I call this page, "ROCKET SCIENCE.... NOT!!!" because that's exactly what most of this isn't - Rocket Science, that is! In the following sections, I will take the opportunity to state my personal opinions, views, and possible solutions to some of the things I sometimes think about or am personally affected by.
KIDS-SAFE INTERNET BROWSING
The solution to this problem is so obvious that it definitely falls into the category of "Rocket Science.... Not!"
ROAD RAGE, TRAFFIC JAMS, and TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
Here's another problem that affects all of us, especially in and near the bigger cities of the U.S. And, again, the solution seems too obvious to me!
The number one cause of "Road Rage" is tailgating! Big surprise, tailgating is also the biggest cause of traffic jams and accidents on the freeway. In a word (or four), tailgating must be stopped, at all cost! I mean a full 1.5 to 2 second following distance between every vehicle traveling at freeway speeds!
IMHO ("in my humble opinion" for you non-internat chat types),the only possible solution to this problem is for EVERY traffic enforcement officer to patrol the freeways in unmarked cars. OK, I know I am going to get a lot of grief over this, but when you do write to blast me on this, please, at least, have a better solution!
Until the idiots out there who would just as soon shoot you or run you off the road as look at you don't know if their victim or the car next to them is that of a patrol car, these people will continue to wreak havoc among innocent travelers on the freeways... It's not rocket science!!! But, here's where the Rocket Science part does come in: with new technologies such as paint colors and window tinting that can change with the application of electric current, lasers, and pop-up lights hidden in sun-roofs or behind tinted glass, an unmarked patrol car could be transformed into a fully marked and lit patrol car in a matter of seconds!
The other problem is that tailgating laws are simply not enforced! I don't know of a single person who has ever been cited for it!!! If drivers didn't tailgate, they could safely increase their speed by 5 or 10 mph. If traffic enforcers could disuade tailgating, perhaps they could allow travelers to drive a little faster as sort of an award for safer driving. Considering how few head-on collisions occur on divided freeways, eliminating tailgating could all but eliminate fatal accidents on these freeways! Like the road rager, drivers are much less likely to tailgate when they can't tell if the car they are sharing the road with is a cop!
Following is an email I received regarding this page:
Dear RocketScience,
Boy, am I with you on tailgating! I found your website because I'm at my
wit's end on the issue and decided to see what people are saying about it.
Here's my case: I live in a very rural area of Southern Maryland and
commute to work on one of two roads that access my neighborhood. The
traffic is very light; sometimes I cannot see a single car in front or in
back of me. The posted limit is 50, which I might well do if I weren't
afraid of tailgaters!!! I push it up to 54-55, still slow enough that I'll
never get a speeding ticket, but hoping that the speeders will take a little
longer to catch up. It doesn't work. They catch up and proceed to
tailgate, all annoyed that they can't do 10-20 over the limit. Worse, they
often have the opportunity to pass, but don't take it! Instead, they keep
on tailgating! Is there any rationale to that?
I try flashing my 4-ways at them, put my hand out the window with the "back
off" gesture, and they still tailgate. When I tap my brakes, they get mad.
I just can't seem to get the message across to these idiots! My wife wishes
I would just pull over and let them pass. I have two problems with that:
Why should I have to do that and risk sand-blasting my car with shoulder
gravel; and, I'm a brash reactionary who wants to let them know what my
complaint is, so maybe they'll stop the practice.
I want to talk about the proper interval. You said 1.5 - 2 seconds. I find
anything under 2 seconds, especially on a lightly travelled road, to be
"threatening". When I see those headlights behind me, all I can think is
they want me to go faster. I once spoke to a state trooper in Pennsylvania
who said the proper interval is 3 seconds. On my rural roads, I find that
to be a very non-threatening, polite interval. I'll grant that, on very
heavily travelled roads, the number of cars present might not even fit on
the road at that interval. But at the least, people should try to relax, go
with the flow and not push the poor guy ahead off the road. In other words,
don't drive aggressively.
I have written twice to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA.gov) and gotten no response. I've written to my Congress-persons -
one forwarded my complaint to DOT, and I've heard nothing more. My sense
is, nobody cares! What I want is for the federal govovernment (DOT or
whatever) to launch a continuing education campaign with TV/radio spots and
billboards sending the message of the 2-3 second interval rule. Eventually,
I could put three fingers out the window, and the tailgater would know
immediately that I'm politely asking him to back off. If large numbers of
people are convinced to "back off", then I'm certain that traffic accidents,
or at least the severity of traffic accidents, would decline markedly. It
ain't Rocket Science!!!
Will you please write some letters yourself, and ask others who might see
your website to do the same? I'm thinking of writing a letter to send to
newspapers. Perhaps we can convince somebody to take effective action!
Thank you for your very justified concern!
Jim
Thank YOU Jim!!! I encourage everyone to write letters of their own to press the government into doing something about this most serious of problems facing drivers everywhere.
