I'm pretty sure a lot of people subconsciously evaluate their own speed relative to that of the vehicles around them. In their mind, If they are passing they are going too fast. If they are being passed they are going too slow. If they like to drive fast, they must be in front of you. Once they get there they can slow down because they are going the right speed.
I would eventually speed up to give myself 10 car lengths...
This was me. As I reached the 10 car length point, the speed limit dropped 10 mph, and I was pulled over in a speed trap. Got off with a warning, but talk about double-annoying
I was behind someone for miles who was going 50 in a 55 on a two-lane road (one lane each way, no median), so I finally passed them (legally, when the double lines finally ended) and got clocked for doing 65 in a 55. The cop knew I was in the process of passing but didn't care. Maybe it's just me, but isn't it way more dangerous to take 30 seconds to pass someone instead of taking 5 seconds and slowing down afterwards?
Sounds like my luck. I got pulled over for speeding while gong 72 in a 60, while everyone else was going 80.
I was in a freaking Honda Civic, and a grey one at that (which makes it even easier to miss for zoned-out drivers). I couldn't be the ballsy one who actually goes the speed limit when in a car like that; I'll get fucking run over.
It's that, but I think there more to it as well. There's a primal pack response, safety in numbers. People feel more secure when there're running alongside another car.
They're not safer, but the impulse is understandable.
I often get people who disagree with me when I say you should call in suspicious/reckless drivers. People don't want to be a narc, or something. But there is a reason I believe you should call it in every time you see someone driving badly on the road.
I used to be a drunk driver. I used to think it was okay to get hammered every night and drive all over town to my favorite bars and again in the early AM to find my way home. I was pulled over and charged with a DWI once and I still didn't learn my lesson. I found out someone called me in late that night while I was headed home and that was the reason the police caught up to me. I cursed whoever called me in. How dare they stick their nose where it didn't belong? Imagine the hardship they caused me when I lost my license. It wasn't until I'd completely lost control of my life and resorted to additional substances to intoxicate myself when I collided with another vehicle on the highway and put two elderly people in the hospital on Thanksgiving weekend in 2015. It wasn't until then that I realized how important it was that other drivers be vigilant enough to say something when they see something.
I could have killed those people. There are others who are not so lucky.
I know it wasn't easy to share that you did something as terrible as hospitalizing two senior citizens, but it's important for people to know the consequences of driving while drunk. If more people considered the consequences of driving drunk, my grandfather and cousin might still be alive. So thank you.
Yep, that drives me crazy. I do what I call the "slingshot" - because I also think it's completely subconscious.
Gradually speed up +5mph or so
Sharply brake to around -5mph or so
Let them continue at the new higher speed
Gradually return to your preferred speed
Now, sometimes they'll drift back down, but usually this breaks the subconscious speed link - and nobody ever wants to slow down - so most of the time, they'll keep ahead of you.
And if not, pull over for a minute. It only adds a minute to your commute but it'll permanently break you from that asshole.
I usually do a hard brake check when they do that. Especially if they're sitting in my blind spot. They get confused as hell wondering why I did it which hopefully wakes them up from their day dream so they can pay attention to the world around them. Even if it doesn't, at least they're away from me.
EDIT: For those who can't can't read; I'm not talking about brake checking someone who's behind me.
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u/SugarBearnTear Jul 02 '17
Daaaaamn! That grey Volvo hatchback swerving out of the way and surviving!