Weird habit I've been noticing in traffic lately

"Bad Idea Hat" (taoistlumberjack) 04/24/2017 at 13:17 • Filed to: None

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Today’s post on the FP about what makes a bad driver got me thinking about the issue I’ve been seeing a lot if in the past year; people leaving huge gaps when stopped.

What’s happening is, at stop lights or signs, I’m seeing people leave 2-10 car lengths between them and the person in front of them. I initially chalked it up to people being wary of insurance scammers when it was only 2-3 car lengths, but then I started seeing people get crazy with their spacing. It’s not enraging or even mildly infuriating, I just have no idea why people are doing this.

A few other cases I’ve seen.

- Car stops at a light, a good 4-5 lengths behind the stop line. This light doesn’t have a sensor.

- Car stops many car lengths back, blocking access to the curbed turn lane.

- Car stops many car lengths back, blocking a road and the ensuing crossing/turning traffic.

I think the cars stopping well behind the line at a light can have some sort of explanation, in that they want to try and trigger the light themselves. I’ve just seen it enough times where there’s no obvious plate that I’m starting to think these people are just giving that space for whatever reason. The last two, I think, might be assholes.

Nibby > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:20

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people on their phones while driving, bam

bhtooefr > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:21

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One thing is also that people nowadays have a really bad idea of where the corners of their car are, worsened by the poor sight lines in modern cars. That’d only really account for, oh, maybe a full car length off, though.

Urambo Tauro > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:25

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Yeah, those gaps annoy me too. Like you said, not triggering the sensor or unnecessarily blocking traffic are huge reasons it’s a problem.

I might add that in my area, that bad habit is accompanied by them creeping forward just a few inches at a time (as if the slight forward motion has ANY effect on making the signal turn green sooner). It sucks even more when driving manual, because I like to shift into neutral while stopped. I only want to stop ONCE, dammit!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:26

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Incompetence.

Next question?

ttyymmnn > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:32

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A couple of years ago, I pulled up to a light and left about 2 feet between me and the car ahead. We were both stopped. A Travis County Constable pulled up next to me and gestured for me to roll my window down. I did. He then told me I was too close to the car in front of me. I said, but we’re stopped at a light. He said again that I was too close. No point in arguing with him.

I’m not saying that you should be 3 inches from the guy in front of you, but no, you shouldn’t leave an entire car length. I think Nibby nailed it. People using their phones at the light and not paying attention when the line accordions up.

miadaman? yes please > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:39

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I have 3 likely explanations:

1) defensive driving by giving yourself more room to maneuver in case of car behind you can’t stop. More relevant when we are talking about country roads but not a bad practice.

2) depending on seating position and car height, perception of how close you are to car in front is inconsistent.

3) not paying attention when front car moves up.

Personally I don’t really mind extra gap since nobody is moving, but I understand it’s a different story when people start to cutting in.

Rock Bottom > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:43

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Distracted by their phones. Almost guarantee it.

I drove nothing but Hondas and a Corvette for like 10 years. I noticed that people were doing more and more confusing things with each passing year and I never knew why. Things like totally random application of brakes (just enough to make the brake lights come on), stopping or almost stopping at inappropriate places in the road, sitting at traffic lights long after they turned green, or not turning right at red lights where it’s allowed and there is no cross traffic. Now that I drive a Jeep I’m just barely high enough to see through most rear windows and I can see what people are doing. Almost every time someone is doing something “off”, their phone is in their right hand (at the height it would be if your elbow was on the arm rest), screen lit up, thumb going nuts.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:47

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This is the worst habit in my area because it clogs up traffic lights and intersections after an exit ramp. 8 cars take up 20-30 cars’ space and they lock up the intersection because “Oh well I have a green light! I need to go through!”

And when you ask them to move up, they always think they’re right on their bumper so they have no room.....Ignore the fact that that is more room than they leave when doing 70 on the freeway....

fintail > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:47

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Sounds like good excuses to test the horn. Especially the latter two (which I also encounter with growing regularity).

An idiotic Seattle area trend is to stop a football field behind a the vehicle in front at a red light, then occasionally let off the brake and creep forward, stop, creep forward again. Why?!

Urambo Tauro > miadaman? yes please 04/24/2017 at 13:57

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I was taught to leave just enough room to be able to bail out of the lane just in case the vehicle in front of me stalls. I’ve never measured it, but I suppose that I typically come to a stop about six feet (maybe less) behind the other car. But I don’t leave extra room in front of me when I’m at the front of the line, though. I aim right for that stop line; not one foot behind (nor ahead of) it.

