Leave a buffer for your bumper: Study contradicts practice of traffic light tailgating

science news ^ | November 27, 2017 | Virginia Tech

[sparklite2]

The inspiration for the research first came to Boreyko when he was sitting in traffic one day. Noticing that cars had to wait for the car in front of them to regain a safe spacing before they could start moving again, he hypothesized that, contrary to popular opinion, it might actually be better for cars to stop farther apart from each other when idling at a traffic light.

Analysis showed that the time required for all cars to pass through remained relatively fixed, give or take about one second, for spacing distances up to 25 feet.

[outofsalt]

I don’t care if people drive 20 or 30 miles over the speed limit so long as they stay in the slow lane to the right so I can pass them;)

[sjmjax]

That’s my big complaint about this practice.

[Christopher]

Illinois just recently passed a law allowing motorcyclists to proceed through a red light in just such instances. Most Harleys and cruisers have enough mass to trigger the sensor, but sportbikes, scooters and UJMs are iffy, at best.

I remember many times coming off an afternoon shift when I would get caught at one particular light. Waiting for a car to show up to trip the sensor. Seemed like forever.

[right way right]

“I don’t care if people drive 20 or 30 miles over the speed limit so long as they stay in the slow lane to the right so I can pass them;)”

That’s what I do to the guy after he finally moves over.
Get away, the guy is a hazard! Buzzz!
Then I see a cop with Radar pointed at me.

I actually did beat a ticket when I told the judge that I considered a driver a hazard and wanted to get away.

I think that, and the fact that the officer did not show was why it was dropped.

I was not lying, I guess the judge agreed with my reason to pass.

Contest all tickets even, if guilty show remorse.
I once got up in front of a Judge and told him I planned on changing my lead foot ways.
He gave me a years probation.
No Tickets for one year and he would drop it.
I did it.
I did not mention the one ticket that I got a few weeks before the day and was not on the record yet. (Doh!)

[Vaquero]

Every situation is different. I can see letting someone in. If they are stopped anyway. If they stop to let someone in when traffic is moving and the person is not sure whether to go or not and there are 10 cars waiting. And the light is about to change back to red....that’s a recipe for road rage.

[ChildOfThe60s]

On the Harley, I’m watching my rear mirror all the time, at a light.

Ditto. Trust no one. Plan your escape.

[Dr. Sivana]

No, the article pointed out that it takes the same number of seconds for the same line to move through the light, whether the cars are more closely parked or further away.

Here in Georgia, there are a lot of six lane roads on major thoroughfares. This makes for complex advance green arrows, advance yellow arrows, flashing yellow arrows. In many cases during rush hour, the cars are backed up light to light, and sometimes for more than one cycle of changes. If the drivers are all courteous and leave that kind of room, the backups may still spill all the way back into the school zone, as the cars that are a light back may wind up being stuck for another as they may have the red light at the time that they would have been going on the green at the next intersection.

['smith]

Here in Albuquerque we leave enough space to jump the curb and avoid the car-jacker until we can get our own gun out.

[sparklite2]

It might have been in Memphis, I’m not sure, but the main thoroughfare downtown had 8 lanes with a traffic light over each lane so that all lanes were reversible to handle rush hour traffic going one way in the morning then the other way in the evening.

I was a dopey tourist who thought he could beat six lanes of traffic with a left turn before they entered the intersection.

This proved to be an error. LOL

[Ozark Tom]

Strong impact will lift foot off the brake pedal.

[Howie66]

At a traffic stop, I ALWAYS leave enough space where I can see pavement under the rear bumper (if present) of the vehicle in front of me. Plenty of room to maneuver in an emergency, yet not enough room for a line cutter.

[Ozark Tom]

Crush zones designed to absorb energy say no-go to the idea a car will act as a billiard ball.

[Does so]

I also practice keeping my wheels aligned straight ahead when waiting to execute a left turn across oncoming traffic.

Good idea—I've done the same for many years. Two more rules I follow:

2) If someone is going to hammer my trunk, I'll creep up and touch the car ahead. (If there is a vehicle ahead). While my trunk and hood will absorb most of the crushing damage, the mass of the car ahead will reduce the impact experienced at my neck level (and at the neck of the driver ahead). The inattentive driver behind us deserves the full impact of two cars' mass.

3) I encourage ALL fuel-trucks to pass me—even pulling into the breakdown lane as incentive to passing. Wide-Load marked trucks also get the same break from me.

[Vaquero]

Here in Albuquerque we leave enough space to jump the curb and avoid the car-jacker until we can get our own gun out.

Better Call Saul...

[HartleyMBaldwin]

“I also practice keeping my wheels aligned straight ahead when waiting to execute a left turn across oncoming traffic. If someone slams into my rear, I won’t go sailing into the path of the oncoming vehicles.”

Very good practice. I remember reading about an 18-year-old girl being killed by being rear-ended and pushed into oncoming traffic. That happened in Tucson quite a few years ago.

[bunkerhill7]

cf ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2017‎ ‎7‎:‎45‎:‎27‎ ‎PM · 73 of 75 Does so to NEMDF; bunkerhill7 "Good idea—I've done the same for many years. Two more rules I follow: 2) If someone is going to hammer my trunk, I'll creep up and touch the car ahead. (If there is a vehicle ahead). While my trunk and hood will absorb most of the crushing damage, the mass of the car ahead will reduce the impact experienced at my neck level (and at the neck of the driver ahead). The inattentive driver behind us deserves the full impact of two cars' mass."

[Figment]

I hate when two or three cars are pulling this crap and keeping cars from getting to the left turn lane

[Haiku Guy]

I drive into a blighted urban area every day. I always leave a couple of car lengths so I can move up to avoid panhandlers or get the Hell out of Dodge if things go sideways.

I made the mistake of leaving no room once in East New York. A man chased his wife out the front door of a house immediately to my right and was waving a nickel plated .45 around. I was completely hemmed in. All I could do was wait for the light to turn.

I’ve never done that again.

[IWONDR]

“If someone is going to hammer my trunk, I’ll creep up and touch the car ahead. (If there is a vehicle ahead). While my trunk and hood will absorb most of the crushing damage, the mass of the car ahead will reduce the impact experienced at my neck level (and at the neck of the driver ahead). The inattentive driver behind us deserves the full impact of two cars’ mass.”

makes a lot of sense, but what will your auto insurance company say about you not leaving enough space between you and the car in front to prevent rear-ending the car in front when you yourself are rear-ended?

[redfreedom]

“- - - - three cars from lanes beside you will pull into the space you created.”

Same scenario on ice. On icy roads, you gotta keep a greater distance between vehicles. Whenever I pull back 50 or so feet, other cars will skid, slide and do a few loop-de-loops just to fill in that space. It’s safer to drive in the ditch.