On Fri, 2007-02-23 at 22:04 -0800, DJA wrote: > > > > In rush hour traffic, have you ever tried to leave a 3 sec. space > > between you and the car in front of you? I often leave more than that > > when traffic is moving really slow because my clutch is a killer and my > > car will only go so slow at idle in first gear. If there is a space > > large enough, it is inevitable that another car will fill it (or two, or > > three, or,...), forcing you to decelerate to provide the 3 sec. space > > again. The cycle will continue forever. So, if you want to avoid coming > > to a stop just to leave that safety zone, the best you can hope for is a > > compromise between that 3 sec. space and something less safe but not > > dangerous. That's one reason I always leave myself an out - somewhere I > > can go when something happens in front of me (something I learned from > > many years riding a motorcycle). > > > [snip] > > > PGA > > I call Bullshit. That's the common excuse given by people who have never > really tried it before for more than ten seconds. If you don't believe > me, try riding with me sometime in rush hour traffic.
I drive in it every day and every night of the work week. You do not. > > It's really easy to keep a safe distance at any speed. The trick, as > mentioned by someone else, is to maintain as _consistent_ a speed as > possible. Use only the engine for braking whenever possible - usually > meaning running in at least one gear lower than optimal for that speed - > and use the brakes as little as possible. There's no gear lower than 1st. I often drive most of the way to/from work at idle. I often stop while cars in front of me are moving because, as I stated, I refuse to slip and burn my clutch just to stay on the bumper in front of me. > > Anyone pulling in front of you is almost always wanting to go *faster* > than you and will soon enough either open the distance in front of you, > or move to another temporarily faster lane (another rule is to never > stay in the number one lane). You can gradually adjust the distance as > needed in very little time. Um, actually, the person that pulled in front of me in the story above could not go faster than me as the cars in front of me were not going faster, nor were the cars to me right. In fact, before it moved, it WAS going faster than me by at least 5mph. So was the one that moved in behind me. They actually (I believe) wanted to move all the way over to get off the freeway at El Cajon Blvd, which was less than 1/4 mile ahead. > > Sure, at points the gap'll close up some. It just takes more patience > than most drivers have. I agree that it's hard. Something about just > being on the freeway screams "Hurry up! Go faster!". In rush hour, the gap always closes up. Drive from East County into San Diego on a daily basis and see how you enjoy it. Sometimes I get lucky and the space stays large for some time, but not often. It is interesting to watch as people move in and out of it in an attempt to "get there faster". It's also funny to see how it never works out for them - all that effort changing lanes over and over only to end up farther behind than they started. > > I've also observed that most 18-wheelers, especially owner-operator > rigs, will keep as steady a speed as possible - probably something about > inertia of a large mass. In fact they generally do exactly as I've > described above - use the engine for braking. In fact, I don't mind > being right behind one a slow speeds because I know they're consistent. I mind because I can't see far enough ahead of them in heavy traffic. I look as far ahead in traffic as possible, especially in heavy, single digit rush hour traffic. By looking far ahead, I know when traffic is stopping, slowing a lot, etc. and can keep my speed more consistent and stay off the brake and out of the clutch (and that guy behind me tailgating out of my back seat!). On the bike I stay away from them as much as possible. I especially dread coming up on them when splitting lanes. Something about those big, heavy, imposing tires just dieing to grind you into the pavement. :) > > I find that when I use these tactics, that I leap frog other cars which > radically change lanes and speed at about the same frequency as if I > were driving faster and closer (like the other idiots). I also get to > where I'm going in about the same time. And I'm contributing to keeping > the flow behind me steady because those following me don't need to brake > either (unless they're idiots too). > > I also use the same tactic in long on-ramp lines. I usually keep the > speed just low enough so that I never stop moving even when I hit the light. Easy with your van. Not so with my car. There's something to be said for an automatic when in traffic or wanting to go really slow (you're lucky that van even moves at all, but that's another thread ;) ). The taurus was much easier to navigate with in the heavy stuff. :) PGA -- Paul G. Allen BSIT/SE Owner/Sr. Engineer Random Logic Consulting www.randomlogic.com -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
