No matter how safe a driver you are or how all your family members practice the best defensive driving techniques, every time you hit the road, there will always be some other driver you need to watch out for. Irrespective of age, defensive driving is extremely important for drivers who are young as well as old. But how do you steer clear of dangerous drivers on the road?
* Watch out for drivers who use cell phones.
* Speeding, tailgating and drivers who change lanes too quickly can also cause accidents.
* Always pay attention to the road ahead of you, the road behind and to your sides.
I almost always "speed" and change lanes, and sometimes tailgate. Stay away from me
Misha, Speed, OK. Change lanes, OK. Please don't tailgate me unless you intend to pass. If you want to, flash your lights, engage your turn signal, and I will slow and move over. If you are just wanting me to go faster. I have a very effective emergency brake which does not activate my brake lights!!! Be ready!!!
Joined: Aug 02, 2006
Posts: 705
Location: McLean, VA, USA
Posted:
Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:21 am
LOL I do not tailgate if I do not intend to pass. And break checking me does not work because I actually do maintain focus when I drive, especially when I tailgate.
As for flashing the lights and honking - it used to work back in Russia, yet it did not work for me in the USA, so I stopped doing this. Also, I believe reading somewhere that flashing the lights and honking are now legally considered aggressive driving in many states...
Please don't tailgate me unless you intend to pass.
LOL I do not tailgate if I do not intend to pass.
I, for one, wouldn't tailgate you even if I were intending to pass you. Sadly, I have seen many drivers who got into the habit of closing on the driver they want to pass (whether on a highway or single-carriageway) before moving over and this is just as dangerous as any kind of tailgating.
And by "tailgating" I don't just mean following a driver with a few feet - anything under a gap of two full seconds - is tailgating and is equally bad, even if it's still quite far behind!
The idea behind closing on the overtaken driver is a good one: To make good use of space and not change lanes too early, but it's not worth the risk of following too closely.
Whenever you change lanes or overtake, ensure that throughout the ENTIRE lane change you maintain a safe margin of at least two seconds from the car in front.
Amongst other things, by keeping three-four seconds from the car in front before you begin the manuever - you can move over more gradually and accelerate earlier (for overtaking or merging into faster traffic).
LOL I do not tailgate if I do not intend to pass. And break checking me does not work because I actually do maintain focus when I drive, especially when I tailgate.
As for flashing the lights and honking - it used to work back in Russia, yet it did not work for me in the USA, so I stopped doing this. Also, I believe reading somewhere that flashing the lights and honking are now legally considered aggressive driving in many states...
Hi Misha, Just kidding about the E-brake. Honking has always been frowned upon in the USA. I always give 2 quick headlight flashes then engage my turn signal before passing. I do this because it is the international signal that I intend to pass. I was taught this while being trained for my US Army Europe driving license. I think it is ironic that Russia is becoming a land of free enterprise while the USA is becoming the"United Socialist States Republic".
Joined: Aug 02, 2006
Posts: 705
Location: McLean, VA, USA
Posted:
Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:31 pm
LOL I figured you are kidding
And yes, I do feel the same about Russia and USA, yet there is still a huge distance to cover for both of them to get to the respective destinations. But the direction they are going in - I do agree with you on this, unfortunately for the USA.
View next topic View previous topic
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
