Brake-Checking Follies

dales · Post by **dales** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 12:52 am

The actual crash is 56 seconds in.....

Burning Petard · Post by **Burning Petard** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:31 am

The car that crashed was a Subaru Legacy? Looks like the simple lane change to evade some how turned into a spin-out. Bad tire inflation? Both cars were just hanging in the left lane when there was lots of space in the right lane.

snailgate

MajGenl.Meade · Post by **MajGenl.Meade** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:54 am

Stupid driver was tail-gating Bicycle Bill. Dumb move!

RayThom · Post by **RayThom** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 3:33 am

MajGenl.Meade wrote:Stupid driver was tail-gating Bicycle Bill. Dumb move!

That's what I was thinking even before I saw your comment.

Great minds..., heh?

Bicycle Bill · Post by **Bicycle Bill** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 12:15 pm

RayThom wrote:
MajGenl.Meade wrote:Stupid driver was tail-gating Bicycle Bill. Dumb move!
That's what I was thinking even before I saw your comment.

Great minds..., heh?

First of all, what difference does it matter what kind of car(s) were involved?  And of course, we don't know what speeds were involved here.  For all you know, the Honda could have been doing nearly 80 mph and the jack-off in the Subaru figured he still needed to go faster.

Secondly, Bicycle Bill doesn't do brake checks.  Like the tortoise and the hare, "slow but steady".

And if you rewatch the video, you'll notice that the minivan moved left to pass two other vehicles in the fifty seconds before Mr. Faster-Than-You proved that he doesn't know how to keep his car under control.  Kinda sucks to be him, doesn't it?

-"BB"-

RayThom · Post by **RayThom** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 3:17 am

But wait... there's more:
http://fox17online.com/2016/06/06/road- ... or-driver/

Bicycle Bill · Post by **Bicycle Bill** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 4:02 am

State Police are now re-working the case, telling us the driver of the Honda could be ticketed.

If the driver of the Honda is located and ticketed, I'm calling it right now that it will be for doing the brake check, not because he didn't move over for Mr. "I-gotta-go-faster-than-you".

And then there's always the possibility that the driver of the Honda was Gandalf the Grey:

-"BB"-

MajGenl.Meade · Post by **MajGenl.Meade** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:50 am

The Honda driver is a ass. You don't need to actually slow down to brake check - just a weak dab on the brake pedal turns the lights on without moving the brakes. It's a polite reminder not to maintain assured clear distance, which the other driver was most definitely NOT doing.

That being said, Mr. Honda should have moved over to the right lane since that's the law. The law, even if one doesn't like it, is obeyed by people who are not selfish outlaws

Bicycle Bill · Post by **Bicycle Bill** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:42 pm

MajGenl.Meade wrote:The Honda driver is a ass. You don't need to actually slow down to brake check - just a weak dab on the brake pedal turns the lights on without moving the brakes. It's a polite reminder not to maintain assured clear distance, which the other driver was most definitely NOT doing.

That being said, Mr. Honda should have moved over to the right lane since that's the law. The law, even if one doesn't like it, is obeyed by people who are not selfish outlaws

The LAW, as you so proudly cite it, says that "slower traffic must keep right".

OK, slower than what? 50% above the posted limit? The average qualifying speed for this year's Indy 500? The current land speed record? What's the reference point??
The LAW also says that speed limits shall be observed, and I dare say that just about everybody here has received one (or more) tickets over their driving careers for failure to observe this law.

So why does (or should) "slower traffic keep right" — i.e., "get the f*ck outta my way" — carry more weight than "no speeding"?

-"BB"-

Burning Petard · Post by **Burning Petard** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:54 pm

"The Law" varies from place to place. In Delaware you must move over 'when the lane to the right is clear' PA used to have (it has been about 10 years since I checked) a time limit as to how long you could stay in the left when the right was empty. The vehicle makes a difference. The lane change pictured would probably produced similar results with any driver if it was a 4 wheel drive empty pickup with higher than factory ground clearance; and any driver should have been able to do it if it had been a Mazda Miata. But in the Legacy, I think I could have done it with nary a wiggle. This is given no mechanical problems for the vehicle. However, I have no control over what drivers in the vehicles around me do. I can signal my intentions to them, look for clues as to what they may do, but it is still my responsibility to maintain an assured clear distance around me. After the first flashing brake lights in front of the Legacy, the driver absolutely made a mistake by closing the distance between them again.

And the rule (if it is the law or not) carries more weight because it is safer. Obeying one law is not a permit to ignore another.

snailgate

MajGenl.Meade · Post by **MajGenl.Meade** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:56 pm

You are not the police, BB. The intent of the law is crystal clear to everyone except lane hoggers and scoff-laws. That someone else is breaking the law is no excuse for you to do so.

Traffic travelling at a lower speed than other traffic should be in the right hand lane.

In fact, all traffic should be in the right hand lane except when overtaking - a law that is clearly expressed on British roads (except it's the left lane there of course). But USians never were very good at understanding the language known as English, even the American version.

