On keeping up with the flow of traffic

[desdemona]

This is maybe more of a comment: This is on highway driving but I didn't want to hijack that thread.

Anyway, I have been told over and over (driver's ed-- it's amazing that I actually remember some of this back in the 16th century or whenever I took it :-)) and elsewhere. "On the highway you have to keep up with the flow of traffic." It isn't safe going faster or slower, etc.
I'm beginning to think that I have to rewrite this little tape in my brain as I am clearly going slower-- sometimes significantly. Another one is not to change lanes unless necessary (or maybe I am just redefining *necessary*).

First of all, the way the highways are here, there is not really always a good slow lane. What happens is the far right lane turns into the off lane, so that you really don't always want to be there. I tend to therefore chose a rightish lane. I am starting to break my habit of not changing lanes, but now it is never to pass-- it's to let someone else to pass.
Changing lanes is a great way of getting rid of tailgaters.

Another thing is that the speed is not so critical. The really important piece of info was the at least one car length. As long as you have a space around you, people can pass or stay behind or whatever they want to do. You are always in the flow, but the speed you go at is not entirely relevant to some extent. (I am not talking about really slow speeds here.) But I have seen pictures of walkers on a street where it was speed up and you could watch what happens. There is a flow to it, but clearly some people are walking very slowly, some rapidly, some might be jogging, etc. But in the picture they all are going in a flow and there is a kind of pattern to it.

Does anybody have some thoughts on this?

--des

[psyshack]

Des I may not be the right one to ring in on this.

BUT!!

Its hard! But its not your fault! Folks don't know how to drive at all. You remember something from drivers ed. A lot of folks on the road don't know who the current president is for gods sake. Much less drive.

People complain about us driving the speed limit or 5 mph under. Staying in the right lane or the middle lane. Or a right middle if on a four lane one way. And we are a problem.

The eb and flow of a hwy starts with the folks merging in. Most cant be bothered to hit a hole big enough to put a semi in. They expect you to slow down or speed up to help them to get in. They have no responsibility in the act at all. Right then and there the eb and flow issue starts.

Same with heavy city traffic. We have always had the rubber band effect at traffic lights and such. But now you throw in a cell phone, wall street journal and a dvd player. And you have a mess on your hands.

We take a lot of heat for not being the problem. And honestly it really P@#$%#%E% me off. FE drivers focus on the very basic skills of driving at levels most never learned.

Deep down inside,, Im a very aggressive driver. I want to drive twice the speed limit. And it makes me mad my Mazda is speed limited to 117 mph. But down in my gut. I know its not right to be like that.

Rest assured Des. You are a better driver now than you have ever been. And you are seeing the problem. Your not the problem. They are the problem. And there is no cure.

Its a shame.

[brick]

Thoughts...I have many thoughts! I don't know if I can make them coherent but here goes...

There was a time when the highway speed limit was an absolute hard minimum to me. My interest was getting where I was going as quickly as possible with the caveat that I didn't want to acquire any points on my license in the process. So I defined myself as a "middle lane" driver and tended to hang out at 5-8mph over the limit depending on the road and traffic conditions. If I could get away with moving a little faster by virtue of a fast-moving "rabbit" then I would take the opportunity until he was too far down range to use as bait for the State Police.

At the time it never dawned on me that obeying the speed limit could make sense. Indeed, the first few weeks of consistent 65mph driving revealed that one could "keep up" with a different pack of cars that I simply hadn't paid attention to before. And that's generally what I do now: keep pace with the right lane. I've tried to go slower and it works when I'm literally the only car on the road, or when I have a huge slow-moving semi to follow that just screams "CHANGE LANES BEFORE YOU GET HERE!!!" to following traffic. But beyond that I won't drive slower. I believe that the best traffic pattern is a smooth one, and creating "bumps" is best avoided. Just my personal take on it.

Lately I've had some pretty serious issues with driving in the right lane, but it doesn't have much to do with the discussion at hand. Instead it has to do with very poorly trained drivers who don't know how to merge and, frankly, scare me with their recklessness and ineptitude. The center lane might get me back if it keeps up but for now I'll hold out. Not like an extra lane is going to keep them out of my door, anyway!

