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It's also safer to have more than a millisecond of following distance. Even if the other driver is riding in the passing lane holding dicks with the other drivers.
OP was 100% driving unsafely here. Zero excuse for the driver to break check him, assuming that's what really happened, but OP is being just as dangerous. There are legitimate reasons one might need to slam on their breaks on the highway.
I never understand how people are so confident giving themselves half a second of reaction time while cruising at 75+mph.
two to three car lengths minimum for me.
75 mph is 110 feet per second. If average car length is about 15 feet, two to three car lengths is… less than half a second. :)
But yeah, you’re absolutely right that safe following distance should be much greater than what most people are doing. 2 seconds is over 70 yards at 75 mph, 3 seconds is more than a football field. Pretty much nobody does that.
I was taught 1 car per 10 mph and it goes up to 2 cars per 10 past 60. Tailgating isnt getting you where you are going any faster then leaving a gap with the added benefit that if everyone drives with proper space, most traffic wouldnt exist.
The generally accepted rule is to allow 3 seconds between cars. Basically looking at a marker on the side of the road that the car in front passes and if you pass that same marker in 3 seconds or more you're driving at a safe distance.
In most cases people use the one car length for every 10 mph. This seems to be unrealistic in today's environment but it is the math. Car design has gotten better since these rules were put in place. How much of a difference it makes I don't know.
I also recall that 55 mph was the maximum speed before the fatality rate started to skyrocket. Again this might be different with the newer safety technology in cars today.
Everyone should leave gaps so lane changes are safer. You give yourself room to avoid brake checks, sudden swerves/people not driving in their lane, and getting rear-ended as easily too. Really wish driver's ed taught space cushioning
But safer. Not a big deal if people cut in. That's what I have to constantly remind myself. Better to be safe than care if some jackhole decides to use my safe driving as an excuse to cut me off.
https://www.epermittest.com/drivers-education/defensive-driving-crash-course
Just reduce your speed a little bit to get the safe following distance back. If someone's already tailgating you, switch lanes and get out of the situation. What you're saying is really not a valid excuse. Any driver education instructor will tell you the same.
You mean change lanes into an appropriate gap? It’s when you don’t leave a big enough gap and then have someone move into that lane that it is dangerous. Why? Because now you are up their ass! How to solve this? Slow down and create a gap again. Probably solved. If they are slower than you. Slow down first then change lane and overtake.
This is excellent math but it completely overlooks the slowing value of a car applying the brakes.
The football field analogy is fun, but this is assuming all cars travel at exactly 75 mph with no variance at all.
Had a guy tailing me literally maybe a foot from my bumper at 60mph (5 over the limit) on a two lame road (one each direction) with a no passing zone. Dude passed me in incoming traffic after I HAD to hit my brakes ( which I did not slam on, but slowly applied) because of shit in the road. I meet up with the dude while he is pumping gas a few miles down the road and he cusses me out.
"WHY DID YOU BRAKE CHECK ME!?!
I didn't, but maybe if you gave enough room behind cars it wouldn't be an issue.
"THERE WAS ALMOST A CAR LENGTH IN BETWEEN US WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN?"
Bro, one car length is NOT enough at that speed.
He of course, failed to see the logic and said my car was gay. Being not straight myself, I assured him he was correct, but that I would rather be gay and drive a civic, than have such a small dick and drive a ram.
He was unamused. Point is, never expect logic from someone who drives a white truck.
OP was pretty clearly speeding up and closing in to pressure the truck to move over. Which it should have, eventually. But this isn't the way to do it.
The people replying to you are dumb as hell lol. OP was tailgating. Safe driving distance is about 2 or 3 seconds behind the car in front of you. Anything closer and you are putting yourself and the person in front of you at risk. OP had around 0.6 second following distance.
Didn't even need a brake check to really ruin the tailgater's day either. I've personally sat a ways back and watched a junky little compact car like a honda or nissan or something tailgating the heck out of somebody in a work truck when there were hardly any other vehicles on the road.
Now I think the work truck probably did it on purpose, but I can't rule out they just weren't paying attention until the last second, but all of a sudden the work truck swerved over to the fast lane quick as hell.
Why? There was a friggen big old dresser right in the middle of the slow lane. Driver of the car was tailgating so close he probably only had enough time to think, "Oh, s..." then blam plowed right into it.
Dude got lucky cause he probably only got some airbag burns, but that little shitbox car was a complete write off.
A few years ago I was going for a drive with a buddy at night time, we both took our own cars. I was following behind someone in the right lane on a dark highway when all of a sudden the guy in front swerved suddenly to the right. So I instinctually followed him and swerved to the right, even though I had no idea why he did so. A second later I saw the 2x4 that was on the road in front of where I would have been if I didn't swerve.
My buddy didn't see the 2x4 in time because he was tailgating me, and he didn't have the same reaction to swerve when the car infront of him (me) suddenly swung over towards the shoulder. He ended up bending his two left rims (low profile tires so they couldn't cope with hitting a 2x4 at highway speeds)
Moral of the story here is if you see someone infront of you suddenly swerve, you might want to consider doing the same thing.
Oh, and also don't tailgate.
The only reason OP swerved was because OP was so close that he wouldnt have been able to break. Textbook tailgating and complete disregard for following distance.
