<< I find your constant reference to tailgating rather strange >>

Haz, my housemate who is also a self-confessed hoon, has often said the same sort of thing. He’s a great fan of yours by the way. He reckons you’re the Hoon-god of OLO!

I just put it down to those with hoonery in their blood not noticing or caring about risk factors and safety margins to anywhere near the same extent as someone who is conscious of these things and of striving to drive in a manner so as to minimise risk factors and maximise safety margins and desire other drivers do the same… and get a tad annoyed when some other drivers seem to have absolutely no regard for this.

Hey, I include travelling too closely to the vehicle in front within my definition of tailgating. So if you’ve got a fool three car-lengths behind you at 105kmh on the open highway, then that’s tailgating as far as I’m concerned.

So going by that somewhat broader definition of tailgating than you presumably have, would you still say that you never get tailgated…. or followed too closely?

Bear in mind that the recommended minimum following distance is 2 seconds in good conditions and more at night or on a wet road. 2 seconds equates to 10 car-lengths at 100kmh, 8 at 80, 6 at 60 etc.

Tailgating does seem to have improved somewhat in the last few years. Having just driven extensively in South Australia in urban and open-road areas over a three-week period, I found it to be remarkably infrequent… in stark contrast to Queensland.

Luddy old mate, I had an accident on the public road in 1959, & another on the race track in 1968. That being the case I think I can claim to adequately allow for risk factors when driving around.

Hell perhaps I am/was a god. Much of that was on interstate trips where we expected to average well over 70MPH. However most of my mates were doing it too, & we did not have accidents.

There is an old motor racing saying, "to finish first, first you have to finish". With the high cost of rebuilding damaged cars or broken mechanical bits, hoons did not last long. Yes I have come down Conrod straight at 170 MPH+ [272Km/H actually], within inches of another car, but I knew who was driving that other car. Both of us were driving quite carefully, intending to finish.

On our major expressways you will always find a larger gap in front of me, than behind. I like to have enough space to allow for a following drivers lack of attention, but I don't think they are tailgating, & they are mostly more experienced in commuting driving than I am.

I don't approve of our ridiculously low speed limits. If it was 150Km/H, granny next door would still drive into town at 80, & that is fine for her. However there is no reason competent drivers, prepared to concentrate on driving, should not be doing 150. After all that is no faster than we drove in the 60s, on much worse roads, & in much less capable cars.

It does seam that all our progress is backwards these days.

I get your drift Has been. You like me grew up in the old school. We more aware of our surroundings than they are today. Granted if you are city driving & used to it drivers do tend to move in & out of traffic effortlessly. Most drivers are considerate they know make a gap or close up then let things shake out after a merge is made. But there are a lot of pushy idiots who don't have any regard for other drivers. Those you have to look out for. Country drivers are easy to pick. They drive slower & leeway has to be given to them, for they know not what to do. Hoons are another thing, they think they have the right to drive as they like, anywhere they like, at any speed they like. They are a lot harder to predict, consequently, bingles occur. I won't say accidents.

Still why own a car that will do 265 if you are only allowed to do 100. Waste of money, fuel & it's just a status symbol for d!(# he@d$.

<< I don't approve of our ridiculously low speed limits >>

Me neither. But neither would I approve of a 150kmh on any open road!

A great deal of the time I think speed limits are too low, often absurdly so. It is a case, as rehctub points out, of us all paying for the vagaries of a few rank drivers.

If we could pull the d!ckheads into line, then I reckon we’d have a very good case for pushing for speed limits to be increased in probably 50% of all situations everywhere!

So Haz, as part of a campaign to get more sensible and less aggravating speed limits implemented, how about supporting my push for community policing?