Why since the police reconise that taigating is a bigger threat to safety by far than speed on its own, can't a system be devised that would simply read speed, distance between vehicles, and "snap" the tailgater?
I know I could not get caught - I don't do it. Obviously the space around you, ahead, at the side and importantly at the rear is your safe zone.
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automated systems are not the way ahead, im afraid human beings should have the say so after talking to the driver on whether to prosecute or not...
it should be fairly easy to fit a distance detector to the rear of unmarked traffic cars, anyone getting too close behind could be talked to
its often quite hard to keep a sensible braking distance as people will keep pulling in front of you, and sometimes you can only keep what the other traffic will bear...
but the worst culprits driving up the outside line literally an inch from the car in front should be locked up imho, these people should already be easy to pick out from an unmarked traffic car, however they are never ever prosecuted for this as far as i can see
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I'd be interested to hear of some effective method of warning off the unimaginative who tailgate and seem to be trying to get into your boot.
The options are fairly limited, it's tempting but obviously not on to touch your brakes - it could all go horribly wrong.
I really don't know what's wrong with these people, how on earth do they think they can cope if one of my tyres blows out or if I encounter a cow round the next corner (it happens here).
The only thing that I can do when it becomes outrageous is to turn on my hazard lights for a few seconds. It usually causes the tailgater to fall back a bit and sometimes it gets the message across but most times the offender is back again.
I can't recall hearing of the police catching anyone for this, they should turn their attention to this less profitable but more badly needed area of enforcement than the mindless pursuit of speeders regardless of the circumstances.
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I agree - I don't like mechanical surveillance any more than you. it's just
that I believe that speed on its own has nothing to do with safety at all -
only in the wrong circumstances.
Tailgating on the other hand has everything against it. It is plain stupid
to drive at a distance from the car in front which is less than that needed
to react, at least enough to begin evasive action should a problem occur
ahead. If a car "inserts" itself in front of you, DROP BACK. Do you WANT to
have an accident? (of course there is no such thing as an accident - human
error is almost always the cause.Brake failure is far less likely than brain
fade!)
I started driving in 1963 - and had a few years of pre 70 limit driving. I
use a radar detector now. I was taught by a police instructor , to "drive
quicker than traffic around you" as a safety factor - it increases
concentration.. He gave much good advice about thinking ahead and road
positioning, defensive driving, etc., also to practice "commentary drives" -
and I still do them occasionally today. I think you've lost the plot when
you can't remember pretty well exactly the last mile all the time or don't
know what's behind you in all lanes (at least in daylight!)
From what I see, mindless lack of concentration and driving too closely to
the vehicle in front are the biggest dangers, whatever the speed.
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People who sit in the outside lane at what they think is 70 MPH when there is nobody in the inside lane should be prosecuted for being a pain in the bum.
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CJ
You are right about driving faster than surrounding traffic being an aid to safety in some circumstances, you can concentrate more on what's in front and not so much on your rear end. The system fails, however, if everybody is trying to do the same thing.
I would add poor observation to your list of biggest dangers, although that may be what you meant by lack of concentration.
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One would have thought that by now there would be a commercially available system that senses the distance from your car to the one in front, and gives the driver a warning of some sort if you are within a preset range. A quick search with Google for things like ultrasonic or infrared sensors with a suitable range shows they are not much money - I should have imagined an electronics DIYer could cobble something together for a few tens of pounds. I toyed with the idea of one of those parking sensors mounted on the front, but of course they measure such a short distance they wouldn't be practical.
Wasn't there talk of top end Mercs having such a thing recently, or am I imagining things?
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I think these tailgters must already be using a front mounted sensor.
Unfortunately they must be reversing sensors fitted at the wrong end :-(
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Maybe they should be linked to a sign in their back window saying "I am a Pr@"
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Tim,
New 7 series does exactly as you describe. Apparently it'll keep the same distance from the car infront along a motorway or in traffic or whatever.
Sounds cool
Mark.
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Sorry to be so boring but I thought we could start something serious here. If you think that a device that holds you in position some sort of uncoupled train would be safe, I don't. If brakes were automatically applied (at lightspeed) too, fine. Drive too close and your reaction time will be less than the gap if anything sudden happens........
What's needed is an awareness that traffic on motorways and other fast dual carriageways is not always going to carry on at the same speed, and its certainly not good enough (safe enough) to rely on the car in front.
If you want to have some fun at the wheel, these boring convoys are noy the place. Find an empty two lane blacktop with some corners in it At all times, be patient, but especially in heavy traffic.
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In Germany they already have 'tailgater traps' on some autobahns. You can see them by the two solid lines placed across the outside lane at approximately 5m apart, usually just under a bridge. Exactly how they work, I don't know - is anyone else in the forum familiar with these devices?
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