Safe following distance vs. speeding subcompact in a mass panic on the interstate.

[mike brez]

Originally Posted by TMan59

Geez man, the GPS is telling him to keep left for the exit that's about to come up.
It says, "keep left, exit one mile" about 3/4 of a mile before.
He has every right to be in the left lane in that case.
We'll just assume you didn't have your volume on.

Did you have your glasses on?
Two lanes are going to the left



No need to be in left lane,and besides that he was traveling in the left lane when it was three lanes. He comments on speed limit being 60 mph yet after saying that was up to 75mph at one time. Looking again at the video that is not as good as real time you can see the pickup loose it's load and he does nothing except say whoa,his speed stays the same for six seconds after you see the pickup lose the load never coming off the go pedal. Then after that six seconds saying whoa a panic stop.

[Sehc]

Hey. been there. You see something unusual ahead. You start reacting. Then that fast there are more things to react with. Then you are on top of the problem. All normal human reaction times. All persuasion for defensive driving.

[TXiceman]

I was just wondering why the OP was in the left hand lane when there were cars passing him on the right. I would have been in the middle lane.

Ken

[Hooligan]

If OP was in the center lane, he would have taken out the pickup truck that was stopped in that lane. He was still doing 50-60mph as he passed the pick-up...and hit the box. (minute 4:55) Not many options with the cars in front changing lanes.

[r___r]

Let's see:

80km/h - 49.7mph
108km/h - 67mph
120km/h - 74.5mph

"Safe following distance vs. ..."
Safe following distance for a Class A vehicle is 1 second per 10' of your vehicle (40' motor home = 4 second safe following distance).

"For your amusement. Skip to the 4:30 mark."
I found your whole video disturbing, starring the Class A driver.
Still waiting to hear if you were towing anything.

A Class A vehicle in the fast lane for the majority of the video traveling up to 15mph faster than the speed limit of cars, with less than 1 second following distance (looks like your forcing the car in front of you to either speed up, or, get out of the way).
Once you said 'whoa' you should have been on the brakes slowing way, way down. Not continuing 108km/h (67mph) until the Kia makes a maneuver.

"I thought I had a reasonably safe stopping distance"
You don't have safe following distance with less than 1 second spacing.

"I thought I was about to flatten a kia and it's passengers."
Lucky you didn't hit the Kia. Dashcam video may not have played in your favor in court. I'd imagine aggressive and reckless Class A driver.

"Stay safe, it's crazy out there!"
Too funny!

"I told her I just rolled 35,000 lbs over the table"
You HAVE to know since obtaining your Class A license, just because you can drive that 35,000 lb vehicle as fast as cars doesn't mean you can stop it as quickly as cars.

Any Class A driver, with any experience, knows that cars are ALWAYS going to cut you off. Expect it and adjust your driving accordingly. Driving aggressively is unsafe for everyone around you.

Rich

[mpierce]

Originally Posted by The4Swans

For your amusement. Skip to the 4:30 mark. On our return trip from a WA-NY-WA trip outside of Cleveland OH. I thought I had a reasonably safe stopping distance until a speeding subcompact figured out their brakes can't stop them nearly as fast at 85-90 as they'd hoped and they decided to cut into my lane. My coach has an 18' blind spot in front and they quickly disappeared in it. Just as I was headed to the shoulder they reappeared in my vision so I had no choice but to take the line without a human in the way. Be warned, I swear I said shoot in my head, my mouth lost the translation as I thought I was about to flatten a kia and it's passengers.

Stay safe, it's crazy out there!

https://youtu.be/IdxlvYpO3dQ

You should be an over the road semi driver. That happens to me on an almost daily occurance, if I am in major cities. The STUPID things cars do around trucks simply amazes me.

Seems like they are heck bent on committing suicide. I have had many times when cars disappear beneath the hood on my long nose Peterbilt.

[Piker]

I think we can all learn a few things from the video... that much is certain.

I have noticed the 3 or 4 second rule is almost impossible to follow if you're going to try to keep pace in heavy city traffic. Once you establish a gap behind the car in front of you, it immediately gets filled in by someone who thinks arriving at his destination 30 seconds earlier is going to have some meaningful impact on his life.

I used to think keeping pace with the flow of traffic was important... even safer... but anymore I don't really think that at all for the sole reason of trying to maintain this gap. It seems the only way to improve the instance of a proper gap is to go a little slower than the rest of traffic. When the gap is closed by someone cutting in front of you, it opens quickly again once they speed away. Just my $.02.

