LIE- Why am I tailgaited at 70 in the HOV?

this sort of thing - "excessive tailgating" - almost always happens to me when driving around Indianapolis or other major cities ... minus the flashing high-beams and hazard lights, thank goodness!

i'm fairly confident i'll be in the minority here, but USUALLY when any given car / vehicle has been riding my you-know-what for more than a minute or so - ESPECIALLY when i've seen that there have been opportunities for the vehicle to get around me! - i start slowing down at about 01mph increments.

around Indy, the posted speed limit is 55 and i typically drive 58-60; if that isn't "fast enough" ... so be it!

i probably would NEVER get this in the form of a bumber sticker, but i have something of a "motto" i adhere to in such situations; "the closer you get, the slower i go!" i do that so as to allow ever GREATER separation between myself and the vehicle ahead of me ... thereby GREATLY reducing the chance of having to slam on the brakes and, additionally, GREATLY reducing the chance of the vehicle behind me ending up inside my trunk.

at least 90% of the time, by the time i'm down to the posted speed limit of 55mph, the "guy" suddenly "discovers" that there are lanes available for passing to BOTH sides of me, and manages to get around within 10 to 20 seconds ....

 

Lets not forget "gals". They seem to be on me a lot.

I do what you do Gloin, it's a great way to keep yourself entertained on the way to work.

 

Save up your money and buy a Tesla. Drive 60 MPH in the HoV lane until the same idiot pulls up behind you. Note his licence plate and using your hands-free cell phone, report him to CHP. Then, tap lighly on the accellerator (I refuse to call the go-switch in a Tesla a 'gas pedal'), increase your speed to 150MPH in 3.2 seconds, and leave his jaw scraping up the cigarette butts he's left on the floor of his 1978 camero as the rust bucket shrinks into a vanishingly small dot in your rear-view window.



OR.. you can smile broadly, wave at him in a friendly manner, settle in, and turn up your Barry Manilow CD to full volume. Then dim the rear-view mirror so he fades into the background.

 

oh ... i haven't "forgotten" anyone; you DID notice that i put the word guy in QUOTES, didn't you?

actually, i RARELY look at the drivers themselves; whether visible only in my rear-view mirror or off to whatever side while zipping by me. i'm MUCH more concerned about the vehicle itself ....

 

You're on Long Island. 'Nuff said.

More seriously, you should really pull over and let them pass in this scenario. Are the other drivers in the wrong? Absolutely. But if you get rear ended by one of these idiots, it's still going to cause just as much damage to your car (and put you in just as much danger) no matter who's fault it is.

 

oooh ... i LIKE that; Barry Manilow, eh???

oooh ... or maybe some Gentle Giant?????

 

^^^^^^ Please, folks. Don't even THINK of responding ^^^^^^^

He'll be gone soon enough.

So back on track... The HOV lane sometimes scares the hell out of me. People who would normally drive 65 in the regular lanes absolutely seem to think that they have an E-ticket to go 85 in the HOV lane. Like they have a "get out of jail free" card or something. And it is the speed differential that scares the hell out of me. Others have mentioned it. If the traffic is at a stand-still next to me, then 45 mph is already way too fast. 70 is insanity

 

There was this one time I was in the far left lane, and this car comes flying up behind me. It was some mercedes or BMW, I don't remember. Anyway, I'm sitting there doing the marked speed limit of 55, and this guy is riding my nice person! I could not believe it. So, I started to slow down. The guy kept getting closer! I thought he was going to bump me! The guy then swerves around me and flys past me, with his middle finger out. Wth was his problem?

 

Well, they need to just calm down and do the speed limit! It's not my fault that they are reckless. They need to get therapy or something.

 

I agree 100%, Unless it is an emergency vehicle. Moving over or speeding up only rewards rude behaviour. Don't let anyone intimidate you into breaking the law or following someone else too close. Speed limits are set by democratically elected governments, if people want them changed then need to do it through their government representative not just break the law. I think if you are below the speed limit you should endeavour to allow other traffic to pass safely.

I think we need to look to England as an example of how to handle speed control. Some roads in towns have speed cameras at 400 metre intervals, unfortunately it is very rare to see speed cameras on the motorways. That was my experience during 3, 3 to 4 week visits anyway.

Here people seem to mostly stick to, or very close to the speed limits. You can get away with 4 or 5 kilometres per hour (2.5 to 3mph) over. Mobile speed cameras have pulled people into line. All patrol cars have hand held laser speed guns in them and (particularly traffic) police allegedly must spend a minimum amount of time each month doing speed detection. There is speculation that they must issue a minimum number of tickets, I don't know if that is true, in fact I doubt it.

If there is some place you need to be, I suggest you leave early enough to get there on time at the speed limit and in the prevailing traffic. If you are going to be late for an appointment ring ahead before you leave to let them know. I mean how hard is it to be a responsible adult? Speeding is breaking the law just like smashing your neighbour's windows. Would you smash your neighbours windows?

 

There will always be tailgaters in every state - HOV or non-HOV. The best rule for driving is stay on the right, pass on the left. This is a European autobahn silent rule and it works wonders. We should all drive like this. Let the 95-mph maniac have his left lane. Just make sure you are out of the way so he doesn't endanger you.

Also, to the guy who drives with his high beams on...that is annoying and unnecessary.

 

Stay out of the left lane next time. If you're going the limit, then do your Sunday driving in the right lane.

 

I live on Long Island and I also drive my Prius in the HOV lane at that hour. The original poster is accurate. The LIE's High Occupancy Vehicle Lane is restricted during the rush hours posted. The Speed Limit is posted at 55. The HOV lane has no lane to 'Pull-Over', or to Pass. One must wait until a marked HOV lane exit can be accessed, and exit the HOV into stop and go bumper to bumper three lanes solid of almost dead stopped traffic. I would never do that, and no one else should. The tailgating law breaker is to be ignored, I usually call 911, and report his license plate number, and his location so the police can eventually keep tabs on him. If enough people do this the Nassau County Highway Patrol, or the Suffolk County Sheriff's will eventually pull such an unsafe driver over.

The Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid are the only two hybrids that qualify as clean pass vehicles, a program for the LIE only created by the NYS DMV for PZEV that score low enough on pollutants. You then get a 'sticker set' from the DMV and mount them front and rear, this allows a Prius to drive legally with only the driver during the restricted hours in the HOV lane.

70 MPH on the LIE during Rush Hour will never attract the notice of a cop, 55 MPH speed limit not withstanding. The fact is that I've had morons tailgate me in the HOV at 80, and I'd bet if I did 90, there'd still be some idiot on my tail. Best just to relax and turn up the music, have sip of coffee, and smile when the lunatic flips you the bird. I consider it my salute for a job well done. Why would anyone want to please such people, I certainly don't !

 

And just think of the fuel saving your generating for the tailgater!