Quoted:


So the guy chilling and going at a steady pace in his lane is the douchnozzle.

But the guy having an aneurysm and swerving in and out of traffic lanes while cutting people off is doing it right?

Quoted:
Traffic in West Virginia? Where are all the methbillies going?

Quoted:



Sounds to me like he's resigning himself to deal with others stupidity through humor.  Sometimes you have to laugh at the sheer fucking inane Fucktardery that one has to deal with from other 'drivers' while driving down the road.  

I do a shit ton of driving for a living, some days the term killdozer comes to mind.  It is a combination of  clueless operators combined with complete retards and assholes on the road.  Spattered with some poor rational bastards.  


Funny how the one that tries to drive sane in traffic and has to laugh stupidity off is the one that is accused of being passive aggressive.  Let's not mention the ones pounding on the steering wheel and yelling like damn fools, they are normal...  Right?

Quoted:


Holy fuck, people like you are the reason why traffic is so fucked.

If everyone left at least one car space in front of them then there would be no issues.
People would be able to change lanes, merge, pass other cars, and have room for when "shit happens".

Fucktards that use the "nut to butt" driving technique are the main reasons why traffic is all fucked up.

Quoted:

If you're getting these reactions, you're driving a lot more than 3-4 car lengths back. More like 10 car lengths. So yeah, I'm calling bs on your whole story. We'll need dashcam footage to make an objective assessment.

Quoted:

If you're getting these reactions, you're driving a lot more than 3-4 car lengths back. More like 10 car lengths. So yeah, I'm calling bs on your whole story. We'll need dashcam footage to make an objective assessment.

Quoted:
I understand your attitude completely and I agree with most of it. 3 or 4 car lengths at such slow speeds does make you a target of opportunity for lane changers.  That slow, maybe 2 car lengths is more appropriate. In the mean time, I would suggest some primer paint on your doors and maybe  fender, and changing out your bumpers for some railroad rail. Oh, and no hubcaps. Maybe three, but definitely not a complete set.

Quoted:


No, the fact is that those other people invariably get pissed off at some other driver(s) on their commute every single day. OP is just chilling in his zen garden in the middle of chaos. No psychologist would be able to conduct an experiment that exposed people to the conditions of hours spent in such conditions as bumper-to-bumper commuting because it would be unethical. You have to try and separate yourself from your current circumstance as OP does, otherwise you will be miserable.

Quoted:


Smart car lengths or cadillac lengths?

Quoted:

Could be stretch limo for all we know, since we know the op is fos.

Quoted:
I'm with OP.

Maintaining a safe distance between you and the car in front of you is cause for hatred and rage for people who want to be 100 feet closer to their destination.

I drive a single lane road (one N lane, on S lane) to work.  Speed limit is 55, but who gives a shit?  I maintain a reasonable distance behind the car in front of me, be it 45 or 75 MPH.  And the other 12,074 cars in front of that guy.

You know what is really fun?  Seeing a light turn yellow and red, and COASTING to the light.  God that makes people mad.  The horror.  They want to go 78 MPH until they have to jam on their brakes, like somehow in their tiny little brains they actually believe that THIS time all the cars in front of them will either magically evaporate or just instantaneously accelerate to 75 MPH.

Quoted:
For some reason, my wife is incapable of understanding it does not matter if you are on the bumper of the car in front of you or 3 cars lengths back, YOU ARE STILL GOING AT THE SPEED OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU.

Like the OP I stay several car lengths back.

Also, it does not matter if you are the 18th car in the train or the 43rd car in the train - the train is still moving at the same speed.

Quoted:
Ive been driving in traffic for a long time now, many years. I spend somewhere between 1 hour and 2 hours of my day in traffic. Four lane wide, 6 mph to 11 mph type of traffic. My body has given up on caring how fast i get to work. Ill get there when i get there and there is no point in worrying or trying to rush my way through to get there. Ive learned to just sit back, relax, chill out to audible and mentally prepare for the day.

