I’ll start. Stopping distance.

My commute is 95 miles one way to work, so I see a lot of the highway, in the rural part of the US. This means traveling at 70+ mph (112km/h) for almost the entirety of the drive. The amount of other drivers on the road who follow behind someone else with less than a car’s length in front of them because they want to go 20+ over the speed limit is ridiculous. The only time you ever follow someone that close is if you have complete and absolute trust in them, and also understand that it may not even be enough.

For a daily drive, you likely need 2-3 car lengths between you at minimum depending on your speed to accurately avoid hitting the brakes. This doesn’t even take into account the lack of understanding of engine braking…

What concepts do you all think of when it comes to driving that you feel are not well understood by the public at large?

  • TeckFire@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    In Tennessee where I live, you must not impede the flow of traffic. If everyone else is doing 80, 85, etc MPH, and you merge over into the left lane to pass, but you go 70? You are breaking the law if there are drivers behind you still going that higher speed and they have to slow down or hit their brakes because of you.

    Additionally, if you do not move to the right as soon as you are able to, they are supposed to audibly signal to you (honk) to move over, and if you don’t, they are permitted to pass on the right.

    The flow of traffic thing applies to the right lane too, just doesn’t come up as often.

    • SwingingTheLamp@midwest.socialEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Which law is that? I was curious, and looked it up, and only found the “slow poke” law, which says that you have to be passing in the passing lane, but does not grant an exception to the speed limit.

      • TeckFire@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        I’m referring to the 2021 Tennessee Code Title 55-8-154

        First part of it is:

        “ No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.”

        I guess I misread the law when I was researching this a while back, which is my mistake