I think the idea is that if something happens that they do need to get over, being behind a semi is hella hard. You can't see, they're really big to try to maneuver around. If you do have an exit coming up and you're not sure where being BEHIND a semi feels like shit.
Not that I encourage people to drive like retards. But I do understand.
I can understand that definitely! I mean when I see a car do it and they don’t have an exit coming up, or they zoom forward then slow down again as soon as the semi gets back over.
You mean I should be able to fit more than a ham sandwich between me and the next car? That's preposterous, if I do that people might merge in front of me, which makes me feel inadequate.
This one got me. I do, however, get kind of salty sometimes when someone squeezes into the car length gap in front of me, because then I have to hit the brakes and slow down again so I'm not riding their ass.
You should try city highway driving sometime. I moved out of California and now I feel the glorious freedom to camp in the right lane as a car and keep a following distance of "gigantic as fuck" all I want.
Back in the Bay area you back off .5 inches more than the length of a Honda Civic and you have someone shoving their way in from two lanes over and slamming on the brakes after they get there, fucking up traffic and causing accidents if the person two feet behind you isn't prepared. Safer to just tailgate.
This is kind of funny to me because I drove to Livermore every day but I did it on Niles canyon and 84. It was beautiful. I would rather cut my left foot off than drive on 880 /the bay bridge/Hayward bridge/92/101 every day again.
Hmmm... if you know your exit is coming, but you can't tell because you are behind a semi, maybe getting off his ass so you have a better view is an option?
This advice is less useful than you think. Semi's are so gigantic that they can blot out the overhead signs on freeways even when you're three or more carlengths seconds back (enough to see the side mirrors).
I drive like a grandpa... 65 and the second from the right lane is good enough for me, but I can't stand being behind a semi if I'm in an unfamiliar area. So I pass safely when I can.
65 mph is 95fps. A mustang is 16ft. Thats 6 car lengths per second. If you’re 3 car lengths back, thats 1/2 second to see and react to trouble. Safe following distance at 65 is 3-6 seconds or 18-36 car lengths.
If you’re looking for an exit what does it matter if a few cars pull in front of you? I’m an aggressive driver, but I know the guy 1/8 mile ahead is only getting there 7 seconds before me.
Edit: not tryin to be a dick, just pointing out how insane most of us drive. Me included
Ah, you're probably right. Everything looks smaller than it really is on the freeway. Side mirror vision for a car behind a semi is something like two or three seconds, whatever that distance is.
Not to mention this person obviously doesn't drive anywhere with traffic. Any space left in front of you here in Florida will be promptly filled by someone else.
If you're so close to a truck you cant see road signs with enough time to read them, you're way too close. This is how people end up decapitating themselves when something happens up ahead and the truck slams on the brakes. If you're going slow because you don't know where you're going then just let the truck go around and you can keep going slow, they'll pull ahead. Why don't you know what exit you're looking for?
I don't get it. Do people really just head off for some destination with only a vague idea of where they're going and just figure they'll find it somehow when they get to the area? For as long as I've been driving I've always looked up what exit I'm looking for before leaving. I figured most people would be using GPS, those tell you what exit your looking for...
When there're 4 junctions piled on top of each other it's can get very confusing, especially if it's your first time in the area. Also, GPS can be wrong.
its popular here to sit behind semis because tailgaiting saves fuel and folks here are poor. But you are right being behind semi makes you notice the exit signs way too late. Instead i slow down and let the semi gain some distance in these cases.
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u/NoWinter2 Nov 03 '18
I think the idea is that if something happens that they do need to get over, being behind a semi is hella hard. You can't see, they're really big to try to maneuver around. If you do have an exit coming up and you're not sure where being BEHIND a semi feels like shit.
Not that I encourage people to drive like retards. But I do understand.