Motorways, "middle lane hoggers" ?

[L00b]

Ouch Loob. I know what you mean but I don't think I'd be prepared to effectively play chicken with another car no matter how wound up I was.

It's not a question of "playing chicken", it's (subject to the specifics: relative speeds, viewing distance, time to complete manoeuvre, etc.) a question of survival. A head-on (oncoming car) or a rear shunt (by the following driver) will have far more dangerous an outcome than a side rub. That's vehicle dynamics as taught to me by professional army drivers (VIP/evasive passive-aggressive driving courses and such during my NS, years and years back).

I've jammed the breaks on before now to scare a tailgater and that's pretty effective, especially when accompanied by a polite wave and smile, but I'd always base that on how far behind they are, if they were absolutely on my tail I'd never risk it!

That's dangerous. What if they get distracted by a SMS or adjusting the heater or <whatever> at the very moment you're "jamming" the brakes on?

 

Think also (although technically, you don't have to; but...) about any following-on drivers and the butterfly effect (for a 1 second 'jab' of the brakes right at the front, the last in line may have to drop anchors and much more).

 

You're (if I may) better off gradually decelerating (just coast, then downshift if needed until they get the msg and back off), without using brakes..

Someone tried squeezing me out like that once. He tried to get ahead of me in a zip merge when every other person had been happy to do the my lane one car, other lane one car, my lane one car etc...

Sounds like that wasn't a safe overtake to begin with, so not the sort of situation I was talking about. Edited January 11, 2016 by L00b

[sgtkate]

It's not a question of "playing chicken", it's (subject to the specifics: relative speeds, viewing distance, time to complete manoeuvre, etc.) a question of survival. A head-on (oncoming car) or a rear shunt (by the following driver) will have far more dangerous an outcome than a side rub.

 

Ok, it'll totally depend on the exact situation, but if you do whatever you think is the safest option then it probably is. That what your post implied, it implied that you choose to effectively pull over into another car because you were angry and didn't want to yield. Apologies if I've misread it.

 

That's dangerous. You're (if I may) better off gradually decelerating (just coast, then downshift if needed until they get the msg and back off), without using brakes..

Only some small irony you saying that's dangerous when you've just said you pull over into other cars when overtaking?!?!?! And it really isn't, a tiny tap on the brakes might decrease my speed fractionally (hence why I wouldn't do it if they were right on my ass), but boy oh boy does it scare the pants off the guy behind. If they don't get the message then the old slowing down with braking technique also works well. Even better if it's on a motorway and they then attempt to undertake, at which point I'll speed up again and stop them doing that as long as it's safe to do so. I'm not going to tailgate the guy in front to stop them!

[Obelix]

Sounds like that wasn't a safe overtake to begin with, so not the sort of situation I was talking about.

 

Oh I appreciate that, just that it goes to show that people will usually back off and hit a building (or in your situations take a real good close look at the verge) rather than hit another car.

 

If it came to physically pushing another car over to make room, rather than a head on I'd do exactly what you suggested without even thinking.

[SnailyBoy]

There is nothing that winds me up more than that manoeuvre. Nothing. It's the full-on claret-red rag to the L00b bull, with the associated knee jerk reaction: anyone ever pulls that stunt on me, then if I'm properly committed to the overtake, either they brake and fall back as I gradually but steadfastly squeeze them over (within the space where I normally would complete the manoeuvre, had they not accelerated), or they're getting shoved off: I ain't dropping anchor in the oncoming lane as I'm overtaking, and checking their 6 and continue checking my 12 to see if there's enough space to get back behind them, and running an assessment that the driver following them is aware that I need to get back behind <etc, etc.>

 

Soon as I perceive their accelerating during the overtake, I start pulling over. They can slow down or get taken out: their choice. I'd sooner rubbing paint/metal badly than a head-on.

 

There's a couple of (elderly) drivers who made that mistake with me once.

 

Once.

 

£10 to £0.01 they've never done it to anyone else since, that I can tell you. I wouldn't have paid for their wet-dry cleaning, either.

 

It would be interesting to hear their side of the story.

[Obelix]

You're (if I may) better off gradually decelerating (just coast, then downshift if needed until they get the msg and back off), without using brakes..