[desdemona]

Anyone's the right one. It is a more of a comment and not so much a question.

We might find this difficult but for maybe different reasons. I think that aggression in driving is somewhat taught as well (maybe not in school!) but you think that the all the driving in tv, movies, etc. isn't teaching you something? 99% of it is aggressive. I think males tend to be a bit more aggressive. Though I have to say that some of the most aggressive drivers are women as well as some of the most "driving while cell phoning". (it's now illegal here, hasn't stopped it).

I probably find it difficult because I have always been a nervous driver. I think I am getting less nervous and I think it has to do with control. You know I feel in control of this thing, much more so. But even so, in with a bunch of cars, most likely driving over the speed limit. I am trying to be happier with them buzzing about around me. It's a strange sensation actually.

And actually things like tailgating and cell phone use are the big anti-"flow" problems. Actually I have never minded slowing down or speeding up to let someone in. What bothers me is that so often, they want to get "in" not so they can get in one lane but so that they can cross 3 lanes or 4. That really annoys me. Lately I don't let large SUVs in. I find that they are most likely the ones to do this. I guess that should be of no surprise.



--des

Originally Posted by psyshack

Des I may not be the right one to ring in on this.

BUT!!

Its hard! But its not your fault! Folks don't know how to drive at all. You remember something from drivers ed. A lot of folks on the road don't know who the current president is for gods sake. Much less drive.

People complain about us driving the speed limit or 5 mph under. Staying in the right lane or the middle lane. Or a right middle if on a four lane one way. And we are a problem.

The eb and flow of a hwy starts with the folks merging in. Most cant be bothered to hit a hole big enough to put a semi in. They expect you to slow down or speed up to help them to get in. They have no responsibility in the act at all. Right then and there the eb and flow issue starts.

Same with heavy city traffic. We have always had the rubber band effect at traffic lights and such. But now you throw in a cell phone, wall street journal and a dvd player. And you have a mess on your hands.

We take a lot of heat for not being the problem. And honestly it really P@#$%#%E% me off. FE drivers focus on the very basic skills of driving at levels most never learned.

Deep down inside,, Im a very aggressive driver. I want to drive twice the speed limit. And it makes me mad my Mazda is speed limited to 117 mph. But down in my gut. I know its not right to be like that.

Rest assured Des. You are a better driver now than you have ever been. And you are seeing the problem. Your not the problem. They are the problem. And there is no cure.

Its a shame.

[psyshack]

Des,,, I dont so much care what a person drives. But I hate the sob's that cant be bothered to merge. Then once in they hit the gas and expect everybody to get the heck out of there way. Then here comes the brake pedal and the nasty looks if not more. and they couldn't be bothered to time and speed match there merge to start with. Thats when a 50 cal. machine gun would come in handy.

And then there are the ones that pull out in front of you.... You lock the brakes up come to a stop. And they flip you off because they pulled out in front of you. How do you hypermile thru that. Its your fault you where there for them to pull out in front of.

Its hard Des! I dont think there is a wrong or right anymore. And I loose faith in the human race by the hour. We are without a doubt the most worthless creature on the face of the earth..... We cant even drive.... But we have nukes aimed at each other... Go figure.....

[johnf514]

I'll put in my two cents.

The flow of traffic varies regardless of the speed limit. In some areas of Orlando, people do quite nearly the posted 55 MPH speed limit. In others, they'll do 80 in 60.

Now if you keep up with the flow of traffic and are going 15+ MPH over, where do you stand legally? Is it safer to drive at a higher speed if everyone else is doing it?

Personally, I stick to the speed limits up to 62-63 MPH. About the threshold for wind resistance to really start affecting MPG. After that, I find the right/slow lane and stay put. Rarely do I have to contend with traffic in front of me, and the speeders behind have the left lane(s) to go around me in. Grant it, I've had my share of near-rear end collisions, but through no fault of my own. I'm rarely more than 10 MPH under the posted speed limit, and with minimum speed limits set at 45-50 MPH, I feel I am operating within the safe limits of the road.