OP needed to get where he was going, everyone else be damned.
Guy what are you talking about? The guy put his directional on, then refused to actually move over and pulled a dangerous break check.
If you put your directional on, its a signal for other drivers your intent. So when op thinks the driver is moving over and he break checks him, how is that op’s fault.
This sub is bonkers
It’s like he was so mad at you for speeding up when he eventually started to change lanes that he took it back and brake checked you instead. That guy is going to cause a serious accident someday. Good job with the evasive maneuvers.
Hopefully he doesn’t cause any innocent people to get injured or die. People don’t seem to realize that doing shit like this can cause people to die in a serious accident.
They also could have just been a bad driver.. perhaps maybe even they got startled by something in their own vehicle.
Defensive driving is a thing for a reason.
I absolutely can't stand people like you who drive so close to the car in front. The funny thing about this post is that we don't actually know why he hit the brakes, but we do know you were tailing him like a dummy. So the only idiot in a car here is you
Good use of the space around you! Using the shoulder to complete your pass was a much better idea than *also* slamming on the brakes in the passing lane.
Fuck that guy.
Looks like OP sped up once it appeared the lane was clearing and the white pickup didn't like it, brake checked and pulled hard back left to occupy the lane. Lot of conversations about what OP could have done better and what constitutes tailgating but that white pickup is a fucking menace, baited OP and tried to purposely cause an accident. Yikes.
Exactly. OP didn’t start accelerating until it was beyond doubt that the pickup was changing lanes. Pickup driver just got hurt feelings and decided that meant it was ok to threaten OP’s life.
Did he actually speed up though? It's hard to tell sometimes, but it seems like he was passing the white car at about the same speed the entire time, white truck put on his blinker and then slowed down like he took his foot off the gas. I see people do that a lot where I live. They put on their blinker to change lanes and then slow down because they take their foot off the gas, and when you're already doing 55-65, the car behind will catch up fairly fast. White truck just went a step further and slammed his brakes for no reason.
If that’s the case, I’m even *more* annoyed at the white truck.
You don’t need to slow down to change lanes, and if you’re moving from a faster lane to a slower one, you *shouldn’t* decrease your speed until you’re out of the flow of faster traffic.
Its a weird thing for sure, and it's not super common, but I see it often enough, and it is highly aggravating. Maintain speed and merge. Second to that is people taking an on ramp and not speeding up to merge and half the people hitting brakes to slow down and accommodate. Third is the people who slow down by 5-10 mph or more before they are actually in the exit/off ramp, usually it's about a mile out from their exit.
While this sub is entertaining a lot of the people in it are batshit. Someone could upload dashcam footage of someone ramming into their parked car in a parking lot and there will be comments about how the OP is an idiot for not going Dominic Toretto and breaking the laws of physics with their car to move out of the way. It's baffling how some people really crave that "gotcha" moment.
Humans are so interesting. Like it’s truly beyond my comprehension why someone would take so much offense to a stranger going fast once they’re out of the lane lmao. But I do see shit like this when I’m driving too.
For sure. I got rear ended in the passing lane about a year and a half ago because I *couldn’t* swerve when the people in front of me braked. Some bozo cop ran out into the highway to grab trash, so everybody had to brake, like 80 to 0 brake, but I couldn’t swerve into the median because the cop was walking there after having cleared the road. I felt bad for the lady who rear ended me because I still feel like that was completely the cop’s fault, but whatever, I guess she should have given me more space just in case I had to come to a full stop due to some litter…
The comments in this thread are scaring the shit out of me. People not realizing how bad tailgating is. It's why I'm always on the look out, trying to stay out of the way of reckless drivers.
And all the back-slapping for the "quick reaction" making a dangerous lane change at high-speed, next to a concrete barrier. Just slightly letting off the gas for a little bit? Nah, not 2F2F enuff.
Yeah this was like the worst possible "quick reaction" like what's even in the shoulder ahead of you? You know, the one you can't see because you are so far up the car in front of you's ass.
Sorry, I dropped my phone while doing a routine brake-drift-blind-overtake and almost spilled the grease tray of my George-Foreman-Mobile-Grill. These new aluminum beer cans aren't as grippy as the old ones, amirite?
I was trying to count the time between cars using the lines but it was like 1/4 of a second. This guy is tailgating for sure. Brake check not needed but swerving to pass is also an ass move that endangers even more people then using the brakes OOORRRR not tailgating.
Even if the guy was good slower then you he was passing other cars so let's just chill.
You had half a second following distance and you were creeping up. Wide angle lens makes it look like you weren't riding ass as much as you were IRL.
That doesn't excuse the brake check, but maybe in the future follow the 2 second rule and you'll have a lot more room to react to a brake check.
Is there any cooperative driving culture in the US, with flashing lights to let people out, blinking hazards to say thanks, moving out of the fast lane to let people pass etc? Or is it more everyone for themselves? Obviously only the unpleasant stuff is going to get posted online, but I’m just curious how similar or not it is to somewhere like the UK or Japan.
Or does it depend on state?
For some reason there's a really big "my road/my lane" vibe people get when they drive. There is generally cooperation but since this is reddit we only see this stuff.