Ive learned instead of riding everyone's ass in traffic, just to give myself a a wide berth with the person in front of me. Shocker i know, what a rebel . That way if a sudden stop comes up or people want to cut me off, ive got plenty of room. Like 3-4 car lengths atleast. Since all four lanes arent going any faster than the others, who gives a shit anyways, right?

Holy jesus, i might as well be riding around with a Nazi and confederate flag flying on my commuter car. This little concept ENRAGES the fuck out of people. I used to get upset, like, come on man, its not a race, ill pass you in 5 mins anyways. Now, after a few years, i get pleasure from it. Almost everyday this week ive looked in my rear view mirror to see this.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/304344/driving-1-258501.JPG

Which makes me laugh, out loud, like a mad man as i watch them with maniacal fascination. They are just screaming at their windshield. Pounding on their steering wheel. They are ready to murder with extreme prejudice. Since both lanes arent moving any faster and we are moving at a 4 mph pace, they have no other choice but to look at my 4 car lengths in front of me and envision a world where they are 4 car lengths closer to their destination. Sometimes ill even slow down MORE. We've got 10 more miles at 4.5 mph buddy, better get strapped into that pretty hate machine youre piloting.

Sometimes they will get lucky. They will change lanes and get to pull up next to me and i get this.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/304344/driving2-258503.JPG

Now, my commuter car is small and shitty. So maybe these people think they are going to pull up next to me and scare me? Yell obscenities at me to make me feel bad? I dont think they expect to get me looking back with a big ass smile and a wave. A big, bearded dude, with bunch of scars on his face, smiling like an idiot never breaking eye contact. The situation deescalates very quickly.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/95eb7519d13e4bfea542b2e1b8e19f1b/tumblr_njqh4fq4lU1tdy0nco1_500.gif

So, traffic is actually entertaining sometimes.

Quoted:
For some reason, my wife is incapable of understanding it does not matter if you are on the bumper of the car in front of you or 3 cars lengths back, YOU ARE STILL GOING AT THE SPEED OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU.

Like the OP I stay several car lengths back.

Also, it does not matter if you are the 18th car in the train or the 43rd car in the train - the train is still moving at the same speed.

Quoted:
The rule used to be 1 car length for every 10 miles an hour of speed. You should leave 1 car length.
You are whats wrong with drivers today.
We have some of the worse traffic here. If someone did what you're doing they would probably get an ass kicking.

Quoted:
For some reason, my wife is incapable of understanding it does not matter if you are on the bumper of the car in front of you or 3 cars lengths back, YOU ARE STILL GOING AT THE SPEED OF THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU.

Like the OP I stay several car lengths back.

Also, it does not matter if you are the 18th car in the train or the 43rd car in the train - the train is still moving at the same speed.

Quoted:
I'm with OP.

Maintaining a safe distance between you and the car in front of you is cause for hatred and rage for people who understand math.

Quoted:
Just so everyone understands.  This is what morning traffic looks like where OP drives.  Imagine every one of these persons leaving 4 car lengths in front of them like OP does.


http://static.lakana.com/media.fox5dc.com/photo/2015/09/16/Still0916_00013_1442440311279_214029_ver1.0_640_360.jpg

Quoted:
Four full car lengths in front of you at 4 mph?



You are the problem.



Money on that you're distracted driving and using the shit (or in your words, generous) driving as an excuse.




It's not defensive driving, no matter how you try to sell yourself on that.

Quoted:
Just so everyone understands.  This is what morning traffic looks like where OP drives.  Imagine every one of these persons leaving 4 car lengths in front of them like OP does.


http://static.lakana.com/media.fox5dc.com/photo/2015/09/16/Still0916_00013_1442440311279_214029_ver1.0_640_360.jpg

Quoted:
When the car in front of me leaves a gap in front of him, then people from the sides will fill in that gap, putting him, me, and everyone behind us even farther back in line.  He'll slow down even further to open the gap back up, whereupon more cars come in from the sides to fill in the gap.  I'm okay with him not riding the bumper of the car in front of him, just as I try my damndest to not ride HIS bumper.  But when there's a steady stream of cars passing us both up, I tend to get annoyed.  Keep the fuck up with traffic is all I'm asking!

