From: drraymon@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca (Darrell Raymond)
Subject: Re: sdebar re passing or right (was sidebar re 401 (: -))
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 18:01:39 GMT

In article <riskit-140892143559@47.201.0.36>, riskit@x400gate.bnr.ca (Reg Foulkes) writes:
> In article <Bsz54J.JME@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca>,
> drraymon@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca (Darrell Raymond) wrote:
> > 
> >   I like Pontus's rule, "gravitate to the right", but he states it too
> > adamantly, as if the fastest guy on the road can never be wrong.  I
> > travel at the speed of the lane I'm in or move to the right; however,
> > in my opinion, the speed of the lane isn't the (desired) speed of the 
> > jerk who is tailgating people in that lane, it's the speed of most of 
> > the cars in that lane. 
> 
>    I'm sorry but that's wrong. If you are holding up traffic,  you 
> can be fined for "impeding traffic flow". That's based on the officer's
> discretion(i.e. He can defend his position in court). If your tailgating 
> you can also be charged, also at the discretion of the officer. Both 
> people can be fined.

  I didn't say I was holding up traffic; quite the opposite.  The traffic 
and I are doing the same speed in this hypothetical example.  There just 
happens to be one jerk who is crossing lanes and riding bumpers, even
when there's dense traffic already 20 km above the speed limit. I'm curious
to learn whether anyone has been convicted of "impeding" traffic while they
were doing 120 km/hr...

>    BTW, what makes you so sure that the guy tailgating is a jerk. 
> Maybe he has a valid reason for wanting to go faster. You don't know and
> is not up to you to judge. (If you follow the letter of the law, it is 
> up to you to move to the right to allow traffic to progress. It's also 
> common sense.) 

  Tailgating is a jerk move, even if you have a valid reason for wanting
to break the speed limit (when was the last time you won an argument 
with a police officer on that point, incidentally?  Even when passing
on a two-lane, it is a violation to break the speed limit).  Tailgating
is an offensive tactic designed to scare the guy in front into doing 
something.  Similarly, blocking is also a jerk move, designed to frustrate 
the guy in the rear and to "teach him a lesson".  I don't advocate blocking,
and hopefully you aren't justifying tailgating. How about just flicking
your lights from a safe distance?

> > Weavers will shove 
> > their cars in gaps that simply don't have any reaction time at all. I 
> > am not obligated to put myself at risk of an accident simply because 
> > they have no patience.  
> 
>  One more time. Why would you put yourself at risk? Whether weavers have 
> or have not any patience is moot. Your job as a driver is first to keep 
> yourself (or family safe). Second, to obey all of the rules found in the 
> traffic act. So simply drive slower and stay right. Don't be self-rightous,
> since it doesn't matter if your right if your dead! 

  One more time is right, since this is exactly what was implied by my 
posting - moving to the right is not the be-all and end-all of driving, 
safety is.  Hence, one more time: "Gravitate to the right" is fine, just 
ignore the implication that it supersedes safety considerations.

-Darrell.
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