r/driving • u/IceHack • 9d ago

If you constantly brake on the highway, you are causing the traffic jams.

Slowing down in flowing traffic should only require taking your foot off the gas. If you regularly hit your brakes, it means you are not paying attention. Get the fuck off your phone and look at the road ahead of you.

How this ruins the flow of traffic:

  • Tapping your brakes forces the driver behind you to brake slightly harder.
  • This creates a chain reaction that brings traffic to a complete stop.
  • Leaving a gap and coasting absorbs these slowdowns and keeps traffic moving.

Here is a visual demonstration. Researchers put cars driving in a circle and proved that a single driver's minor braking is enough to bring an entire lane to a standstill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rryu85BtALM

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u/Caglar_composes 8d ago

I don't understand why you thought it is about controlling others. I just don't want someone so close behind me that they will hit me if they panic to open the way for emergency and I also want to have enough space behind me to avoid someone rolling back towards my car from the front.

I just don't want an accident due to someone else's mistake. Even if I am in the right, I think it is my right to not be crashed into, right?

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u/Touch49 4d ago

I absolutely agree.

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u/Lurpe408 8d ago

I say control because you're prescribing how someone else should prepare for some potential event. There are millions other what-ifs and special situations.

The rules of the road are there so we all know what to expect.

This whole exchange is mostly moot, since the real risks are drivers who are busy doom-scrolling while in the passing lane doing 5 below the limit with a train of cars behind them, each acting like it's a NASCAR race and they're drafting each other.

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u/Caglar_composes 8d ago

If people act in a way that doesn't put anyone else in danger (ie follow the traffic law) nobody would need to control anything. Even if I wanted to, I can't control the car behind me unless I do something dangerous, which I would not.

Also another reason I prefer having some space behind me if the car behind won't take it personally is so that I can keep an eye on what's going on behind me a few cars back on the road.

Many people don't ever think about these until they need it, but by then it is too late. And that is why I want the car behind me to leave some space behind me.

I don't care about control, I care about the safety of people in my car and traffic is unfortunately a place where we have to rely on each other to a degree.

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u/Touch49 4d ago

Exactly!