Driving too close

obi_waynne

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Do you drive too close to the car in front?

In my everyday driving and being in the car with friends I've noticed that many are ignoring the "2 second rule".

Do people even know what the 2 second rule is anymore?
 
Not if I can help it! my old driving instructor always said; if you can't see the rear wheels on the road on the car in front, then your much too close, back off! ;)
 
When I learnt to drive I was taught the 2 second rule. Were older drivers? Any newers drivers still taught this?

If someone is tailgating me I give them the washer jet treatment. I had a guy (by guy, I presumed it was chav at the time) on a moped who was right up my arse near my girlfriend's house. I kept spraying him in the face until he backed off.
 
If someone is tailgating me I give them the washer jet treatment. I had a guy (by guy, I presumed it was chav at the time) on a moped who was right up my arse near my girlfriend's house. I kept spraying him in the face until he backed off.

Lol hilarious. Cyclists are my favourite target. Get a car!
 
I have been known to stop at an 'inconvenient' place* when I've had a ridiculously persistent tailgater; get out of my car and proceed to remonstrate with them.

(*Like adjacent the Esso garage here on the A421 North of Buckingham where there is a traffic island, thereby physically enforcing one lane each way with kerbs 8 inches high either side of each lane.)

There's no way for miscreant to get away and they have to take the lecture from me.
 
I have been known to stop at an 'inconvenient' place* when I've had a ridiculously persistent tailgater; get out of my car and proceed to remonstrate with them.

(*Like adjacent the Esso garage here on the A421 North of Buckingham where there is a traffic island, thereby physically enforcing one lane each way with kerbs 8 inches high either side of each lane.)

There's no way for miscreant to get away and they have to take the lecture from me.

i did this a couple of weeks ago only to be shocked to find it was a woman driver with 2 kids in the back with no seat belts on:mad: i had to walk away in disgust!!!

i am being quite hypercritical here cause i used to tailgate when younger until a very close call at 90mph on the motorway:embarrest:
but i just dont get the need tailgate behind me i drive the posted speed limit or just above! and the times i am doing below the speed limit surely the person behind me can see the car infront me is hindering me so therefore there is not much i can do on a 30mph road:mad:
 
i did this a couple of weeks ago only to be shocked to find it was a woman driver with 2 kids in the back with no seat belts on:mad: i had to walk away in disgust!!!

i am being quite hypercritical here cause i used to tailgate when younger until a very close call at 90mph on the motorway:embarrest:
but i just dont get the need tailgate behind me i drive the posted speed limit or just above! and the times i am doing below the speed limit surely the person behind me can see the car infront me is hindering me so therefore there is not much i can do on a 30mph road:mad:

Know what you mean but having a verbal swipe is not unreasonable even in that situation. Don't ever threaten violence, however. That is not acceptable.

I had one who got out of his car with apparent intent to take a pop at me and then got back in pretty quickly as I uncurled my 6'4" 18st frame from the driver's seat of my car.
 
Know what you mean but having a verbal swipe is not unreasonable even in that situation. Don't ever threaten violence, however. That is not acceptable.

I had one who got out of his car with apparent intent to take a pop at me and then got back in pretty quickly as I uncurled my 6'4" 18st frame from the driver's seat of my car.

at the time i got out of my car i had no idea it was a woman! and i had lost my rag so i was walking up to the car hurling abuse only for the window to come down to reveal a woman who then started shouting bumbaclot this and bumbaclot that and as i got to the window and saw the 2 kids in the back, i just walked away
sad.gif


it is amazing how a piece of metal can give people the confidence to be the hardest person in the world. but then when they step out of there comfort zone and face reality. soon become the scared little person they really are :lol:
 
at the time i got out of my car i had no idea it was a woman! and i had lost my rag so i was walking up to the car hurling abuse only for the window to come down to reveal a woman who then started shouting bumbaclot this and bumbaclot that and as i got to the window and saw the 2 kids in the back, i just walked away
sad.gif


it is amazing how a piece of metal can give people the confidence to be the hardest person in the world. but then when they step out of there comfort zone and face reality. soon become the scared little person they really are :lol:

It doesn't bother me and I'm not a scared little person. I'm very aware of reality.

