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What to do when a crazy driver is coming from the back at very high speed?

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Today I was driving back home. I was on the motorway and I was overtaking another car. I usually drive at an average of 100/110 km per hour but while overtaking another car I reach 120 km per hour of speed (which is already higher than the speed limit but is allowed while overtaking) like I was doing today.
So while I was overtaking another car an hour ago I saw in the mirrors another car coming from the back at very high speed. The speed of this crazy driver was in between 160 and 180 km/hour (I am not exagerating!).
So I have been forced to accelerate and change the lane immediately to avoid an accident. In fact the crazy driver coming from the back didn't even touch the brake pedal IMO. The high speed accident has been avoided only thanks to my readiness and to the fact that my Mercedes SLK is very light and reactive but I think that with another car I myself wouldn't have managed to avoid the accident.

So I would like to know what my TMC friends would have done to avoid the accident if such a situation would have happened to them?

I also would like to know how the semi-autonomous driving system of the P85D would have reacted to such a situation.
 
I also would like to know how the semi-autonomous driving system of the P85D would have reacted to such a situation.

We have no idea what the future Autopilot might do, though as yobigd20 pointed out the car doesn't have rear radar which will limit its ability to detect the situation early.

The current TACC won't react at all AFAICT, nor should it - though a warning would be nice if the car did see it coming.
Walter
 
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I think "yo" would have "brake-checked" him :cursing: :biggrin:

If I only touched the brake the high speed accident would have happened. On the contrary the accident has been avoided because I accelerated.

IMO this behaviour of the crazy driver is really dangerous because the message that he sent me was: "Get out of my way immediately because otherwise I will cause an accident. I don't care if some people will get hurt in the accident, I don't care about the consequences of the accident, but you must give me the lane immediately"

This is a real threat. These crazy drivers behaving like this are dangerous!
 
It's terrible and unfortunate, but the only thing you can do is get out of his/her way.

I'd probably also place a call to 911, especially if you got his/her license plate. I'm sure they could let a couple of cops know that this lunatic is on the road.
 
I realize the original post is from a person in Italy, and the law and the etiquette may be different there. Most people in the USA don't seem to realize that most state motor vehicle codes REQUIRE you to move right if you are slower than other vehicles regardless of the speed limit. The Texas "Transportation Code" spells this out in very obscure legalese as follows:

Sec. 545.051. DRIVING ON RIGHT SIDE OF ROADWAY.
...big long section (a) skipped...

(b) An operator of a vehicle on a roadway moving more slowly than the normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place under the existing conditions shall drive in the right-hand lane available for vehicles, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, unless the operator is:
(1) passing another vehicle; or
(2) preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway.

The phrasing here is very awkward, because paragraph (b) is a sub-section of the whole "driving on the right" part of the code. Take note that it does NOT say anything at all about speed limits. Instead, it goes to great pains to state "[if you are]...moving more slowly..." than the "...normal speed of other vehicles at the time and place...". This has been tested in court many times and it can be stated another way quite simply: If approached from the rear, move right. No matter how fast/slow you are going, the car behind you is the "other vehicle" at that "time and place".

Most states have similar laws.

In my entire driving life, I've noticed a broad section of people who seem to feel that if they are doing the exact speed limit, they can stay in the left lane and 'block' cars that want to go faster. (Clearly, the OP was not doing this.) I've always found it fascinating to watch these people creating a traffic hazard by being slower than the general pace of traffic and insisting on staying in the left lane. I imagine the mental state of these blockers to be: "I'm doing the right thing, I'm doing the speed limit, these other jerks can just piss off" or similar. Fascinating to know, for a fact, that these blockers are actually the ones breaking the law.



Anyway, the answer to the OP's question: MOVE OVER!! It is the safe thing to do, and it is probably the law as well.
 
It's terrible and unfortunate, but the only thing you can do is get out of his/her way.

I'd probably also place a call to 911, especially if you got his/her license plate. I'm sure they could let a couple of cops know that this lunatic is on the road.

Well said. It's what I am thinking to do.

I wonder how many times people calls the cops for me doing the same thing to them HAHA

seriously though, the left lane is a passing lane only. if you see somebody (like me) approaching at very high speed, be prepared to get high beamed and tailgated if you don't move over quickly. and yes, it will look like i'm about to smash into you because i won't slow down until i'm right on top of you. it just gives it that extra effect of GTFOOMW.
 
If I only touched the brake the high speed accident would have happened. On the contrary the accident has been avoided because I accelerated.

IMO this behaviour of the crazy driver is really dangerous because the message that he sent me was: "Get out of my way immediately because otherwise I will cause an accident. I don't care if some people will get hurt in the accident, I don't care about the consequences of the accident, but you must give me the lane immediately"

This is a real threat. These crazy drivers behaving like this are dangerous!

Raffy, it is possible that his behaviour was not intentionally aggressive or mean, it may be that his attention slipped and he mis-estimated situation on the road.