Tekamul > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 13:58

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When I’m on my motorcycle, I initially leave a long gap, then roll forward once someone has come to a stop behind me, as a defensive technique, giving myself a likely escape route.

In a car though, I don’t really give more than half a car or so.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 14:10

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I’m driving school I was taught to leave two or three car lengths between cars at stop signs / lights. I’ve always ignored it, but a large distance really is supposed to be there.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 14:21

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I’ve always wondered if those gaps could be used for good though. If they left the gap, but then started moving when the light turned green, instead of waiting for the person in front to move. The entire lane could move at once like a train instead of slinkying off the line.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Nibby 04/24/2017 at 14:28

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We were taught in drivers ed to leave enough space to see the tires meet the pavement of the vehicle in front. I think back then that equated to a car length or so. But now they must teach drivers to get right up so you couldn’t drop a yard stick between the your car and the one in front of you. Then, yeah, you’ve got the other end of the spectrum covered by the jackasses that have to catch up on their phone bullshit so they sit way the hell back from the car in front while they do whatever they think is more important than operating a two-ton machine while in community with other drivers. Makes me want to throw a brick through their window. But that’s just me.

TheBimmerGuyWhoNowOwnsAChevy > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 04/24/2017 at 14:33

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Odd, mine was you’re supposed to pull up until the bottom of their tires are about to leave your vision, I find that leaves 1/3-1/2 a car of space

smobgirl > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 14:58

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It’s really annoying here - I turn left out of my office onto a road I need to get home. Now, it’s a low-traffic road, but near enough to an intersection that a red light to the left can back traffic up past our exit.

The main reason it backs up so far? Multiple people leaving 25-30 foot gaps to the car ahead. It’s infuriating when I’m trying to leave.

MarquetteLa > miadaman? yes please 04/24/2017 at 15:08

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1) why would you stop short in case a car behind you can’t stop in time? Are you not actually removing braking space from the car behind you by leaving a bunch of room in front of you?

Textured Soy Protein > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 15:26

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A related thing I experience often is being stuck behind some asshole who doesn’t start moving, or doesn’t keep up with the car in front of them, when the light turns green. Which happens all the time here because so many Wisconsin drivers are slow as fuck. “Oh the light’s green now, I suppose maybe I should start going at some point here.” They don’t think that maybe there are people behind them who also want to go through the light.

The duration of the green light in the left turn lane of the intersection by my gym changes throughout the day. Sometimes, when it’s at the shorter green time I’ll be the third car in line and not make it though the green, because the first person takes too long and the second person doesn’t want to run a yellow. Or the first person goes and the second sits there. That shit drives me up the wall. I use my horn so much at that intersection.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > Bad Idea Hat 04/24/2017 at 15:54

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I could parallel park a Ford Excursion in some of the gaps I see between stopped cars. Kind of baffling, really. I think that newer cars, especially those with a high cowl and a hood not visible from the driver’s seat, really mess with people’s perception of how much space they have in front. (Especially if they don’t parallel park much, and therefore don’t have much real-world experience requiring them to close that space.)

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind 04/24/2017 at 15:56

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Really? Was there an explanation given? I leave myself just enough room to pull around in the adjacent lane if I have to.

Elumerere > MarquetteLa 04/24/2017 at 16:04

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To avoid a chain-reaction? With room, the accident will impact two cars. Without it, three cars at least.

miadaman? yes please > Urambo Tauro 04/24/2017 at 16:35

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It’s a fine line between courtesy and self-preservation. In cities where the max speed is low, it’s not a big deal. But in the country roads especially frequented by trucks, I would err on the caution side. If you know you’re being followed by a a dump truck at 60mph, I would be pretty cautious when coming to a full stop.

miadaman? yes please > MarquetteLa 04/24/2017 at 16:40

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I’d like to also add 2 more points: 1) reduce the crumple-zone your car will have to experience to improve your own survival rate (i.e. not sandwiched); 2) you have the space to accelerate drive onto the curb/side.

People don’t judge how much space they have to brake by how far you are from the car in front of you, but by how far they are from you. So by stopping short you’re actually adding stop distance to them because there’s more room in front of you to pull forward to (or run away from).