-cheers

[okcnewbie]

Originally Posted by r___r

....."Safe following distance vs. ..."
Safe following distance for a Class A vehicle is 1 second per 10' of your vehicle (40' motor home = 4 second safe following distance).
Rich

I would love to see a video of someone in the middle lane trying to keep a 4 second rule. Let's just say that they would be getting passed on the right and the left.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by okcnewbie

I would love to see a video of someone in the middle lane trying to keep a 4 second rule. Let's just say that they would be getting passed on the right and the left.

I don't have a problem being passed on the left and right.

Here in the busy North East, if traffic is heavy ( all of the time) I use the center lane, if there are 3 or more.

I don't have to dodge the ones who enter at 25 mph and the 75 mph ones can pass on either side.

I just have to watch for the cars that re-merge into my lane. They seem to work it out.

[Coma]

FWIW I've lived in that area for 15 years. What the picture doesn't show is that two interstates have been using the same road for about 10 miles. It is usually jammed to his rear with traffic jockeying for lanes. While 480 exits right, the left exit the GPS is talking about is not an exit, it is really staying on the road straight ahead. Am I the only one who has seen two lanes sprout to the left of the left lane with only a short distance to make a hole?

That 10 miles is one of the exceptionly stupid zones in the Cleveland, OH area. You can be far above the speed limit and still get run over.

While 3 secs out is important you should be using your peripheral vision in that zone. You should scan intently those things that are farther out. If you stare you are looking but not seeing.

I doubt there is a single one of wouldn't like the occasional do over, as hindsight is nearly alway 20/20.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by Piker

I think we can all learn a few things from the video... that much is certain.

I have noticed the 3 or 4 second rule is almost impossible to follow if you're going to try to keep pace in heavy city traffic. Once you establish a gap behind the car in front of you, it immediately gets filled in by someone who thinks arriving at his destination 30 seconds earlier is going to have some meaningful impact on his life.

I used to think keeping pace with the flow of traffic was important... even safer... but anymore I don't really think that at all for the sole reason of trying to maintain this gap. It seems the only way to improve the instance of a proper gap is to go a little slower than the rest of traffic. When the gap is closed by someone cutting in front of you, it opens quickly again once they speed away. Just my $.02.

-cheers

Exactly. I would sooner have the gap opening up than me closing it.

There is no perfect answer. There will always be drivers who will cut through traffic for various reasons. I would sooner have them pulling away from me than catching them. If they are behind me they will find a way to cut through to get around me.

[Crossingover]

I don't know the age of the OP, but I'm betting it's younger rather than older. Probably hasn't mellowed enough to understand that piloting a MH above 60 mph is an even more special undertaking with special risks. The video he provided only reinforces my understanding of those risks and why I would never adopt his piloting style.

[TMan59]

It is true the op could have also used the middle lane for the route he was taking.
The problem with that is the left lane is MUCH safer if you have ever been in that situation.
Cars from the right lane realize at the last second they are on the wrong HWY and swerve over to the now right lane at the last second.
Sometimes through the triangle as the freeways split.
I am guessing here, just guessing, that the OP has seen this many times also and did the correct thing.
I found the OP to have done a fantastic job not hitting cars that were cutting across out of control.
If he had not BEEN in the far left lane for safety, the incident would have ended much differently.

[Mudfrog]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Exactly. I would sooner have the gap opening up than me closing it.

There is no perfect answer. There will always be drivers who will cut through traffic for various reasons. I would sooner have them pulling away from me than catching them. If they are behind me they will find a way to cut through to get around me.

Crazy and inattentive drivers are everywhere. Doesn't matter how good a driver we are, there are always other drivers and things happening that we can't control. The best we can do is take steps to try to keep these outside actions from affecting us.

The faster we're going in our rigs, the less time we have to react. For the most part, the posted speed limit is probably good when traffic and weather allow. Try to stay towards the right except to pass or to take a left exit. Try, and i agree it's tough at times, to keep a safe following distance from the vehicle ahead. Above all, don't worry about those goofballs passing us doing 80.

For those of you who like driving your 25,000+ lb rig 75 miles per hour, have you thought about the consequences if something goes wrong? Even if it's not your fault, you gonna be ok if your rig hit a small car and kills someone? Are you ready to handle a front blowout? Can you react quickly enough to avoid a pothole or debris on the road? Sure, any of these can happen at slower speeds but there's no doubt we stand a better chance of having less damage and trauma if it does happen.