I'm nowhere near the hardest person in the world but I'm quite confident in my own ability to defend myself should someone else take a swing or draw a knife.
 
2 second rule, i thought its when you dropped a piece of food. and if you picked it up within 2 seconds its fine to continue and eat. if not then its dirty lol its dirty anyway but hey thats what we used to call it lol
 
Probably my pet hate when driving-tailgating. It annoys the hell out of me. I always leave a good gap, enough to see what's going on ahead and enough to bring it to a sudden stop. However you always get one idiot who fills every gap! When I am being tailgated I will either break test them, slow right down or indicate then pull over only to then pull out again and flip the high beams on. When in a right annoying mood there is nothing I love better than stopping in traffic, lifting the boot up and gesturing towards the driver "is that what you want? to get into my boot? No? then #!#!#!#! off then!"

Rant over ;)
 
It doesn't bother me and I'm not a scared little person. I'm very aware of reality.

I'm nowhere near the hardest person in the world but I'm quite confident in my own ability to defend myself should someone else take a swing or draw a knife.

i was referring to the bloke who got out his car, then when you got out decided against it;)
 
Probably my pet hate when driving-tailgating. It annoys the hell out of me. I always leave a good gap, enough to see what's going on ahead and enough to bring it to a sudden stop. However you always get one idiot who fills every gap! When I am being tailgated I will either break test them, slow right down or indicate then pull over only to then pull out again and flip the high beams on. When in a right annoying mood there is nothing I love better than stopping in traffic, lifting the boot up and gesturing towards the driver "is that what you want? to get into my boot? No? then #!#!#!#! off then!"

Rant over ;)

well i now have a reason to get a boot popper:lol:
 
absolutely hate tailgating and dont do it either, prefer to hang right back and just wait for the opportunity to oevertake. If someone does it to me usually test them with a quick flick on/off of the rear fog lights. If this doesnt work then just hammer on the brakes. some to**er did this a couple of weeks ago when i was just about to start slowing down to turn into a minor road. as he was being a di*k just slowed right down and then proceeded to wait for the next 5 cars to file past on the other side of the road - each far enough part not to give him time to overtake but would have been plenty of time for me to cross into the other road - not a happy chap at this, especially whne he saw us all laughing at him.
 
its top of the list of my pet hates, i just cant see point, it is good to wind them up though with the slowing down, lights on off, its a last resort for me to slam on the brakes.

my dad got tailgated in his v7o 2.4, by a bloke in a convertible pug girlie thing, on a country road, so my dad slowed right down, then when we got onto a dual carrigeway he tried to over take so my dad put his foot down and he couldnt keep up! if your going to tailgate and be a t**t make sure you got the horses to back it up.
 
its top of the list of my pet hates, i just cant see point, it is good to wind them up though with the slowing down, lights on off, its a last resort for me to slam on the brakes.

my dad got tailgated in his v7o 2.4, by a bloke in a convertible pug girlie thing, on a country road, so my dad slowed right down, then when we got onto a dual carrigeway he tried to over take so my dad put his foot down and he couldnt keep up! if your going to tailgate and be a t**t make sure you got the horses to back it up.

Even better, don't do it at all. Especially not to me.

Tailgaters make notoriosuly bad overtakers according to my observation.

They are all mindless and spineless f***wits who do not understand the simple concepts of looking and thinking.

They'll do retarded things like follow you into a gap between parked cars to yield to oncoming traffic (even though there's only room for one car, blissfully unaware of the oncoming traffic and the 4 previous gaps they could have used to accomodate their own car. They'll do it again 400 yards later as well.
 
This is how you know you are driving in Britain. When it doesn't matter what day it is, nor what time it is, nor how busy or quiet the traffic is, nor what the weather is like, nor what car you are driving, there is ALWAYS some idiot 2 inches from someone else's bumper.
 
This is how you know you are driving in Britain. When it doesn't matter what day it is, nor what time it is, nor how busy or quiet the traffic is, nor what the weather is like, nor what car you are driving, there is ALWAYS some idiot 2 inches from someone else's bumper.

You're right. They do, don't they. Sit up the back end of a lorry for miles on end. Can't see a thing. No intention of passing whatsoever.
 