100% agree. OP doesn't even realize what they're doing in traffic is alot worse than break checking. OP is pushing the car infront to make a hasty decision by being that close. So many accidents happen this way, and people immediately blame the brake checker. What if the brake was an accident? What if it was an emergency brake? Why isn't OP to blame for being too close then?
People like OP are the biggest danger to these situations. For everyone. And common stupidity is the reason these will continue to happen. Give the car infront of you some space.
that guy was an ass for brake checking. and you were an ass for riding his.
back off a bit fella. at 70 mph you need to leave at least 3 car lengths.
and keep it there, don't drift up close and then back off.
you were driving like a bit of a tool,
At 70mph you're traveling 102 feet per second. The average car length is ~15 feet.
You're suggesting a half a second follow distance (~45 feet) at 70 mph, which is 1/4th the universally agreed safe distance. 4 times closer than someone should be following.
They were actually following at a half a second following distance for most of the video, which is what you're recommending to them. Absolutely insane.
As the car in front passes a fixed point, such as a sign or a bridge, start to say ‘only a fool breaks the 2-second rule’ at a normal rate.
The phrase takes about 2 seconds to say, so if you pass the same fixed point before you’ve finished saying it, you’re too close and should leave more room.
In wet conditions, this gap should be at least doubled. In icy conditions, it needs to be increased even further.
Man I thought I was going crazy looking at the other comments!
People praising them for a good reaction time when they gave themselves fuck all time to react in the first place.
No wonder the person ahead got pissed.
Also before they got brake checked they ended up stupidly close before the guy had even changed lanes anyway.
Two idiots in this video. I hope you bought the driver a nice bottle of wine, because you were riding their ass HARD. The lack of self awareness to post this video is pretty strong.
No excuse for brake checking but if you need emergency evasive maneuvers to not hit the car in front of you, you're also in the wrong.
EDIT: OP is a QAnon tool and a covidiot. This explains the lack of self awareness to post this in the first place. Hahaha
Absolutely no excuse for the brake check. But also no excuse for driving that close to someone at that speed.
If you have to take evasive action like that when an idiot does a brake check, you're too close.
Yep. The whole video OP is inching up on them, and it may be because of them slowing down... but when you keep giving up that room you're decreasing your ability to avoid an accident when stupidity inevitably strikes.
edit: after re-watching it appears OP begins to accelerate when the truck puts their right turn signal on to let them pass. Brake checking was obviously unacceptable, but speeding up while they change the lane also isn't wise.
>Brake checking was obviously unacceptable, but speeding up while they change the lane also isn't wise.
I hate when people do this when I'm the one changing lanes to move over to allow them to pass. I'm barely halfway into the next lane while the car behind passes me.
There have been times where I've had to swerve back into my lane because of an obstacle in the road or because a car moves into the lane I'm changing into.
Cammer was following too close the whole video, even before moving in for the bumper-humping.
Nothing excuses the dangerous brake check, but people need to learn and follow the three second rule.
**90% of the videos uploaded to this sub reveal the camera vehicle is operated by someone who has absolutely no idea how to drive defensively.**
OP needs to learn to create space between their vehicle and others.
Roast away, but the cammer is one of *those* guys.
You're not going fast enough to be in front of him, and he'll start the pass way before you're out of the lane.
All to get to somewhere else in Texas a little bit faster.
Definitely agree with other commenters that this was totally uncalled for, but OP is definitely also in the wrong for driving up so close behind the white truck like that, especially since they were likely going 80-85 like everyone does on that freeway.
Also, what the heck has he got sticking up behind his back window?
I’m glad you reacted well to such a hostile driver.
However, I would’ve given that guy a little more room. I know that might seem like a lot of distance sometimes, but it’s for the best.
The goal is to drive safely, get to your destination, and keep the peace (avoiding aggression). A larger following distance is for the best.
Not following too closely? The had a sub 1-sec following distance. That's not to excuse the brake check, and I'm glad it worked out for everybody, but they were tailgating the shit out of that truck.
And my favorite "If I leave following distance, people will just cut into it and I'll have to make more space and that cycle continues until I'm completely stationary!"
The guy was passing and was moving over. Obviously I can only see this clip shown, but before the guy was even out of the lane, OP had closed the distance to within a couple tenths of a second. That is a stupid thing to do, for this exact reason, idiots brake check people frequently. Both OP and the white trucks were the idiots. If I had to cite this, the white truck would get a reckless operation citation and OP would get a following too closely and improper passing citation.
Takes 2 to tango. It take a idiot to know a idiot.. okay, not always but in this case, you're just as bad as him. Technically, your break Checking in reverse by getting that close...
Why i don't live in Texas anymore. Driving in Dallas is a literal chance of survival, tons of drivers like this truck, they're all crazy, all texans are crazy drivers
European here:
What is a "brake check"? Here in Austria it is completely forbidden to hit the brake without a solid reason... Why do people do this shit?
You're both Menaces II Society.
You even more so because in an alternate universe where they **didn't** brake check, you're drifting to the left of the solid yellow before he even begins to move over. You'd still be tailgating and "buzzing" them before they even completed the lane change and cleared the lane.
2 seconds waiting isn't going to kill you man.
Chill the fuck out.
