• LordAmplifier@pawb.social
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    1 month ago

    You know, sometimes, I’d love to be a traffic cop and spend all day every day pulling over people who can’t keep their distance. It’s one of the most annoying (and dangerous) things drivers can do.

  • EtherWhack@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    That’s why you wait until you are right next the front of a semi and box them in.

    Of course there are idiots that will then pass in the shoulder. (Known from experience)

    • toynbee@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      My mother always said “let them have their own accident somewhere else.”

      If someone is driving unsafely around me, I absolutely feel offense and the desire to punish them in some way, but it seems best not to do so. Unsafe drivers probably won’t learn anything good from other drivers no matter how the other drivers respond. If you try to create consequences, the other driver may well escalate - for example, as you described, passing on the shoulder and creating an unsafe situation for others; but also possibly by taking issue with you personally and acting to endanger you directly through various methods.

      So in summary, if someone is driving unsafely around me, my goal very quickly becomes getting the lack of safety away from my passengers and myself as soon as possible.

    • skyspydude1@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      You don’t know why someone is speeding, and it’s not your job to enforce traffic laws. There was a story I remember reading a while back of someone’s friend having a chainsaw accident, and them watching their friend bleed out in their car because some dumb piece of shit figured they’d play traffic cop and blocked them in traffic. If you see someone driving aggressively, just assume they’re driving that way because they’re about to shit their pants, and let them go on their merry way. Report them if you want, but don’t endanger yourself and others trying to be a “hero”

  • Excrubulent@slrpnk.net
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    1 month ago

    I’ve been watching some dashcam compilations lately, and one thing that I find very comforting is that regardless of who is legally at fault, almost every accident could’ve been easily avoided if anyone involved had just slowed the fuck down and chilled the fuck out, and since that’s how I drive it makes sense I don’t get anywhere near having accidents. The freak accident that you couldn’t have avoided is rare.

    If someone is tailgaiting and making things unsafe, don’t brake check, just slow down gradually. If they won’t make you safe by backing off, make yourself safe by reducing your speed. Look to get out of their way, move over, pull over, whatever, and try to let them past. It’s real simple, you just need to let go of the idea that you have a right to the spot in front of them.

    There’s even one road I used to use a lot that was high speed with no passing for several kms, and if I got tailgated, I’d slow down and pull over to the shoulder. Sometimes they got the message and backed up before I pulled over so I’d speed back up and we’d be on our way, but I always took a decent amount of pleasure in taking my time to pull over safely, which usually meant delaying them a lot.