Quoted:

Look at the black 4runner on the left. You could fit three cars in there. Fuck that guy, what piece of shit. He should be on everyone's ass and things would go so much faster.

That what you idiots sound like.

Quoted:

Let's think about this logically.

If a road is x feet in length, and each car takes up y space, there are z number of cars on the road.

Keeping x the same, double the value of y. Now there are z/2 number of cars on the road. The carrying capacity of the road has been cut in half.

Let's think about this mathematically.

A volumetric flow rate is pAV, where p is the density, A is the area, and V is the velocity. Decreasing the density by definition will directly decrease the flow rate. To maintain a steady flow rate, V must be increased if p is decreased. But V will stay constant because of speed limits.

So, no, you are not correct.

Quoted:

This is exactly what I was talking about on the first page. There seems to be a critical point where the total flux of cars isn't sufficient and everything goes to shit.

I'm not a proponent of everyone tailgating, but leaving more room just to fuck with other drivers is not helping anyone out.

Quoted:
Now, my commuter car is small and shitty. So maybe these people think they are going to pull up next to me and scare me? Yell obscenities at me to make me feel bad? I dont think they expect to get me looking back with a big ass smile and a wave. A big, bearded dude, with bunch of scars on his face, smiling like an idiot never breaking eye contact. The situation deescalates very quickly.

Quoted:
You NEVER drive on the defense.
The prevent defense NEVER works.

Always be on the offense.
Be an offensive driver I say.

You're in charge of your own destination.
Switch lanes, speed a little to get and stay in front, anticipate retards, jackasses and morons.

A defensive driver sits there and is everyone's floormat.

Quoted:
Ive been driving in traffic for a long time now, many years. I spend somewhere between 1 hour and 2 hours of my day in traffic. Four lane wide, 6 mph to 11 mph type of traffic. My body has given up on caring how fast i get to work. Ill get there when i get there and there is no point in worrying or trying to rush my way through to get there. Ive learned to just sit back, relax, chill out to audible and mentally prepare for the day.

Ive learned instead of riding everyone's ass in traffic, just to give myself a a wide berth with the person in front of me. Shocker i know, what a rebel . That way if a sudden stop comes up or people want to cut me off, ive got plenty of room. Like 3-4 car lengths atleast. Since all four lanes arent going any faster than the others, who gives a shit anyways, right?

Holy jesus, i might as well be riding around with a Nazi and confederate flag flying on my commuter car. This little concept ENRAGES the fuck out of people. I used to get upset, like, come on man, its not a race, ill pass you in 5 mins anyways. Now, after a few years, i get pleasure from it. Almost everyday this week ive looked in my rear view mirror to see this.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/304344/driving-1-258501.JPG

Which makes me laugh, out loud, like a mad man as i watch them with maniacal fascination. They are just screaming at their windshield. Pounding on their steering wheel. They are ready to murder with extreme prejudice. Since both lanes arent moving any faster and we are moving at a 4 mph pace, they have no other choice but to look at my 4 car lengths in front of me and envision a world where they are 4 car lengths closer to their destination. Sometimes ill even slow down MORE. We've got 10 more miles at 4.5 mph buddy, better get strapped into that pretty hate machine youre piloting.

Sometimes they will get lucky. They will change lanes and get to pull up next to me and i get this.

https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/304344/driving2-258503.JPG

Now, my commuter car is small and shitty. So maybe these people think they are going to pull up next to me and scare me? Yell obscenities at me to make me feel bad? I dont think they expect to get me looking back with a big ass smile and a wave. A big, bearded dude, with bunch of scars on his face, smiling like an idiot never breaking eye contact. The situation deescalates very quickly.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/95eb7519d13e4bfea542b2e1b8e19f1b/tumblr_njqh4fq4lU1tdy0nco1_500.gif

So, traffic is actually entertaining sometimes.