc... the higher intellectual processes.
The moron that got squished is likely to also be the one that transfers from express to collector and then attempts to jump 4 lanes to make the nearest exit; stays in the number 1 lane until 3 car lengths before his/her exit; cannot see further ahead than one car, but will dive laterally into any opening of more than one car length; has no capacity for reading traffic patterns due to their inability to see beyond the vehicle they are tailgating; uses acceleration lanes to pass on the right and then force their way into traffic again (yada yada yada)...
Too bad the truck didn't have a spiked bumper. Really long spikes.
It is a lack of courtesy or self-discipline that brings the "Tragedy of the Commons" to our roadways. The police have to lessen their fixation with "the demon speed" (within reason), and maybe use video in unmarked cars to start tagging and bagging the real problems on the roadways.
Solid and dashed line combinations on the 401 could also be very useful in assisting traffic flow and reducing "choke points" at almost all of the express/collector transfer lanes.
Posted by: Lurch | August 21, 2008 at 08:21 PM
Quoting nakman,
"...Solid and dashed line combinations on the 401 could also be very useful in assisting traffic flow and reducing "choke points" at almost all of the express/collector transfer lanes..."
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Solid and dashed lines, you say?
When was the last time you saw anyone paying attention to painted lines?
Be a waste of good paint, imo.
BTW, I agree with your other points.
Posted by: Nick B. | August 29, 2008 at 02:07 PM