I know the 2 sec rule. I taught it to my pupils but...........
The driving standards in UK are deteriorating rapidly. People seem to have no or little time to do what is right anymore.
SO....... Is it possible then that when you leave the gap some fool will fill it:confused:Theoretically then. If you move back to the 2sec spacing another foll goes in!!!:amazed:
Under that type of circumstance/s YOU could end up back in your own drive:lol:
Maybe, drivers reduce the spacing so that no idiot can do the above :blink:Then, as modern cars are reputed to stop quicker than the old HC quides; maybe being somewhat closer prevents the possible problem???
As long as there is no up the back tailgating maybe it works
Do you drive too close to the car in front?

In my everyday driving and being in the car with friends I've noticed that many are ignoring the "2 second rule".

Do people even know what the 2 second rule is anymore?
 
I know the 2 sec rule. I taught it to my pupils but...........
The driving standards in UK are deteriorating rapidly. People seem to have no or little time to do what is right anymore.
SO....... Is it possible then that when you leave the gap some fool will fill it:confused:Theoretically then. If you move back to the 2sec spacing another foll goes in!!!:amazed:
Under that type of circumstance/s YOU could end up back in your own drive:lol:
Maybe, drivers reduce the spacing so that no idiot can do the above :blink:Then, as modern cars are reputed to stop quicker than the old HC quides; maybe being somewhat closer prevents the possible problem???
As long as there is no up the back tailgating maybe it works

That won't work. The cars capacity for deceleration is not the issue. It's driver's ability to determine the need to brake that's the problem.
 
I find the two second rule isn't always realistic. Yeah, sure at 60 mph, the two second rule is only a few meters, but when your doing 160, that leaves a big gap to the scum Subaru driver in front!!! lol :lol:
(Glab, Oldgit, This is a joke)

I was instucted about the two second rule, as was I insturcted about the tyre rule. I have no need to sit right up the arse of drivers, as I dont have trouble overtaking. I just relax and follow them. If I want to overtake then I just do so. There is no need for me to pull up right behind them.
 
It's reasonable to adopt a slightly closer following position when preparing to overtake the car directly ahead.

This is considered good practice by Police Class One license holders.

Of course, you must not let the objective (passing the car in front) dominate your planning at the expense of safety. All other observation must be maintained. Never let your proximity to the vehicle in front obscure your vision past it.

In some ways being a few yards closer to the car in front does have one advantage in that it makes you more visible to the driver of the car you're planning to pass. But never so close that you have to actively steer hard to the right when finally moving out and accelerating to complete the manoeuvre.

Note that this is not tailgating. Sitting mile upon mile less than a car length from the car in front is NOT admissible. The preparatory overtaking position is still of the order of several dozens of feet.
 
When your in a queue of traffic and some idiot behind stays 3" from your rear bumper just stop, get out and kindly offer to let them get in the boot of your car he/she will probably wonder what you're doing but they'll get it eventually and back off a bit
 
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When your in a queue of traffic and some idiot behind stays 3" from your rear bumper just stop, get out and kindly offer to let them get in the boot of your car he/she will probably wonder what you're doing but they'll get it eventually and back off a bit

I've done that once or twice. The reaction is quite amusing.
 
I hate tailgaters I have spent a lot of time practicing the 2 second gap so I can do it at all times but the number of people who cut back in on you AAArrrrrggggggggghhhhhh it drives me mad maybe a bit paranoid having been hit in the a**e 3 times in the last 12 months. Funny enough this seems to be at its worst on the motorways do people not understand you cain't stop a car in 2 FOOT sure some think you can. One good place on the 62 dropping down to Scammy Dam > signs on the road surface that I like
 
I've done that once or twice. The reaction is quite amusing.

Another good one is to stop and put the hazards on, get out and open the bonnet, the person behind can't reverse and is basically stuck and has to watch everyone behind him overtake and carry on regardless :blink1:

thats what occupies me at the weekends lol
 
Another good one is to stop and put the hazards on, get out and open the bonnet, the person behind can't reverse and is basically stuck and has to watch everyone behind him overtake and carry on regardless :blink1:

thats what occupies me at the weekends lol

Simply locking up and walking away can be quite effective as well. Offer a cheery wave: - "I'm stoppin' 'ere mate, bye for now!"
 

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