 

With some of these drivers you can slow down and they still drive at far too close pace - and wont overtake. I've stopped before now and then they end up so close they have to reverse to have sufficient space to go round me.

 

Funnily the car in that case was a Mk2 Focus as well.... But not near Sheffield.

 

---------- Post added 11-01-2016 at 17:07 ----------

 

It would be interesting to hear their side of the story.

 

"I was driving like a tool and it wasn't fair the other guy was faster than me!"

[L00b]

Ok, it'll totally depend on the exact situation, but if you do whatever you think is the safest option then it probably is. That what your post implied, it implied that you choose to effectively pull over into another car because you were angry and didn't want to yield. Apologies if I've misread it.

No, it's because it's probably the safest thing to do under such circumstances. It's only ever happened to me two or three times in over 20 years of driving. I'd like to think it's statistically representative (i.e. that such morons ready and willing to endanger life for the sake of not getting overtaken are an infinitesimal minority).

Only some small irony you saying that's dangerous when you've just said you pull over into other cars when overtaking?!?!?!

I don't pull into other cars when overtaking, nor cause them to brake or take any other sort of action (relative to what they were doing the moment before I overtook them): if they'd have to (brake, slow down, swerve...whatever), then it isn't a safe overtake, for me or for them.

 

Unless they then decide to make the safe overtaking unsafe, by suddenly accelerating whilst I am overtaking them. You know...60 NSL, no traffic at the front, front car doing 40 mph for miles, on long straights and very wide bends, and when I (finally) decide to overtake (because there is a pause in oncoming traffic), the front car drops a gear and floors it as I draw level during the overtake. That's when I will push over, particularly if and as the 'coast-is-clear' visibility limit is drawing ever nearer ever faster (since the overtaken prevented me from completing the manoeuvre sooner).

It would be interesting to hear their side of the story.

I seem to be perennially fresh out of f*s to give for people who endanger me recklessly without reason. Edited January 11, 2016 by L00b

[JFKvsNixon]

Are you trying to wind me up just before I go home? Those 45mph everywhere people really get me.

 

I know somebody who's exactly like that. Always on the inside lane, going really slow on the motorway and then getting the odd ticket when they get off the motorway.

[max]

In situations where someone has zoomed up behind me I simply take my foot off the accelerator and indicate left as if they have scared me into getting out of their way. If it takes a while for a space to appear on the left, well, it wasn't me in a hurry.

[geared]

It would be interesting to hear their side of the story.

 

It would be quite interesting, especially why they think it's ok to speed up and close out the gap the other driver was going to use.

 

---------- Post added 11-01-2016 at 17:19 ----------

 

It's only ever happened to me two or three times in over 20 years of driving. I'd like to think it's statistically representative (i.e. that such morons ready and willing to endanger life for the sake of not getting overtaken are an infinitesimal minority).

 

I find it's more common with people pottering down country roads, they've been doing 40 for miles but as soon as you pull out on a nice clear bit of road they boot it to try and stop you overtaking them.

 

It's VERY obvious when they're in a diesel as well, because it starts heaving out black smoke as soon as they hit the accelerator.

 

If it takes a while for a space to appear on the left, well, it wasn't me in a hurry.

 

Has it ever though?

 

I too pull out of the way if someone comes speeding up behind me while I'm overtaking, but I've yet to find it hard to pull back out and continue overtaking.

[SnailyBoy]

Unless they then decide to make the safe overtaking unsafe, by suddenly accelerating whilst I am overtaking them. You know...60 NSL, no traffic at the front, front car doing 40 mph for miles, on long straights and very wide bends, and when I (finally) decide to overtake (because there is a pause in oncoming traffic), the front car drops a gear and floors it as I draw level during the overtake. That's when I will push over, particularly if and as the 'coast-is-clear' visibility limit is drawing ever nearer ever faster (since the overtaken prevented me from completing the manoeuvre sooner)

.

 

So you're the 2nd car matching the speed of the 1st car, you pull out accelerating to complete the overtake to say 60 mph, would that be fair?

 

The car you're overtaking waits until you're level and then 'floors it' matching your overtaking speed, so from 40 to 60 mph?