Speeders lacking freeway manners

I’ve never been against speeders per se — in fact, I was once a member of the habitual speeder’s club. It’s just that I accumulated enough tickets during my exuberant youth to last a lifetime, so I broke the habit. About 20 years ago, I realized that operating my vehicle in the vicinity of the posted limits is a sure-fire way to avoid those write-ups. I still exceed the limits occasionally however, and will defend others’ rights to do so — I’m even happy when a speeder sails past me, as they can “use up the cops” that may be ahead. Yes, I’ll put up with your speeding, but I’ll sure gripe about the way you ride my behind when I’m in your way.

Actually, here, I’m not griping or whining about your bumper-to-bumper intimidation, but rather pleading. I’m pleading with you drivers who attempt to push slower vehicles out of your way to use more manners. This too common form of aggressive driving leads to road rage and accidents — please knock it off.

This problem seems rampant on our freeways. On a drive to Seattle and back last week, I encountered the first inconsideration before I got past Medical Lake. Here’s the common scenario: I’m running at 72-73 mph in the left lane while passing a slower vehicle. A vehicle running around 80 mph or more catches me before I complete my pass. I use my cruise control’s “accel” feature to reluctantly (because I don’t want a citation) bump my speed up to 75-76 mph to accommodate the speeder’s speed, and expedite my pass. The speeder gets as close as possible to my rear bumper, due do aggression, indifference, stupidity or all of the above.

I know I wouldn’t do that, because when I encounter the reverse situation, I follow at a proper distance until the “blocker” returns to the “slow” lane. Even when running at 73 mph, I often come upon a slow driver passing a slower driver, such as a truck passing a truck — I then reduce my speed, back off the passer a bit, then go back to “my” speed after their pass is over. Trying to speed them up via use of NASCAR’s bump-drafting technique is unsafe and uncalled for, plus I’d be the one at fault if I hit them. By the way, last weekend’s NASCAR race in Talladega, Ala., suffered “the big one” (huge wreck involving multiple cars) because of overly aggressive bump drafting, where the racecars “draft” so closely behind other cars that they actually hit them.

Come on freeway speeders, please garner some common courtesy. I admit, in one column I asked certain drivers to curb their courtesy — that, though, was in reference to the misplaced courtesy at play when drivers stop at intersections where I’ve already stopped and yielded the legal right of way, and then hand-signal for me to proceed.

There was a considerable amount of traffic on I-90 during my round trip — enough so that I encountered these speeding bullies more than 15 times (I stopped counting around Ritzville on the return). Is this a new thing for Washington drivers? I’ve put up with it in the past, but never with such frequency as this. We must be learning from our neighbors, since I first noticed these high-speed close-followers on a 330-mile stretch of I-5 between Sacramento and Los Angeles. There, the mainstream traffic travels at 85-90 mph, and when someone needs to depart the slow lane to make a pass, they will be “pushed” along by the fast-moving freight train of traffic at their rear bumper until they move back over. This is coincidentally the same stretch of roadway that is home to periodic 100-car pile-ups.

Like there, the drivers I encountered on I-90 follow so closely that I could only see their windshields in my rear-view. Talk about distraction — I spent a good deal of this drive watching these scofflaws in my mirror — it made it difficult to engage in my other favorite distractions like eating, and searching for radio reception.

Oh I know that these drivers think that I should defer to their speed by staying in the right lane, and waiting for them to pass. When the timing is right, I do, but it usually means that I curtail my 72 mph speed, and ride behind the truck or other slow vehicle at 60 mph or so, waiting for the approaching speeder to arrive and pass. This allows them to maintain their 80-85 mph uninterrupted — but since they are the ones breaking the law, why can’t they oblige my pass, slow to 75 mph, and maintain a safe distance for a few seconds?

A little consideration, coupled with some give and take compromise, is a necessity of driving. If you encounter a vehicle that is passing another, especially if that vehicle is traveling at or above the posted speed limit, please maintain a proper following distance until the pass is made. I know it can be done, because I do it, and so do many other courteous drivers I observed on this trip.

Let’s cut down on these annoying close encounters of the freeway kind.

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