Am I crap?

[creampuff]

My wife thinks my driving is crap. The main reasons being:

- Too fast
- Travel too close to vehicle in front on motorways

I do like to give it the beans in NSL but I keep to 30, 40, 50 limits. I keep a 2 second gap or even more on motorways EXCEPT if there are vehicles in Lane 3 which I feel don't need to be in Lane 3, then I reduce the gap to around 1.5 seconds or even 1 second to let them know I am there >IF< I can see past them to the traffic ahead.

On NSL single carriageways, I drive the police roadcraft system and look for the vanishing point and 'be able to stop on my side of the road in the distance I can see to be clear' with an additional reduced speed around bends for the benefit of passenger comfort

My wife drives a different system which can be described as "leave a good gap and don't drive near anyone driving erratically"

I don't mind overtaking on single carriageways, my wife rarely does. If I'm overtaking in NSL, I use the acceleration I deem appropriate with a terminal speed which isn't really related at all to the speed limit....

So far, neither of us have been involved in any collisions, except on the recieving end of slow speed rearenders.

So.... is my driving crap or is it just different driving styles?

[creampuff]

Mmm, I should clarify I do not just reduce the gap to 1 second if there is someone in Lane 3 going at a slower speed than I would like to. Also by 1 second gap, I mean a 1 second gap, ie about 6 car lengths @ 70mph not right up their chuff.

I keep a 2+ second gap for some time, then if nothing has happened then I may think about reducing the gap. Often in this situation the vehicle in Lane 3 will be an "overtake" of a train of cars in Lane 2, but with a +2mph (or similarly small) speed differential so that it takes a really, really long time. And often where there are gaps in Lane 2 where they could pull in, let people past, then pull back out into Lane 3 without changing speed. It's quite common that by this stage, a train of cars at various following distances would have built up behind me too.

[creampuff]

Nigel_O said:

You mention that you apply Roadcraft to your other driving habits - why have you decided that Roadcraft was wrong in this instance?

Because I've found from experience leaving a 2+ second gap means that they don't change to Lane 2 at all. As far as safety, for me to hit them, they would have to come to a dead stop almost instantaneously, which barring a meteorite suddenly creating a hole in the motorway in front of them, can't happen as I would only reduce the distance if I can see the traffic ahead and can see that there are no hazards. Strictly applying roadcraft, if I were to be able to come to a complete stop in the distance between me and the car in front at 70mph assuming it came to a dead stop instantaneously, I would need to leave around a 4-5 second gap including reaction time. There aren't many people who leave a 5 second gap at motorway speeds.

Basically the only circumstances where I do it are:
- I can see well ahead of the car in front
- I've been behind them for some time
- They could have moved to Lane 2 to let traffic pass and back to Lane 3 again without slowing down themselves and in addition they aren't really overtaking anyone

My impression (and it is just an impression since I can't tell what they are thinking) is that their thought process is along the lines of "I'm driving at 75mph, there are occasonal vehicles in Lane 2 doing 70mph, so I'll just cruise in Lane 3"

I find the idea of light flashing too aggressive. I like the idea of right indicator, I may try that.

[creampuff]

7db said:

Why haven't you passed them on the nearside?
- you say that there is plenty of room to tuck in an pass, which is the same as the space required to pass on the nearside
- you don't seem to be concerned about the legality of your actions

I don't like passing on the left:
- It's not legal
- It requires a greater distance of clear road (think about why, it is not the same amount of space)
- It's less safe and it's less predictable

[creampuff]

Nigel_O said:

Either way - 88 feet or 102 feet, the OP is going to end up running into the back of someone eventually, hence my request to know where he is and what he drives....

You are saying if I said grey Vectra, blue BMW or black Peugeot you would actually devote brain power and memory capacity, of the tens of thousands of cars on motorways in any given area to keep an eye out for me? Particularly as I mentioned a 1 second gap. You may not think this is sufficient, but it is in no way unusual either: if you look in any direction on a British motorway, you can find vehicles travelling with such a spacing. So disagree OK but say it is exceptional and otherwise unheard of, or even just uncommon, is just not true.

[creampuff]

[quote=MC BodgeAs you've discovered, large objects can be concealed by the brows of hills. Arguably, you should have anticipated and planned for this.

[/quote]

You can anticipate a stopped car on your side of the road over the crest of a hill, with another car oncoming and a hedge to your left, eliminating any escape options other than stopping. That's why you "drive at a speed where you can stop, on your own side of the road, in the distance you can see to be clear".

This person related cresting a hill and finding a 4WD towing a trailer rapidly approaching in his side of the road. You cannot plan for a car coming towards you, at high speed, on their wrong side of the road, on a blind overtake of another vehicle. For a start, there are some crests you would just never be able to approach at all if you had to consider this.