saltiest1 said...

funny how the people complaining are the best drivers on the road

I agree, I was driving from my early teens (farm) and my brother & I 'taught' ourselves how to drive on the backroads, doing 'snakeys', 'burnouts', 'circle-work' etc. In fact, the skills I learned whilst doing these 'immature' activities have possibly saved my & my family's lives a few times when faced with real dangers on the roads (roos, trucks on narrow roads etc.) To be honest, up until a few years ago I thought I was a pretty good driver...

...until, for my birthday a few years ago I was given a ticket to 'Fast track racing experience' at Calder Park (Vic). Basically it's where you get to drive a V8 supercar around a racetrack. The morning starts as an instructional session, then you get to drive, then the day finishes with you sitting next to the instructor whilst he does a few laps - our instructors had a little side-bet going & were actually racing each other!

Anyway, I drove the 400kms home from Calder Park that day very sedately, realising that (compared to the driving instructors) I have virtually no 'real' driving ability! Since then, I've driven much better, dropped the driving shenanigans & basically driven much better with more respect for other road users - being a SES volunteer has also helped me become a better driver.

slainte said...
...

Law say's if you are being tailgated you can accelerate to improve the distance to the tailgater . ...

You are joking aren't you? You speed up, the tailgater speeds up. You both end up speeding more.

The only thing you can reasonably do is maintain your speed until you get to a suitable gap then pull into the left lane.

If there's no left lane then you should pull over to the side of the road and stop if necessary. You want the arsehole tailgater to be as far away from you as possible.

You can tap your brake lights to signal to the tailgater to pull back. That usually works with reasonable people.

The worst thing you can do is to try and punish the arsehole tailgater by slowing down/speeding up etc etc. It makes you into an arsehole too. Even worse, given enough years on the road you are going to encounter a psychotic looney who will try to kill you.

BTW I have developed an infallible system for dealing with high speed traffic congestion on long distance driving. I slow down.

When the pack catches me I stay in the left lane and slow down until the pack is a couple of hundred metres ahead of me then move back up to the speed limit.

I get a nice peaceful drive. I don't have to engage in high speed precision driving. I use less fuel. I let the right lane speeding arseholes do all the bullying and harrassing of other drivers for me.

I only overtake when the cars in the left lane are moving slower than the speed limit and the right lane is vacant, or a pack of right lane speeding arseholes have moved through ahead of me.

decrepit said...

rod_bunny said...
>>>>> (passing on the left is illegal by the way) >>>>>

You can overtake a vehicle on the left only when:

you are directed to do so by a police officer or
other authorised person;
you are on a multi-lane road and it is safe to do
so and
a vehicle is indicating/signalling that it is turning
right. ; You can also overtake any vehicles that
are stationary behind it.

The html tags needed to be moved

The undertaking bit is what you get done for when splitting lanes on a motorbike

Check out the Code 2000 @ http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/pco/prod/FileStore.nsf/Documents/MRDocument:22182P/$FILE/RoadTrfcCd2000_03-d0-00.pdf?OpenElement

112. Keeping as far left as practicable
(1) Except where these regulations provide otherwise, a driver shall keep the vehicle as close as practicable to the left boundary of the carriageway, except where 2 or more lanes marked on the carriageway are available exclusively for vehicles travelling in the same direction.
Points: 2 Modified penalty: 1 PU

113. Restriction on use of right lane
(1) Defines right lane...

(2) This regulation applies to a driver driving on a carriageway that has 2 or more marked lanes available exclusively for vehicles travelling in the same direction where -
(a) the speed limit is 90 km/h or more; or
(b) a "keep left unless overtaking" sign applies to that part of the carriageway, or both.

(3) A driver shall not drive the vehicle in the right lane unless -
(a) the driver is turning right, or making a U turn from the centre of the road, and is giving a right turn signal; or
(b) the driver is overtaking; or
(c) a "left lane must turn left" sign or left traffic arrows apply to any other lane, and the driver is not turning left;
or
(d) the driver is required to drive in the right lane under regulation 137; or
(e) the driver is avoiding an obstruction; or
(f) the traffic in each other lane travelling in the same direction is congested; or
(g) there are only 2 marked lanes and the left lane is a slow vehicle turn out lane.
Points: 2 Modified penalty: 1 PU


Hands up who has ever been booked or know anyone who has been booked for the above 2 offences?


125. Courtesy when overtaking
(1) Except where overtaking on the left is permitted, a driver being overtaken shall move to the left in favour of the overtaking vehicle, and shall not increase the speed of the vehicle, until it has been completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.
Points: 2 Modified penalty: 2 PU

(2) A driver shall not drive a vehicle on a road in such a manner as to prevent another vehicle from overtaking and passing him or her.
Points: 2 Modified penalty: 2 PU




Sorry but this topic is a bit of a pet peeve for me... has been for over 20 years.
If the Govt was serious about "Towards Zero" then there are loads of ways to do it that arent based on the "big stick" or "lowest common denominator" methods.

Maybe the slogan should be "Striving for Mediocrity"

You can't cure stupid people. Don't even try.
All you can do is choose how you want to react (act).....

I once had a dude tailgating me in peak hour traffic on the Freeway near the Chadstone exit - hotted up Jap import car.... complete idiot, there was no where for him to go, he kept right up the back of my car like I could go faster or even go anywhere.... he couldn't go right as too much traffic not moving and I was in the slow lane going as fast as the traffic would flow.....