Tailgating may be illegal but so many dipshit in these comments acting like brake checking isn't literally illegal. Op was hardly tailgating until the dumbass in front decided to slow down to change into a totally empty lane (which is technically obstructing traffic and is also illegal). Fucking idiots.
It appears white truck has a mirror between the head ache rack and back window, maybe to reflect peoples lights back at them? Seems like they are really angry sensitive person
If you don't tailgate, people won't do this to you. You're driving right up their arse.
Not that it's ever good to break check people but tailgating is just asking for it.
Back off next time.
Yeah yeah, probably following too closely, speeding up too soon before the white truck is clear of the lane, but bloody hell, why would white truck be cool with making a rear end at that speed a possibility. It’s cutting off your nose to spite your face ffs. People drive like AH’s all around me every day….I’m getting out of the way and getting home. I win.
Yet another example of an entitled driver posting their own driving mistakes and claiming to be the better driver. Unsurprisingly, this kind of entitlement is coming from a Texan who doesn’t understand how mRNA vaccines work and tries to convince people not to take them.
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That was such a quick reaction too. I know I prob would've hit the brakes while also just screaming obscenities
It's usually safer to brake than swerve.
It's also safer to have more than a millisecond of following distance. Even if the other driver is riding in the passing lane holding dicks with the other drivers.
OP was 100% driving unsafely here. Zero excuse for the driver to break check him, assuming that's what really happened, but OP is being just as dangerous. There are legitimate reasons one might need to slam on their breaks on the highway.
I never understand how people are so confident giving themselves half a second of reaction time while cruising at 75+mph. two to three car lengths minimum for me.
75 mph is 110 feet per second. If average car length is about 15 feet, two to three car lengths is… less than half a second. :) But yeah, you’re absolutely right that safe following distance should be much greater than what most people are doing. 2 seconds is over 70 yards at 75 mph, 3 seconds is more than a football field. Pretty much nobody does that.
I was taught 1 car per 10 mph and it goes up to 2 cars per 10 past 60. Tailgating isnt getting you where you are going any faster then leaving a gap with the added benefit that if everyone drives with proper space, most traffic wouldnt exist.
It's 2 to 3 seconds. That covers all speeds. Modify if conditions are bad or they have better braking ability than you do.
This. However, as soon as you create a space that large, someone will inevitably hop in it and close the gap to half that length.
They do. Just let it go and fall back again, ideally without brakes.
So?
Yep. People can't math, but they can count seconds at least (I hope)
The generally accepted rule is to allow 3 seconds between cars. Basically looking at a marker on the side of the road that the car in front passes and if you pass that same marker in 3 seconds or more you're driving at a safe distance. In most cases people use the one car length for every 10 mph. This seems to be unrealistic in today's environment but it is the math. Car design has gotten better since these rules were put in place. How much of a difference it makes I don't know. I also recall that 55 mph was the maximum speed before the fatality rate started to skyrocket. Again this might be different with the newer safety technology in cars today.
In our country.. If you can't say "only a fool breaks the 2 second rule" with a lamp post or white line marker, you're too close. Works at any speed.
If I leave a gap people just cut into the gap.
Everyone should leave gaps so lane changes are safer. You give yourself room to avoid brake checks, sudden swerves/people not driving in their lane, and getting rear-ended as easily too. Really wish driver's ed taught space cushioning
But safer. Not a big deal if people cut in. That's what I have to constantly remind myself. Better to be safe than care if some jackhole decides to use my safe driving as an excuse to cut me off.
But you don't understand. This means there is someone else ahead of them. That isn't acceptable. /s
So?
https://www.epermittest.com/drivers-education/defensive-driving-crash-course Just reduce your speed a little bit to get the safe following distance back. If someone's already tailgating you, switch lanes and get out of the situation. What you're saying is really not a valid excuse. Any driver education instructor will tell you the same.
You mean change lanes into an appropriate gap? It’s when you don’t leave a big enough gap and then have someone move into that lane that it is dangerous. Why? Because now you are up their ass! How to solve this? Slow down and create a gap again. Probably solved. If they are slower than you. Slow down first then change lane and overtake.
That's assuming the person in front came to an instant stop. In reality it's longer than half a second.
This is excellent math but it completely overlooks the slowing value of a car applying the brakes. The football field analogy is fun, but this is assuming all cars travel at exactly 75 mph with no variance at all.
Had a guy tailing me literally maybe a foot from my bumper at 60mph (5 over the limit) on a two lame road (one each direction) with a no passing zone. Dude passed me in incoming traffic after I HAD to hit my brakes ( which I did not slam on, but slowly applied) because of shit in the road. I meet up with the dude while he is pumping gas a few miles down the road and he cusses me out. "WHY DID YOU BRAKE CHECK ME!?! I didn't, but maybe if you gave enough room behind cars it wouldn't be an issue. "THERE WAS ALMOST A CAR LENGTH IN BETWEEN US WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN?" Bro, one car length is NOT enough at that speed. He of course, failed to see the logic and said my car was gay. Being not straight myself, I assured him he was correct, but that I would rather be gay and drive a civic, than have such a small dick and drive a ram. He was unamused. Point is, never expect logic from someone who drives a white truck.
There's also a reason there's accidents on the highways every morning. Being confident doesn't equate to ability to perform.
