Paul G. Allen wrote:
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.
Doesn't mean you're good at it. I do it a lot more than you know. I _am_
good at it.
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.
That's what brakes are for (and with a manual trans, neutral, the gear
below 1st). I never said I don't use my brakes, and I never said I don't
ever have to stop. I said the trick is consistency in speed.
As for the clutch thing: been there, done that. I used to do the same
thing every day in my truck with a manual 3-speed (T-85, granny 1st)
transmission. Never burned a clutch in my life.
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.
It's not about you anymore. I said it was *possible* to keep a front
safety gap in rush hour (i.e. slow, heavy) traffic. I assumed everyone
understood that there are no absolutes in human behavior such that it
was possible at every instant - as I said in the next paragraph.
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.
I don't find luck has anything to do with it. Not my fault you can't do
it. I can. :P
[snip of repeat of point I already made]
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!).
If I'm behind an 18-wheeler, I generally don't /need/ to see as far
ahead. I know he can't stop as fast as a car, thus I'll have more
reaction time; that if I picked the right rig he isn't driving like a
moron, and if I keep the gap, I won't run into him in any case (although
like others correctly point out, the real problem is with tailgaters
running into *me*. I know that with his driving position, he has a much
better view of traffic than I. However, I don't often purposely put
myself behind tall vehicles - for just the reason you state above.
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. :)
When on a motorcycle, the rules change. The biggest problem is keeping
the gap behind your bike.
[snip]
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
Certainly it's more difficult with a manual trans, but again, that's
what brakes and neutral (and skill) are for. If it's so difficult to
drive in such traffic in your car, perhaps you're driving the wrong car
(but that's another thread ;) ).
There's no guarantee that the Idiot won't turn your car into a headline
at any given moment. But it _is_ possible to avoid your turn as the Idiot.
--
Best Regards,
~DJA.
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