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Originally Posted by One
safe driving is not just about whats in front of you, also whats going on behind and beside, those are my reservations about the smith system. When traffic is mixed with different vehicles of different capabilities and limitations, pros and teens looking at facebook on their iphones, we sometimes have to be sheperds to the sheep and work together to insure everyones safety. The truck in front is the eyes of the truck behind; sometimes it is safer to follow close to a truck than allow a 4 wheeler to make a dangerous maneuver to cut in between 2 trucks.
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I'm a little confused about your reservations about the smith system. I apologize if I'm not understanding you correctly. Are you saying they teach only to pay attention to what is in front of you? If so, you either had a bad instructor or you misunderstood the class.
I am a Smith System Instructor and "Getting the Big Picture" is part of the curriculum.
A=Aim High in Steering- You are looking at least 15 seconds ahead
G=Get the Big Picture-keep at least a 4 second minimum following distance and you are checking your mirrors every 5 to 8 seconds
K=Keep you eyes Moving- You avoid focusing on any one object more than 2 seconds
L=Leave Yourself and out- Surround yourself with space
M=Make sure They see you- Seek Eye contact
There is never any excuse to tailgate, ever and I have heard them all! The one about not wanting to have a car or truck cut them off is the most prevalent. If someone is tailgating you and it is making you uncomfortable then the Drivers manual does say to "Increase your following distance until the other vehicle passes you" That is the correct response or you can ignore him and let him make the mistake and hope he doesn't hit you when You slam the brakes on to avoid a situation.
Tailgating another truck to try to keep another car from making a dangerous maneuver to cut between 2 trucks? I have a question and a situation for you.
Here it is:
Say You are driving your Rig Behind Mine and you're driving a full truck length behind......Guess what a car will still try to take that spot.
Say You are driving your Rig behind Mine and you're driving half a truck length behind.....Guess what, a Car will still try to take that spot.
A car will try to fit in any spot that He/She thinks they can get into, assuming that you are ALWAYS going to move. There is no way you can keep them from doing that and you are only adding Danger to an already dangerous situation.
My Question is this and I have asked this in every single class I have taught and I ask this respectfully:
Why is it so hard to slow down?
If you are following a proper and safe distance and a car wants in, so what? What are you losing by letting that car in? Maintain your distance, let the car make the action and keep on rolling. I'm still able to make my deliveries and my pick ups on time and I don't have the stress of worrying about trying to keep a car from cutting my off or getting in front of me. The majority of the time the cars will going faster than you anyway. Carsor Semi wants in? Let them and keep on rolling. Will you have to work at keeping you safe following distance, Yes! But if there is a Situation, Do you want Witnesses telling the LEO that you were tailgating or that it was the other Vehicles fault? There's a lot to think about, isn't there?
I know that in Heavy Traffic it is all but impossible to maintain a constant safe distance. But it is important that you TRY. Don't add more Danger to a situation. Try to subtract it the best you can for the sake of Lives, property damage, your companies reputation and your lifeblood, your license.