Safe Driving with Driverthink

In our last article we spoke of our “Stop Calculator” and mentioned briefly, the “Stop on my Tail-gater”.  This Road Hazard deserves additional “Driverthink”.

As we previously noted, this puppy is not your standard issue Tailgater.  In moving traffic, this driver will usually maintain a safe distance behind the car in front of him.  He may even lag way further back, which is a good thing because then another driver will probably swing in front of him, behind you - and cushion you from the hazard!

It’s in stop and go traffic or at red lights that the Stop on my Tail-gater does his thing.  Once we stop, he comes right up to our bumper, seemingly as close as he can get without hitting us.  The Stop on my Tail-gater may not be the most serious threat we face on the road, but he certainly can be annoying.  He’s a Rear-ender Road Hazard.

This driver leaves himself no escape.  Once he’s on your tail, he has no room to maneuver should a driver threaten to rear-end him.  If the driver stopped on your tail does get whacked, he’s done his best to insure that you get whacked too.  If you don’t see it coming, or haven’t left additional room to escape forward, It’s gonna’ be a multiple!

Stop on my Tail-gating is also a great way to elicit the wrath of a fellow driver.  If you’re a Stop on my Tail-gater who tends to feel threatened by potential Road Rage, you may want to seriously consider adjusting your Stop Calculator.

Why these drivers assume such risk for absolutely no reason is hard for me to understand.  It can’t be intentional.  It has to be a bad Stop Calculator or simply a lack of Driverthink.

The majority of normal drivers seem to stop somewhere between a half a car length to a maximum of two car lengths in distance, from the car in front of them.  Two car lengths is kind of the “outer limit”.  If you stop much further back, the driver behind you isn’t expecting it, and you risk being rear ended by even a normal, alert driver.

The Stop on my Tail-gater isn’t a Road Hazard that you detect immediately.  Who of us hasn’t occasionally come up close on the car in front of us for whatever the reason?  It’s when it starts to happen consistently that you begin to realize what you’re working with.
 
So how do we handle this puppy?

The first thing I try to do is categorize him.  Is this a driver who’s Stop Calculator simply doesn’t work very well?  Is it a driver who isn’t concentrating?  Busy text messaging, suddenly looks up and - “Oops - there’s a car there!”  Or perhaps the Stop Calculator and reflexes are so finely tuned that the driver has become totally comfortable with close encounters.  If it’s the latter, I may adjust my space and live with it for awhile.  If it’s one of the first two, I definitely want to get out of the way.
 
Be sure not to confuse the Stop on my Tail-gater with a typical tailgater either.  The former isn’t typically very aggressive.  It’s all about a dysfunctional Stop Calculator.  The typical tailgater is aggressive.  He’s on your bumper stop or go!
 

If the Stop on my Tail-gater is in front of me, he can definitely mess up my Stop Calculator.  Instead of focusing on his bumper I need to look further forward, and adjust my stops to the traffic in front of him.  If he’s in back of me though, I usually have one of two choices.  I can either adjust my stops to give myself more room, or I can simply get out of his way and let him pummel someone else for awhile.

If I give myself more room for my stop, I can adjust for his stop.  I have more room to move forward if he does look like he’s going to make contact.  If I decide to move out of his way, I’ll wait for a safe opportunity to switch lanes and let him get on by me.  I may jump right back in behind him, but now he’s in front of me and I can deal with him more easily.
 

Recognizing and avoiding Stop on my Tail-gaters, has definitely saved me from more than a few rear-enders over the years.  On more than one occasion I’ve moved out of their way only to sadly watch them hit the car that was previously in front of me.

If you think you might be a Stop on my Tail-gater, please Driverthink about it, and  consider adjusting your Stop Calculator.  Your fellow road warriors will definitely thank you!

Please Add your COMMENTS BELOW.  What do You Think?