16 FOR THE RECORD
16 FOR THE RECORD
Just for the record, it has been said that I should not let a tailgater change my driving habits. Anyone coming up behind me, beside me, or pulling in front of me changes my driving habits. Anyone getting close enough to be a hazard to me or themselves has to be calculated into any situation that I could be driving into.
If a child runs out between two parked cars, would I get stopped in time only to have that vehicle behind me push me into killing that child anyways?
Would that vehicle beside me swerve into me if something happened on the other side of it?
Is the driver that just pulled in front of me able enough to get stopped if an emergency took place in front of them and would I be able to miss them, if it did happen?
Everyone around me becomes a calculation when I am driving safely. While I hope that they are watching out for me, I must be watching out for them. We are on this road together and required to keep each other safe.
Anyone not obeying the highway regulations near me, makes me nervous and, if anything dangerous happens, I will protect the innocent first. If I have to make a choice between taking out an innocent pedestrian or a guilty driver, my choice will always be to take out the guilty person. If they are going to disobey then they should be the ones to pay, not the innocent. [However my first thoughts and reactions will be to save both, if I can.]
There is also a thought process that is popular among the law-breakers that those slow drivers cause crashes by provoking them to unlawful actions. So they are trying to tell us that they are not in control of their own thoughts, emotions and actions; should these people actually be allowed to drive a large steel object around other people?
The driver’s seat is the place where these steel objects are controlled from and that person is totally responsible for the actions of that object. The driver is the one responsible to see, calculate and act upon any situation that occurs around that vehicle; even if it is an unexpected event, they are required to be prepared for it. [Most people driving do not have transport truck training, but that is what is taught in the transport driver training schools.]
In closing, except in a 50 Km and, possibly, a 60 Km, zone, it is my preference to drive 5 to 10 Km. under the posted speed. The reason that I don’t drive slow but maintain the speed limit [and go the extra by giving a 2 to 3 Km difference to make up for my tire wear and, possible, speedometer difference] is to help those drivers that think they have to hurry, to go as fast as they legally can.
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Here is some insurance-related advice for you:
If you brake or slow down excessively and a tailgater hits you, you accept 50% blame. The exception is if you can prove (proof is required) that it was to avoid hitting another vehicle or a person. Braking for that "cat that ran in front of me" won't cut it. From an insurance perspective, when it comes to the animal, vehicle damage, or human life, the animal always loses.
If a vehicle is beside (or near) yours and either of you crosses the dotted line and causes a collision, blame is 50/50 regardless of fault. I learned this the hard way when a truck changed lanes and tapped the rear quarter of my car, spinning me out of control.
Bottom line, if someone is too close to your side or tail, your safety comes first so react accordingly.
Your right about the tailgaters not realizing; it has become a habit amoung the majority of drivers to travel too close. Tapping the brakes to light up the tail lights is also my first warning to them that they are too close and are making me nervous.
Unfortunatly most insurances are now 'no-fault' and, to find someone that is to blame takes someone with the skills to be able to understand what and how something happened.
That 50% of the blame for your being rearended is new to me. In the old days, if someone was rearended, all the blame was on the vehicle doing the rearending. This was the rulings for many years because it was assumed that in a rearend collision the vehicle in back was travelling too close.[which was usually the case.]
I would like to hear more on that 50/50 blame for the truck to cross the white line and strick you being half your fault. What did the truck driver tell the investigating police officer?
We both told the cops the truth - I was driving along, minding my own business, he switched lanes, heard a noise and thought he blew a tire and the next thing he knows this car came out of nowhere and tried to go under him. Three years and several lawyers later, I had to accept partial blame or drag it through the courts. Basically, a lane change accident is like a parking lot accident; each party accepts 50% blame.
By the way, check kanetix.ca for info on insurance. No fault means you deal with your own insurance if you're injured in an accident. In any and all collisions, "Someone is always found to be "at-fault" in a car accident, whether partly or fully."
I have run into that 'braking hard and being rearended' in the transport industry. Some people thought it was cute to slam on their brakes to get a truck to dump his load into his cab and then drive away laughing. The saying came down through the industry that , if you have to damage your truck to avoid killing someone, at least take a piece of them for evidence; a fender, bumper or paint from their car would do.
What I have found that works is, if the guy behind me doesn't heed my brake light tap and stays close anyway, then I slow down 10 Km/hr. and adjust my rearveiw mirror while they are watching. After awhile they realize that they either have to pass me or back off if they want me to drive the speed limit. It's legal, gradual and safer; 10 K/hr is not much but tailgaters are also speeders and they don't like going slow. Most of the time, they will pass at the first clear broken line. Anymore than 10 Km/hr. in a no passing zone is antagonistic and does no-one any good.
I appreciate your input here, it expands on the knowledge that we are trying to share with those that want to know. Thanks.
I'll be honest; that scared the crap out of me and it was a full three weeks before I got a full night's sleep again. That said, the only damage was to the car (which was covered by insurance) and I walked away with very minor cuts and bruises. I also learned how important it is to be very aware of all that is around you at all times.