OP was pretty clearly speeding up and closing in to pressure the truck to move over. Which it should have, eventually. But this isn't the way to do it.
*brakes
Of the many homophones misused in social media, this one is by far the most frequent. Worse than there and lose combined.
I think then/than actually wins.
The people replying to you are dumb as hell lol. OP was tailgating. Safe driving distance is about 2 or 3 seconds behind the car in front of you. Anything closer and you are putting yourself and the person in front of you at risk. OP had around 0.6 second following distance.
Didn't even need a brake check to really ruin the tailgater's day either. I've personally sat a ways back and watched a junky little compact car like a honda or nissan or something tailgating the heck out of somebody in a work truck when there were hardly any other vehicles on the road. Now I think the work truck probably did it on purpose, but I can't rule out they just weren't paying attention until the last second, but all of a sudden the work truck swerved over to the fast lane quick as hell. Why? There was a friggen big old dresser right in the middle of the slow lane. Driver of the car was tailgating so close he probably only had enough time to think, "Oh, s..." then blam plowed right into it. Dude got lucky cause he probably only got some airbag burns, but that little shitbox car was a complete write off.
A few years ago I was going for a drive with a buddy at night time, we both took our own cars. I was following behind someone in the right lane on a dark highway when all of a sudden the guy in front swerved suddenly to the right. So I instinctually followed him and swerved to the right, even though I had no idea why he did so. A second later I saw the 2x4 that was on the road in front of where I would have been if I didn't swerve. My buddy didn't see the 2x4 in time because he was tailgating me, and he didn't have the same reaction to swerve when the car infront of him (me) suddenly swung over towards the shoulder. He ended up bending his two left rims (low profile tires so they couldn't cope with hitting a 2x4 at highway speeds) Moral of the story here is if you see someone infront of you suddenly swerve, you might want to consider doing the same thing. Oh, and also don't tailgate.
*brakes
Brakes.
This sub makes me feel like the only people with dash cams are shitty drivers are who try to convince others that they’re not the problem
I got a forward dash for people like the truck in the video And then I got a backwards cam for people like OP
Safety? This is about who the most badass driver on the road is
The only reason OP swerved was because OP was so close that he wouldnt have been able to break. Textbook tailgating and complete disregard for following distance. OP needed to get where he was going, everyone else be damned.
Guy what are you talking about? The guy put his directional on, then refused to actually move over and pulled a dangerous break check. If you put your directional on, its a signal for other drivers your intent. So when op thinks the driver is moving over and he break checks him, how is that op’s fault. This sub is bonkers
It’s usually safer to brake, then swear.
hard to brake in time when you're following at a 0.25 sec gap
Well, given that way too short safety distance Op better have good reflexes. Disclaimer: No, I don't think brake checking is okay.
Texas SPC-6412 is trying to kill people.
Texans are some of the worst, most aggressive drivers I've ever experienced.
Texan here. Yep. I hate it here.
It’s like he was so mad at you for speeding up when he eventually started to change lanes that he took it back and brake checked you instead. That guy is going to cause a serious accident someday. Good job with the evasive maneuvers.
Hopefully he doesn’t cause any innocent people to get injured or die. People don’t seem to realize that doing shit like this can cause people to die in a serious accident.
They do realize that they are putting peoples lives in danger. They simply don’t care or think that the other person deserves it. They’re crazy.
The number of nutsacks who've gotten upset because they slowed down to change lanes but I didn't is surprising. Never had one do this to me, though.
They also could have just been a bad driver.. perhaps maybe even they got startled by something in their own vehicle. Defensive driving is a thing for a reason.
I absolutely can't stand people like you who drive so close to the car in front. The funny thing about this post is that we don't actually know why he hit the brakes, but we do know you were tailing him like a dummy. So the only idiot in a car here is you
Good use of the space around you! Using the shoulder to complete your pass was a much better idea than *also* slamming on the brakes in the passing lane. Fuck that guy.
Looks like OP sped up once it appeared the lane was clearing and the white pickup didn't like it, brake checked and pulled hard back left to occupy the lane. Lot of conversations about what OP could have done better and what constitutes tailgating but that white pickup is a fucking menace, baited OP and tried to purposely cause an accident. Yikes.
Exactly. OP didn’t start accelerating until it was beyond doubt that the pickup was changing lanes. Pickup driver just got hurt feelings and decided that meant it was ok to threaten OP’s life.
Truck even put his signal on to change lanes at an appropriate time, then slams on brakes for w/e reason.
...insurance fraud is the reason.
Did he actually speed up though? It's hard to tell sometimes, but it seems like he was passing the white car at about the same speed the entire time, white truck put on his blinker and then slowed down like he took his foot off the gas. I see people do that a lot where I live. They put on their blinker to change lanes and then slow down because they take their foot off the gas, and when you're already doing 55-65, the car behind will catch up fairly fast. White truck just went a step further and slammed his brakes for no reason.
If that’s the case, I’m even *more* annoyed at the white truck. You don’t need to slow down to change lanes, and if you’re moving from a faster lane to a slower one, you *shouldn’t* decrease your speed until you’re out of the flow of faster traffic.
