Tailgaters

[Mike]

From: "Jim Green" <jeg1976 at yahoo.com>
> ... the only reason most of us tailgait people is to get
> them to realize they are seriously in the way...

Tailgating at any speed over 10-15 miles an hour is a hazard, and the more
so as a vehicle reaches and passes 35 mph.  At 60 mph, a vehicle is
traveling at 88 feet per _second_.  Even an extremely skilled driver is
going to take about 1 second to react to the actions of the vehicle that
he's tailgating, and 0.5 to 1 second to brake his vehicle.

So from the thought "heylooktheguyinfrontofmeisbraking", to completely
stopping ON A DRY PAVED SURFACE UNDER PERFECT WEATHER CONDITIONS IN A
WELL-MAINTAINED VEHICLE, for a skilled driver is about 150 - 200 feet.

If the vehicle being tailgated stops anywhere near 0.5 seconds quicker than
the tailgating driver...

Bad weather conditions increase the stopping distance geometrically.

I know that some of us "get in the way" by driving at the speed limit, but
we're probably not going to get out of your way, and you won't get there any
faster by tailgating our vehicles.

So...

If you [tailgate] my current car [and involve me in an accident], I will
call the police on my cell phone, report you, and file a full report.  Then,
while you're writing me a check for [$1500.00+] to fix my [car's rear end,
and giving me your insurance info so you can take care of our medical
bills], you can start re-thinking why you [tailgated me in the first place].
:O)

(See my following post for a lighter note...)

TTFN - Mike Jackson
Casting Fool & Son
Augusta, GA  USA
http://www.cfnson.com