Don't be so free with your "proudly" comment. I'm not proud of the law; I simply obey it. Sticking one's slow arse in the left lane, refusing to obey the law, and all that solely to annoy other drivers and police their behavior - now that's pride (or worse)

Joe Guy · Post by **Joe Guy** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:15 pm

The person who stays in the left lane at the maximum posted speed when someone behind him obviously wants to pass him is a passive-aggressive driver. He is someone who feels he has little control in his daily life and is taking the opportunity to act out. He will only do this when inside a two ton vehicle, however. When he walks he is polite and moves over for the faster person.

There is no single cause to trigger this type of behavior but one theory is that the passive-aggressive automobile driver is frustrated at the hostile treatment he receives from car drivers while he is riding his bicycle.

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:36 pm

Joe Guy wrote:The person who stays in the left lane at the maximum posted speed when someone behind him obviously wants to pass him is a passive-aggressive driver. He is someone who feels he has little control in his daily life and is taking the opportunity to act out.

Guinevere · Post by **Guinevere** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:41 pm

Scooter wrote:
Joe Guy wrote:The person who stays in the left lane at the maximum posted speed when someone behind him obviously wants to pass him is a passive-aggressive driver. He is someone who feels he has little control in his daily life and is taking the opportunity to act out.

Agreed 100%.

Guinevere · Post by **Guinevere** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:43 pm

MajGenl.Meade wrote:You are not the police, BB. The intent of the law is crystal clear to everyone except lane hoggers and scoff-laws. That someone else is breaking the law is no excuse for you to do so.

Traffic travelling at a lower speed than other traffic should be in the right hand lane.

In fact, all traffic should be in the right hand lane except when overtaking - a law that is clearly expressed on British roads (except it's the left lane there of course). But USians never were very good at understanding the language known as English, even the American version.

Don't be so free with your "proudly" comment. I'm not proud of the law; I simply obey it. Sticking one's slow arse in the left lane, refusing to obey the law, and all that solely to annoy other drivers and police their behavior - now that's pride (or worse)

This EXACTLY (how often do I say that to something Meade posts).

Econoline · Post by **Econoline** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:46 pm

I just watched the video again, and the Honda driver WAS in the right lane before he pulled into the passing lane. He was in the left lane for about 35 seconds before the first "brake check"--during which time he passed two slower-moving vehicles in the right lane, and was approaching a third. Mr. Can't-Take-a-Hint gave him all of 10 more seconds before roaring up (too) close behind him again. The Honda was obviously using the left lane for its intended purpose--passing!--but he just wasn't doing it fast enough for the asshole in the Subaru (who was obviously not only speeding but also failing to maintain a safe distance between his car and the car in front of him). Oh, and by the way(speaking of "hogging the left lane"...unlike the Honda, the Subaru was in the left lane for the entire length of the video.

If he was that late for work, maybe he just should've left a little earlier? Speeding and tailgating don't seem to have saved him much time.

ETA

Bicycle Bill wrote:...if you rewatch the video, you'll notice that the minivan moved left to pass two other vehicles in the fifty seconds before Mr. Faster-Than-You proved that he doesn't know how to keep his car under control. Kinda sucks to be him, doesn't it?

Exactly.

Bicycle Bill wrote:And of course, we don't know what speeds were involved here. For all you know, the Honda could have been doing nearly 80 mph and the jack-off in the Subaru figured he still needed to go faster.

The law says, "Slower traffic keep right EXCEPT WHEN PASSING." It doesn't specify what speed you need to be going in order to pass, nor does it say that the asshole behind you gets to dictate your speed while you're passing slower traffic.

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:53 pm

I can accept that both drivers were acting like assholes. There was plenty of space between the cars in the right lane for the Honda driver to scoot over for a second without even slowing down and let the guy behind him pass - that would have probably taken less time than the repeated taps on the brake that were intended as nothing but to "school" the driver behind him.

Bicycle Bill · Post by **Bicycle Bill** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:56 pm

What, is this "Pile On Bicycle Bill Day"

today? If it is, I must have missed the memo.

OK, Meade et al, let's look at this from a slightly different perspective then.

Why in the hell do you (and others, like just about everybody else in this thread as well as the guy driving the Subaru in the original video) feel that you do not need to follow the speed limit but in fact *SHOULD* be allowed to drive with impunity at whatever speed you so choose?

-"BB"-

Crackpot · Post by **Crackpot** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:59 pm

Because it's not you job to police others?

Joe Guy · Post by **Joe Guy** » Thu Jun 09, 2016 6:08 pm

Bicycle Bill wrote: Why in the hell do you (and others, like just about everybody else in this thread as well as the guy driving the Subaru in the original video) feel that you do not need to follow the speed limit but in fact *SHOULD* be allowed to drive with impunity at whatever speed you so choose?

It's not about feelings. It's about what to do in that situation. Not take it upon yourself to try to teach someone that obviously isn't listening. It's about safety and not risking other people's lives in order to feel good about yourself.

Both drivers were wrong.

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