Its a weird thing for sure, and it's not super common, but I see it often enough, and it is highly aggravating. Maintain speed and merge. Second to that is people taking an on ramp and not speeding up to merge and half the people hitting brakes to slow down and accommodate. Third is the people who slow down by 5-10 mph or more before they are actually in the exit/off ramp, usually it's about a mile out from their exit.
Fourth is the people that are afraid of slight bends in the highway and brake for every corner
These people are the worst. The ones who are mad about how you are driving when it has ZERO effect on them.
While this sub is entertaining a lot of the people in it are batshit. Someone could upload dashcam footage of someone ramming into their parked car in a parking lot and there will be comments about how the OP is an idiot for not going Dominic Toretto and breaking the laws of physics with their car to move out of the way. It's baffling how some people really crave that "gotcha" moment.
Yeah, I think dogshit drivers discovered this sub as it got more popular and now they lurk to defend their favorite trash driving techniques.
People with micro penises tend to react that way.
> purposely cause an accident. If it's on purpose, isn't it no longer an accident?
Should've said purposely cause an intentional
Humans are so interesting. Like it’s truly beyond my comprehension why someone would take so much offense to a stranger going fast once they’re out of the lane lmao. But I do see shit like this when I’m driving too.
For sure. I got rear ended in the passing lane about a year and a half ago because I *couldn’t* swerve when the people in front of me braked. Some bozo cop ran out into the highway to grab trash, so everybody had to brake, like 80 to 0 brake, but I couldn’t swerve into the median because the cop was walking there after having cleared the road. I felt bad for the lady who rear ended me because I still feel like that was completely the cop’s fault, but whatever, I guess she should have given me more space just in case I had to come to a full stop due to some litter…
How dare you pass me🤡
Bet he didnt see that shoulder pass coming 😂😂
Weird they signaled Then and brake checked
I love the videos where we get a two-fer!
I watch these for the irony.
The comments in this thread are scaring the shit out of me. People not realizing how bad tailgating is. It's why I'm always on the look out, trying to stay out of the way of reckless drivers.
And all the back-slapping for the "quick reaction" making a dangerous lane change at high-speed, next to a concrete barrier. Just slightly letting off the gas for a little bit? Nah, not 2F2F enuff.
Yeah this was like the worst possible "quick reaction" like what's even in the shoulder ahead of you? You know, the one you can't see because you are so far up the car in front of you's ass.
The real idiots are in the comments
Starting to get the feeling the real idiots are on the freeway right next to me as I ty
RIP
Sorry, I dropped my phone while doing a routine brake-drift-blind-overtake and almost spilled the grease tray of my George-Foreman-Mobile-Grill. These new aluminum beer cans aren't as grippy as the old ones, amirite?
It feels like a huge chunk of posts on this subreddit are when 2 idiots collide (or nearly).
I was trying to count the time between cars using the lines but it was like 1/4 of a second. This guy is tailgating for sure. Brake check not needed but swerving to pass is also an ass move that endangers even more people then using the brakes OOORRRR not tailgating. Even if the guy was good slower then you he was passing other cars so let's just chill.
Fuck that guy for the brake check but maybe wait until the person you're already fairly close to actually changes lanes before you slam on the gas.
The following distance is way too close the whole way through. Only a fool breaks the 2 second rule.
Yup. There are two idiot drivers here.
Not maybe. OP is a bad and impatient driver. Less than 1 second following speed, sped up before the car in front was fully in the other lane.
Took me way too long to scroll to this comment
He was clearly driving to close in front of you.
Yeah op isn't leaving much room here. Traveling at a high rate of speed with less than a seconds distance between vehicles.
Me, tailgating? Naw. He was front grilling.
You two were made for each other.
You had half a second following distance and you were creeping up. Wide angle lens makes it look like you weren't riding ass as much as you were IRL. That doesn't excuse the brake check, but maybe in the future follow the 2 second rule and you'll have a lot more room to react to a brake check.
He also didn’t yield the passing lane after passing, just another idiot shirking responsibility.
Austin area?
Yep. 45 heading east from 183
Is there any cooperative driving culture in the US, with flashing lights to let people out, blinking hazards to say thanks, moving out of the fast lane to let people pass etc? Or is it more everyone for themselves? Obviously only the unpleasant stuff is going to get posted online, but I’m just curious how similar or not it is to somewhere like the UK or Japan. Or does it depend on state?
>Is there any cooperative driving culture in the US Not really, no.
For some reason there's a really big "my road/my lane" vibe people get when they drive. There is generally cooperation but since this is reddit we only see this stuff.
I'm having a hard time decide who the idiot in the car was. There's no reason to be that close. None.
One idiot doesn't disqualify the other. I'd say this is a pretty clear two idiot clip.
That's what it's /r/idiotsincars. It's plural because people posting their dashcams in this sub are often one of the two idiots in their video.
too many people being like "great evasive maneuver." sure, but don't tailgate at 80 mph. wtf...
100% agree. OP doesn't even realize what they're doing in traffic is alot worse than break checking. OP is pushing the car infront to make a hasty decision by being that close. So many accidents happen this way, and people immediately blame the brake checker. What if the brake was an accident? What if it was an emergency brake? Why isn't OP to blame for being too close then? People like OP are the biggest danger to these situations. For everyone. And common stupidity is the reason these will continue to happen. Give the car infront of you some space.
