Re: Tail-gating

[e6941tb@ix.netcom.com]

Igor Kessel wrote:
 
> >When some dfof pickemup truck tailgates me on a 35mph,
> >revenue-enhancer-intensive two laner, while I am already doing 45, I
> >usually drop down to the second without touching the brakes. (Without
> >getting involved in an old discussion, which I have successefully
> >managed to avoid, I'll just state the obvious: Yes, you do need to know
> >how to double clutch in order to do that).

Komljanec, Tony wrote:

> I know the feeling... but you risk an accident, and further depreciation if your car needs fixing....  

Well, when I had gotten rearended in a 200 for the first time, I was
just sitting still in a middle of a "dark red" light, fiddling with a
stereo, when I heard and felt: KABOOM! and the Q leaped forward a coupla
metres. I mentally kissed the rear end o the car goodbuy. Stepped
outside to look: it was a mid '70sh batteleship (an LTD perhaps?) with a
grandpa behind the wheel, out for a Sunday morning stroll. The droF's
front was pretty messed up, my Audi had only a TINY(!) scratch on the
bumper cover. I even lifted the carpet in the trunk - not a single
wrinkle! The grandpa looked pretty shaken. Since I don't count myself
among scavengers, I just said to him: today's your lucky day, pal! and
bid him a "good bye". The fellow looked like he'd just won a lottery.

Several mos later, in the same exact situation, when I felt and heard a
familiar KABOOM! I was not even worried. Got out of the car and saw a
16y/o kid in a Corsica right up my RR bumper. The Chebby had the bumper
and grille pretty messed up. The Audi had a 10mm semi-spherical
identation in it's RR bumper from one of the four screws, that held a
NASCAR vanity plate on a Chebbys front bumper. The kid was trembling: he
had a temporary license and had rearended a standing car in a broad
daylight. This time I was not so merciful: I took a whooping $50
reparation from this kid, which I intended as a punisment for him for
driving a piece of crap automatic front drive on H-rated tyres this fast
without paying attention. Like I said before...never mind, I just let
the kid go.

Needless to say, I never bothered to do anything to the bumper. It would
take a scruteneer's eye armed with a loop to find those scratches. Gawd,
I love Audi! And I am probably the only member of this list or the
reader of the EC mag, who thinks that the American DOT-spec 5mph bumpers
are not only better than the original European ones, but also look nicer
too.
Back in the old country I owned cars, that wore crappy plastic European
bumpers, that shattered into pieces in a collision at a speed of a
pedestrian, always taking one or both fenders with them. A fad of the
time was installing massive 5mph bumpers with hydrolic shock absorbers,
that were fitted (along with the catalytic converters) onto the same
cars, bound for export to Canada.

>.... or I just move out of the way and let the tailgater get the speeding ticket.

In my original post I intentionally stated "on a ....two laner". I am
not aiming for a ditch to let some yahoo by, who wants to use me as a
radar-proof shield. Have you ever noticed that they would never pass you
under these conditions? That's the reason why. They want to go fast, but
they want you to take a risk of getting a ticket. That's why I get so
pissed off and do this drop-down-to-the-second trick to teach them some
good manners. 
Besides, they can't pass you on a twisty two-laner anyhow, coz they
don't know how to do it. They'll probably crap their pants in the wobbly
automatics, that most of them drive.

>There is a difference though, if we are all in traffic, I'm not going to move to the right... the tailgater >will not benefit and I'll toy with 'em.  But if I'm holding up a clear left lane, than my first option is to >move out of the tailgater's way.  I'm not going to enforce the speed limit or penalize his bad habits at my >own peril.

I learnd how to drive a car on the other side of the pond, and among the
first things they teach you, while hammering the postulates of European
traffic laws is: you never_ever sit in a left lane, when the right lane
is free. And man, do they enforce it! 
I am probably the only driver in Philly, who shoots to the right
immediately after passing, and to add insult to the injury, I do it with
a blinker flashing. To say that I hold a clear left lane to enforce the
speed limit is like....jeez, I can't even come up with a colourfull
enough comparison, to illustrate how ludicrous it sounds. It's like
accusing Phil of speaking inproper English or something. ;)
Typical Philly drivers would form a "caravan of idiots" (as I call it)
going slowly in the left lane, while the right one, my personal favorit,
is totally free. Actually, when I come to think about it, the right lane
IS the fast lane here.

Igor Kessel
'89 200TQ
18psi of boost + MOMO inside and out. Speed limit? What speed limit?

P.S. No flame was intended, Tony, I am just trying to clarify some
things :-)