Then Karma happened.... the dude took off up the safety / breakdown strip flying along, round the corner..... then 2 minutes later I see the same car smashed into a safety barrier with the driver and his mate standing at the front looking at his crumpled bumper and engine.....

So when I think of tail gaters - I just remember those guys..... makes me happy.

I rememder those days well ,,,,,,,,,,,,sigh,
I don't live in Shyte hole Perth anymore

Yesterday I had to slow down for a frickin EMU!!! , and again about an hour ago!!!! , what is it with all these slow EMU'S?????
Just glad they don't walk in the right hand lane, ooooohhh , I forgot ,, there is no freeways here, just lot's a wind , water , sun and fish.

The problem with being in the rat race is, even if you win, you're still a rat!

Cassa said...
I rememder those days well ,,,,,,,,,,,,sigh,
I don't live in Shyte hole Perth anymore

Yesterday I had to slow down for a frickin EMU!!! , and again about an hour ago!!!! , what is it with all these slow EMU'S?????
Just glad they don't walk in the right hand lane, ooooohhh , I forgot ,, there is no freeways here, just lot's a wind , water , sun and fish.

Moi aussi!!

Little Jon said...

I never have problems with tailgaters, they almost never catch me. ...

Doesn't that just make you the tailgater and the right lane hog?

Aren't you the guy that sits on 115-120 in the 110 zone? I'm doing 110-115 passing the slower trucks and various slow pokes in the left lane and you're sitting on my date.

I pass them and move over, after finding a big enough gap and giving sufficient clearance in front, and you just sail on in the right lane.

BTW. I hate hate hate those guys who pass me, then immediately jump into the left lane, right on my front bumper and stay there. That was one of the incentives that lead to me running away from arseholes by slowing down.

^^^+1^^^

Mmmmwwahahahahaha[}:)]

K Dog said...

I think this forum has more to do with the death of manners..... than driving... you don't find many people with manners these days....

Very true, takes nothing to leave space and keep left.

default said...

^^^

...But some people have to turn right 4km ahead!!!!

have to agree, and if you think wa is bad, ("wa" for wait awhile,) try doing a few laps around melbourne here, with 6000 taxis driven by indians,
I think the traffic in perth is like a nice country drive (we get fools doing 80 in a 100 zone on the freeway during peak hour,) they've reduced our southeastern freeway so much, its called the mulgrave car park now

Mobydisc said...

Wow so much hatred for WA drivers.

I remember the first time I went to WA in 1997/98. What struck me on the roads was how friendly drivers were.

People waved to you when driving on the road. The only other places I've experienced that is in western NSW, western Queensland and from the place I grew up and knew people.

Last time I was there in 2008 I was driving around a fair bit to fill in the days. Again I found the drivers there to be okay. The traffic was light. It was quite amazing to drive around the CBD on a weekday and not see very much traffic at all. Very little aggression or aggro. Completely different to driving around Sydney.

At least in Sydney we don't seem to be plagued by the car break ins that seem to be so common around Perth.

Gorgo said...

cantswm4**** said...
...we get fools doing 80 in a 100 zone on the freeway during peak hour...

Are they doing 80k because the cars in front of them are doing 80? That's congestion. The drivers have no choice.

In a congested road if you do 100kph (or whatever) you just get to the choke point first and make the congestion worse.

It's better to slow down and cruise in the left lane while all the speeding losers zoom up to the bumpers of the cars in front.

The trick is to drive like a ninja. Stealth driving. Slip quietly along through the traffic making barely a ripple. Put on something nice on the sound system. It's easy.

Let the speeders and aggro drivers go for it and waste their lives raging at the bumpers of the cars in front and burning too much fuel.

5-6 car lengths in slow traffic is my rule and keep that gap, if someone come into that gap make the gap bigger. Its simple and your not on and off the brakes all the time. My car isnt the best car for this type of driving as its a manual and had a heavy clutch so in slow traffic 2nd gear is my friend

Enjoy the ride, its not a race

cantswm4**** said...

All good in a perfect world,
I drive for a living, so anyone doing 80 in the right lane, with an empty road in front of them, when the limit is 100, and sitting just on the corner of another slow driver,
thus blocking multi lanes, because they are sheep and cant think for themselves, deserve to be tailgated
now as stated by a few posters earlier, If in the same position, I would curteously move to the left and let them pass,
But I have met many drivers who the only time they will speed up or change lanes is to chase and abuse you after you've successfully passed them using a bookful of ninja moves,

Are you a truck driver?

cantswm4**** said...

I was up till recently, with too many close calls in the last few years, and too much aggression on the roads.
I sold my truck, and have a mercedes van with a trailer now, much better, but Its still stressful when im loaded and cars are cutting in front of me whilst braking for lights, thinking Im going to be too slow,
Its now what I would almost call an epidemic or illness, take your pick,
but courteous drivers are a very rare breed, very rare indeed these days.
I think they've all gone to wa

doggie said...

cantswm4**** said...

All good in a perfect world,
I drive for a living, so anyone doing 80 in the right lane, with an empty road in front of them, when the limit is 100, and sitting just on the corner of another slow driver,
thus blocking multi lanes, because they are sheep and cant think for themselves, deserve to be tailgated
now as stated by a few posters earlier, If in the same position, I would curteously move to the left and let them pass,
But I have met many drivers who the only time they will speed up or change lanes is to chase and abuse you after you've successfully passed them using a bookful of ninja moves,

Are you a truck driver?

Lol, I try