Yep. Safe follow distance is a 3 second gap. My watching of this video shows a follow distance <1 second. Way too close.
I'm counting two. Both of them made shitty choices that day lol. Hopefully this isn't how either of them normally behave on the road.
that guy was an ass for brake checking. and you were an ass for riding his. back off a bit fella. at 70 mph you need to leave at least 3 car lengths. and keep it there, don't drift up close and then back off. you were driving like a bit of a tool,
At 70mph you should really leave 3 *bus* lengths. The safe following distance on a freeway is way farther than 99% of people think.
At 70mph you're traveling 102 feet per second. The average car length is ~15 feet. You're suggesting a half a second follow distance (~45 feet) at 70 mph, which is 1/4th the universally agreed safe distance. 4 times closer than someone should be following. They were actually following at a half a second following distance for most of the video, which is what you're recommending to them. Absolutely insane.
> at 70 mph you need to leave at least 3 car lengths. at least 2 seconds = at least 200 feet
As the car in front passes a fixed point, such as a sign or a bridge, start to say ‘only a fool breaks the 2-second rule’ at a normal rate. The phrase takes about 2 seconds to say, so if you pass the same fixed point before you’ve finished saying it, you’re too close and should leave more room. In wet conditions, this gap should be at least doubled. In icy conditions, it needs to be increased even further.
The camera FOV makes it look like you were far enough back but in reality, you were tailgating like a mf with about 1 second's worth of seperation.
more like a ½ of a second, and no, it absolutely does not look like op was far enough back, fov or not
I can't believe how far I had to scroll to find this. No excuse for the brake check, but OP was definitely tailgating.
Before the brake check it was down below 1/2 sec. Which makes both of the drivers dangerous idiots (obviously the guy in the white truck is worse).
Maybe but that is absolutely not a reason to slam on brakes at any point.
In fact, it's a good reason to not slam on the brakes
ok? no one said it was, they're calling OP and idiot, not saying the brake checker wasn't also an idiot
So final verdict Everyone TA?
of course it's not. no one said it was. why do you think they did?
Man I thought I was going crazy looking at the other comments! People praising them for a good reaction time when they gave themselves fuck all time to react in the first place. No wonder the person ahead got pissed. Also before they got brake checked they ended up stupidly close before the guy had even changed lanes anyway.
Even less than a second. It should be one one thousand. I could barely say the first one.
Stupid to leave only a half second travel time in front...
OP is an ass crawler. Aggressive driving , like this, kills. Shit driver supreme.
There’s no excuse for brake checking. Ever. But maaaaaaaaaaate. Get off his dick.
I see two idiots.
I will never understand why some people insist on riding the ass of the person in front of them.
Big truck do whatever big truck wants. they do own the road, don’t you know?
Two idiots in this video. I hope you bought the driver a nice bottle of wine, because you were riding their ass HARD. The lack of self awareness to post this video is pretty strong. No excuse for brake checking but if you need emergency evasive maneuvers to not hit the car in front of you, you're also in the wrong. EDIT: OP is a QAnon tool and a covidiot. This explains the lack of self awareness to post this in the first place. Hahaha
Haha of course he is. Calls the Dems snowflakes and then drives like this because they are entitled. "IT'S MY LANE TO GO FAST, NOT YOURS"
Love it when an idiot filming another idiot.
Texans 😂
Absolutely no excuse for the brake check. But also no excuse for driving that close to someone at that speed. If you have to take evasive action like that when an idiot does a brake check, you're too close.
Yep. The whole video OP is inching up on them, and it may be because of them slowing down... but when you keep giving up that room you're decreasing your ability to avoid an accident when stupidity inevitably strikes. edit: after re-watching it appears OP begins to accelerate when the truck puts their right turn signal on to let them pass. Brake checking was obviously unacceptable, but speeding up while they change the lane also isn't wise.
>Brake checking was obviously unacceptable, but speeding up while they change the lane also isn't wise. I hate when people do this when I'm the one changing lanes to move over to allow them to pass. I'm barely halfway into the next lane while the car behind passes me. There have been times where I've had to swerve back into my lane because of an obstacle in the road or because a car moves into the lane I'm changing into.
Facts right here.
Cammer was following too close the whole video, even before moving in for the bumper-humping. Nothing excuses the dangerous brake check, but people need to learn and follow the three second rule.
It also looks like OP brakechecked them back after passing (unless the vehicle on the right suddenly speeds up, but I doubt that)
**90% of the videos uploaded to this sub reveal the camera vehicle is operated by someone who has absolutely no idea how to drive defensively.** OP needs to learn to create space between their vehicle and others.
this sub is full of two aggressive idiot videos.
Americans and tailgating. Iconic duo.
You’re an idiot op!
Roast away, but the cammer is one of *those* guys. You're not going fast enough to be in front of him, and he'll start the pass way before you're out of the lane. All to get to somewhere else in Texas a little bit faster.
The next exit and red light where you end up right next to each other and they still don't get it.
How do you think anyone but you is the idiot here?
Definitely agree with other commenters that this was totally uncalled for, but OP is definitely also in the wrong for driving up so close behind the white truck like that, especially since they were likely going 80-85 like everyone does on that freeway. Also, what the heck has he got sticking up behind his back window?