As long as you hypermile in a safe fashion, you will be as safe as any other motorist on the road.

[lightfoot]

And here's another two cents from me:
I normally drive 50-55 in a 65 zone. I tried driving 65 and everyone passed me, sometimes with MORE annoyance because it was less obvious to them that I was going slower than them.
Driving this way seems scary at first but you get used to it. I keep a close eye on the rearview mirror and am prepared to take to the shoulder if necessary, but have not had to yet. For semis, hazard flashers popped on while they are still WAY behind me help them get by, and they often blink a "thanks" with their taillights after I've flashed my headlights to let them know they're clear to get back into the right lane. The only real annoyance is the people who can't be bothered to change fully into the left lane, but I just slide over to the right a bit if necessary.
Occasionally someone gets the idea and settles in behind me for a while, and then they act as a buffer and I can relax my rear scan.
I try not to drop below 50 because I think the closing rates might then get so high that people may misjudge space.
Every now and then someone honks their horn but I just smile and wave.

I used to think I had to "keep up with the flow" but have realized that traffic actually does not move at a single speed. And doing that tends to make traffic bunch up into knots which you can see (untill it becomes a solid mess anyway). Driving in close quarters like that is stressful. Driving as slow gives you considerable peaceful time in the gaps between the knots that are passing by.

[laurieaw]

des, i understand what you are saying, and here's my take on it.

it used to be easier to keep up with the flow, because limits were respected. in today's traffic, the flow may be 20 MPG faster than i want to go, and i'm just not gonna do it. besides the fact it's not legal, which doesn't seem to bother most people, it's dangerous. too many people out there have decided that because they can drive 80 or so and are lucky enough not to get themselves killed, that they can determine what the speed should be.

sorry, not for me, which is why i frequently take the slower backroads into work. however, even there, i get passed. look at it this way.....they are going to pass no matter what speed you are going. if i am doing 55, i get passed. if i am doing 50, i get passed.

i don't think the old "rules" apply any more, since so many people either don't know what they are or don't care. i drive how i drive, and i keep my senses aware to what's going on around me so i can take the proper action to keep myself in one piece..........

some days i really just want to be a hermit and not leave the farm.

[Skwyre7]

Des, by the end of this you'll be able to fill your tank with everyone's two cents.

Here's mine. If the other a******s on the road don't care how slow everyone else is going, why should I care how fast everyone else is going. The only difference is that I pay attention to what the other drivers are doing. In a 55mph zone, I'll typically (if traffic allows) pulse up to 60 mph and glide down to 50 mph. If traffic is light, I'll go 45-55. My top speed is around 64 mph, but I prefer to keep it under 60mph. If the flow of traffic can easily get by me, I don't worry. If I need to hurry along to not get run off the road, I'll do so. Basically, I try to do my own thing, courteously.

[hobbit]

I would like to think that I have *lowered* my risk of being
rear-ended with mellower driving, because my slowdowns and stops
are *so* predictable and leave those behind plenty of time to
adjust. On a long, even glide to a light they might get close,
but they're not barreling on without seeing me -- they're
slowing down too, and nothing abrupt is happening. It's the
abrupt stuff that kills; so many people stop so short by habit
that if someone behind isn't paying attention, wham. So by not
changing my speed suddenly, they'll get more time to *start*
paying attention and adapt. And as other people have observed,
a few instances of this with a given follower tends to transmit
a little lesson in the process.
.
For traffic closing too fast, a shot of the hazards or yuppie
button works wonders to get their adaptation process started
earlier -- even if they park on my butt afterward, they at least
made the initial speed correction at a safer distance.
.
I've definitely noticed the "knot" phenomenon, and in fact probably
used to be in the thick of said knots back in the day. Now I'll
be minding my own business in the right lane and see one coming
up behind -- and just sit there amused while they all jockey
in and out half a car length from each other. I want to just
tell them all "look, *I* didn't tell you fools to get all
bunched up like that, and you could be so stress-free if you
just widened it out, it's so easy..."
.
If you think about it, even 2 mph under the "ambient" tends to
give you huge pieces of empty road ahead under most conditions.
That holds very high value for me.
.
_H*