Traffic / Driving question. Was I in the wrong?

[RAMd®d]

You were OK.

Yeah, it could be frustrating if you routinely "let" a bunch of cars cut in front of you because you left big gaps.

But consider that some drivers will jump in the smallest gap counting on you to avoid hitting them in what would otherwise certainly be a collision, although minor in those conditions.

Further consider that if you maintained a three foot gap so that no driver could cut in front of you, and you did not brake in time, you're at fault, in most states, for following too close for conditions.

The guy behind you had issues.

I don't know the lane configurations for that incident/situation but if it were me, I *might* have moved to the right, by one lane. This assumes that lane leads where you want to go.

The "Slower Traffic Keep Right" doctrine, and sometimes, you just don't know what some crazy might do.

[DeusxMac]

The ugly truth is that in stop-and-go traffic, on a multi-lane highway, maintaining the "correct" distance between your car and the one in front of you is virtually impossible.

As soon as more than one car length opens up in front of you, someone from an adjacent lane will always move into that space and thereby remove that "correct" distance.

If you insist on trying to maintain that correct distance, you will again open up a space which will be filled by another car from an adjacent lane, and so on, and so on; ensuring that you - and any car behind you will slowly fall behind the overall flow of all the traffic.

This falling behind will drive many of those drivers behind you crazy - regardless of whether it's just a delay of a few seconds, or many minutes (and in locations like Los Angeles it could easily be tens of minutes or more.)

[davester]

hal wrote:
[quote=btfc]
Your driving was fine.

until you pulled over to the shoulder...

next time, just engage you night-mirror so you can't see him
Exactly! I'm also an anti-traffic-wave crusader. You are a good samaritan getting rid of traffic waves to help improve traffic flow for those following.

[M A V I C]

DeusxMac wrote: This falling behind will drive many of those drivers behind you crazy - regardless of whether it's just a delay of a few seconds, or many minutes (and in locations like Los Angeles it could easily be tens of minutes or more.)

I once recall a time a nasty crash happened about three cars behind me, in stop and go traffic. Someone I knew was 15 cars back from it, and it took him nearly two hours to get through.

davester wrote:
[quote=hal]
[quote=btfc]
Your driving was fine.

until you pulled over to the shoulder...

next time, just engage you night-mirror so you can't see him
Exactly! I'm also an anti-traffic-wave crusader. You are a good samaritan getting rid of traffic waves to help improve traffic flow for those following.
At the same time, I've seen people trying to do the same thing but making it worse. The reason being is when five cars grab the gap in front of them and slam on their brakes, then they have to stop even faster than if they had just kept close to the car in front of them. I think most of the time I see traffic problems it's because someone is trying to do something in their mind that is a good thing.

[mrbigstuff]

the opening scene in Office Space comes to mind.

[hal]

M A V I C wrote: The reason being is when five cars grab the gap in front of them and slam on their brakes, then they have to stop even faster than if they had just kept close to the car in front of them. I think most of the time I see traffic problems it's because someone is trying to do something in their mind that is a good thing.

I can't believe that you blame the calm, sound driver for the actions of idiots around him.

[M A V I C]

hal wrote:
[quote=M A V I C]The reason being is when five cars grab the gap in front of them and slam on their brakes, then they have to stop even faster than if they had just kept close to the car in front of them. I think most of the time I see traffic problems it's because someone is trying to do something in their mind that is a good thing.

I can't believe that you blame the calm, sound driver for the actions of idiots around him.
They're not being a "sound driver" when they make the problem worse.

[macbeergeek2]

M A V I C wrote:
[quote=hal]
[quote=M A V I C]The reason being is when five cars grab the gap in front of them and slam on their brakes, then they have to stop even faster than if they had just kept close to the car in front of them. I think most of the time I see traffic problems it's because someone is trying to do something in their mind that is a good thing.

I can't believe that you blame the calm, sound driver for the actions of idiots around him.
They're not being a "sound driver" when they make the problem worse.
Definitely a situation of "YMMV"!

[davester]

macbeergeek2 wrote:
[quote=M A V I C]
[quote=hal]
[quote=M A V I C]The reason being is when five cars grab the gap in front of them and slam on their brakes, then they have to stop even faster than if they had just kept close to the car in front of them. I think most of the time I see traffic problems it's because someone is trying to do something in their mind that is a good thing.

I can't believe that you blame the calm, sound driver for the actions of idiots around him.
They're not being a "sound driver" when they make the problem worse.
Definitely a situation of "YMMV"!
More like a situation of some people simply liking being contrary.

[yeoman]

Big smile, wave a map and look confused. That'll fix it.