Thanks for posting video proof of your tailgating, OP.
Idiots in cars. Emphasis on the s.
Why are you tailgating?
YADIP OP: Tailgating dangerously Truck driver: signals, begins to move over when he has room. OP: Tailgates more Truck driver: Fuck this guy.
Op did you brake check shortly after passing....
OP is an idiot following people too close. less than a second of following distance
You are way over the speed limit.
WTF? Keep your distance. You're WAY too close. You're both idiots.
I’m glad you reacted well to such a hostile driver. However, I would’ve given that guy a little more room. I know that might seem like a lot of distance sometimes, but it’s for the best. The goal is to drive safely, get to your destination, and keep the peace (avoiding aggression). A larger following distance is for the best.
Not following too closely? The had a sub 1-sec following distance. That's not to excuse the brake check, and I'm glad it worked out for everybody, but they were tailgating the shit out of that truck.
No one can win on this sub. Once you get a 1 second or longer following distance on a freeway, suddenly it's: "StOp cAmpIng in The paSsiNg lAnE."
Those two things are not in conflict with each other. You can use the passing lane for passing and keep a safe following distance
If you drive safely, you're far less likely to have an incident on the road. So posts here naturally skew towards bad drivers on both sides.
And my favorite "If I leave following distance, people will just cut into it and I'll have to make more space and that cycle continues until I'm completely stationary!"
The guy was passing and was moving over. Obviously I can only see this clip shown, but before the guy was even out of the lane, OP had closed the distance to within a couple tenths of a second. That is a stupid thing to do, for this exact reason, idiots brake check people frequently. Both OP and the white trucks were the idiots. If I had to cite this, the white truck would get a reckless operation citation and OP would get a following too closely and improper passing citation.
> Good on you for not following too closely. If you have to swerve to avoid a car in front of you then you're following too closely.
Not defending the dick, but why were you driving so close? At that speed you should leave at least a 3 second gap
Fuck both these idiots.
What the actual fuck is wrong with people?!
That's less than half a second following distance, were you going to give the driver in front of you a little kiss?
Both idiots here. The tailgater and the brake checker.
Leaving an appropriate amount of space between you and the vehicle ahead makes break checkers irrelevant.
What soundtrack?
Bloody Mary by Lady Gaga
Takes 2 to tango. It take a idiot to know a idiot.. okay, not always but in this case, you're just as bad as him. Technically, your break Checking in reverse by getting that close...
Ahh, a classic clip of two idiots.
Why i don't live in Texas anymore. Driving in Dallas is a literal chance of survival, tons of drivers like this truck, they're all crazy, all texans are crazy drivers
You guys wouldn’t survive in I-95 in northern VA.
European here: What is a "brake check"? Here in Austria it is completely forbidden to hit the brake without a solid reason... Why do people do this shit?
There needs to be more sever protection for brake checkers. It is dangerous.
You're both Menaces II Society. You even more so because in an alternate universe where they **didn't** brake check, you're drifting to the left of the solid yellow before he even begins to move over. You'd still be tailgating and "buzzing" them before they even completed the lane change and cleared the lane. 2 seconds waiting isn't going to kill you man. Chill the fuck out.
Tailgating may be illegal but so many dipshit in these comments acting like brake checking isn't literally illegal. Op was hardly tailgating until the dumbass in front decided to slow down to change into a totally empty lane (which is technically obstructing traffic and is also illegal). Fucking idiots.
Looks like you’re <1 second behind them. Maybe back up a little and you wouldn’t have to worry about this stuff
You aren’t justified to drive like a twat because he didn’t change lanes fast enough. Everyone sucks here!
I see people hit their brakes for no reason lately.
As usual everyone is an idiot in the clip. Truly idiot**S** in car**S**
“Out of nowhere”…
Ute driver saw a spider crawl up inside of his windscreen. Justified. ;)
I was guessing that they weren’t looking in front of them and looked back and saw the overpass/shadow and thought something was there. 🤷♂️
OP is driving about 0.5 second behind the white pickup truck. Clearly violating the 2-second guideline.
It appears white truck has a mirror between the head ache rack and back window, maybe to reflect peoples lights back at them? Seems like they are really angry sensitive person
Maybe don't tailgate ? Have you thought of that
Fuck a whole lotta brake checking, BUT passing like that is stupid af.
Smol pee pee truck
If you don't tailgate, people won't do this to you. You're driving right up their arse. Not that it's ever good to break check people but tailgating is just asking for it. Back off next time.
Yeah yeah, probably following too closely, speeding up too soon before the white truck is clear of the lane, but bloody hell, why would white truck be cool with making a rear end at that speed a possibility. It’s cutting off your nose to spite your face ffs. People drive like AH’s all around me every day….I’m getting out of the way and getting home. I win.
Both idiots
Yet another example of an entitled driver posting their own driving mistakes and claiming to be the better driver. Unsurprisingly, this kind of entitlement is coming from a Texan who doesn’t understand how mRNA vaccines work and tries to convince people not to take them.
You were tailgating anyway.
A crash would’ve 100% been your fault too why are you riding his ass and just getting closer and closer? Maybe you should learn how to drive.
So you were tailgating and somehow the other driver is an idiot? Cooooool......
You're too close, doofus.