Once I stopped on a straight road on red light. There was one car in front of me. As I stopped, I saw in my rear view mirror a ute (small truck) approaching without slowing down. The realization was instant - he was going to crash into me, so I braced for the impact, and sure I got it. My car was slammed from behind by a small truck. The impact pushed my car into the car in front of me. My car was a write off, as the chassis was damaged.

The driver that hit me was much more confused and scared than me, as he was more surprised with the crash - at least I saw it coming :biggrin: The ute driver was bewildered. He explained that his body was not fully woken up, it was early morning. That feeling is very familiar to me.

After that crash, I decided to buy BMW, as someone showed me the photos of a frontal duel between BMW and Honda. BMW driver got out of the duel unscratched, whilst Honda occupants were less fortunate. My friend was the only survivor out of 4 Honda occupants. He barely survived, with some permanent injuries. Since that crash, he drives nothing but the BMW.
 
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In my entire driving life, I've noticed a broad section of people who seem to feel that if they are doing the exact speed limit, they can stay in the left lane and 'block' cars that want to go faster. (Clearly, the OP was not doing this.) I've always found it fascinating to watch these people creating a traffic hazard by being slower than the general pace of traffic and insisting on staying in the left lane. I imagine the mental state of these blockers to be: "I'm doing the right thing, I'm doing the speed limit, these other jerks can just piss off" or similar. Fascinating to know, for a fact, that these blockers are actually the ones breaking the law.

Speeding is breaking the law, too.

(Not that I"m encouraging or justifying the lane blocking - just trying to keep perspective on the matter.)
 
I realize the original post is from a person in Italy, and the law and the etiquette may be different there. Most people in the USA don't seem to realize that most state motor vehicle codes REQUIRE you to move right if you are slower than other vehicles regardless of the speed limit. The Texas "Transportation Code" spells this out in very obscure legalese as follows:

...

Most states have similar laws.

I don't know how current this is, but: http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/right.html

seriously though, the left lane is a passing lane only. if you see somebody (like me) approaching at very high speed, be prepared to get high beamed and tailgated if you don't move over quickly. and yes, it will look like i'm about to smash into you because i won't slow down until i'm right on top of you. it just gives it that extra effect of GTFOOMW.
Sound like you need one of these stickers!
500x500.jpg


Speeding is breaking the law, too.

(Not that I"m encouraging or justifying the lane blocking - just trying to keep perspective on the matter.)
I've seen plenty of left-lane bandits blocking the left lane below the speed limit, preventing drivers from legally passing at the speed limit.

No one deputized these jerks and told them to go out and protect the public from speeders.
 
Speeding is breaking the law, too.

(Not that I"m encouraging or justifying the lane blocking - just trying to keep perspective on the matter.)

Lane blocking makes the aggressive drivers even more mad. They do whatever it takes to pass other vehicle.

I have witnessed an incident which almost would have been a terrible accident when this Ford Truck probably driving 90mph on a interstate trying to pass this Chevy malibu car driving within speed limit. The chevy malibu car was driven by a senior driver whom you expect to take some time to move to the right lane.

The malibu driver did not move fast enough for this Ford truck and the Ford truck eventually tried to pass him on the right lane and the malibu driver did not realize that Ford truck was at his blind spot eventually Ford truck moved to extreme right and went on to shoulders to pass this malibu car.


This raises few questions:

a. Why can't Ford truck driver wait little longer for the malibu car to move to the right lane... What is the hurry that you want someone to be killed?


In my opinion the Ford truck driver should be punished to full extent of the law for being such a reckless aggressive driver.
 
I saw a Buick brake-check a tailgating state trooper the other night. It didn't end well for the Buick.
More detail since the thread has evolved into a discussion of left-lane bandits:

I was driving around 11pm on a 3 lane highway with the cruise set around 72. I was in the center lane, slowly gaining on a bus in front of me. We were (slowing) passing a few cars in the right lane. Said Buick was parked in the left lane ~500 feet ahead, with no traffic in the other lanes (driver could easily move right).

I moved left to pass the bus. In the mirror I saw the headlights of a Ford Crown Victoria approaching at >80 in the distance, center lane. I cancelled the cruise, put on my signal, and moved right behind the bus to let the Trooper pass. He pulled into the left lane, passed us, and sat on the bumper of the Buick for a mile or so.

I was waiting to see if the Trooper hit the lights to get the driver to move over, or just passed on the right. After a mile or two, the Buick decided it would be fun to break-check the tailgater (obviously this driver never learned to recognize police car headlights).

At that point, the Trooper had enough, hit his lights, and pulled over the Buick. To top it off, the Buick stopped in the median, on a bridge, where there wasn't enough room for both cars to get out of the left lane. I'm sure that (rightly) turned into an expensive evening for the Buick driver.
 
I'll just mention that the European drivers routinely drive in the right lane unless overtaking, while it's mostly in the US that lane blocking happens. Many US drivers don't even know about the law, and I've never heard of it being enforced. It's a cultural thing I guess.