What are the reasons for NOT using Cruise Control?

[LD48750]

Anyone who slams on their brakes purposely because someone is too close behind them should be charged with dangerous driving. And I would not even touch my brakes if the person tailgating me had anyone behind them at all. Just too dangerous if for example that person slams on their brakes and causes the person behind them to rear end them.

But it's way more fun to see how mad you can make other drivers.
What would you expect someone to do, just move right & get out of the way?

 

[downsizingnow48]

But it's way more fun to see how mad you can make other drivers. What would you expect someone to do, just move right & get out of the way?

A tailgating driver is a bad driver and if real close probably angry too. Let's see, what I can do to make things worse? I know! Hit the brakes!!

 

[downsizingnow48]

I used to counsel my employees, there is no situation so bad that you cannot make it worse by misbehaving.

 

[aczlan]

Take your pick of almost any of the base model vehicles with the weakest available engine from any of the major auto-builders. Load them down with the average 400-700lbs American family of four. I'll show you gobs of hills that you can push the pedal to the floor forcing a downshift starting up the hill and it will not hold 70MPH (our local freeway speed limit). Lots will bog down to 60, downshift gears, and gain back a few MPH, upshift, lose a few MPH, downshift again, and repeat the cycle till the top of the hill.

Riiiight...
My previous two cars were a 1989 Volvo 740 wagon and a 1993 Volvo 940 wagon. Both had the 2.3L non-turbo engine (114HP, 134ft/lb of torque), an automatic transmission and weighed around 3700# with me and my normal stuff on board (specs: 1993 Volvo 940 ).
I know all about driving a low HP car. Any engine made in recent history (since the 70s?) shouldn't have a problem sitting on the rev limiter for long enough to get up a hill. If it cant, it should be fixed and/or you should be polite and pull over to let the backlog of cars behind you get past.

Dumb driver, dumb cop! And in the rain, yet, when the RH lane was open to both drivers! What kind of stupid cop tailgates like that in such conditions, for no apparent reason? And why didn't the guy in the van simply pull over? I would have, even if I did not know it was a cop. And I would never brake repeatedly like that - just asking for an accident.

The van driver probbaly felt that they were traveling as fast as was safe and anyone who wanted to go faster was an idiot who could go around.
The cop probbaly wanted to get video proving that they wouldn't move over and got a bonus of them driving recklessly...

Aaron Z

 

[Deere Dude]

Anyone who slams on their brakes purposely because someone is too close behind them should be charged with dangerous driving. And I would not even touch my brakes if the person tailgating me had anyone behind them at all. Just too dangerous if for example that person slams on their brakes and causes the person behind them to rear end them.

My first trip snow-birding from Wisconsin to Florida I stopped in Kentucky for the night. On night we unhooked our new camper in a remote campground and drove my nice shiny new new 4x4 dually downtown to get something to eat. On the way back to the campground it was night and very dark. I got on a 2 lane 10 mile straight country road and set my cruise at a couple over whatever the limit was. I couple miles in I thought I could see a light reflection in back of me so I asked my wife to take a look, and she said no, nobody back there. A mile or two farther I told her there was, but he was very close to my truck to where you couldn't see him.

Once I concluded there was a very very close tailgater I considered downshifting a couple gears to scuff him up a bit, But then I remembered I didn't have a stinger in the receiver and didmn't want any damage on my undercarriage so nixed that idea. I finally just slowed down a couple, but he stayed there. Finally after I slowed gradually too 10 under the limit and held it, he got sick of it and he passed and sped off.

After that I decided I needed a hefty stinger for those situation.

 

[downsizingnow48]

After that I decided I needed a hefty stinger for those situation.

Not too long ago I was slowing for a traffic jam on the highway. Felt a mild "thump" from behind. One of those low import hot rods had run up against my hitch. When he passed a few minutes later there was a big keyhole shaped dent right in the middle of his plastic bumper. Left some white paint on my trailer ball.

 

[turnkey4099]

Here, those inconsiderate folks pass in the breakdown lanes. Traffic can be flowing at 80 mph and you still get a tater head who feels the need to take the break down lane.

Now, I've seen people get some hefty fines and ticketed pretty good for brake checking someone. For instance, this old lady kept calling in to the police department when she was out on the highway. Kept reporting that folks were harassing her on the interstate. After a ridiculous amount of complaints to the police department, the police sent out an unmarked car to follow her. See the old lady was running between 50 and 65 in the left lane, where traffic flow was running 70 to 75mph during rush hour. As soon as a vehicle got within three car lengths of her, she would slam on the brakes. That 30 or so complaints that she made to the police got turned into 30 or so charges of harassment against her

I've had the luck to get behind some of these folks that think it's OK to brake check on the highway. What these folks do is cause accidents behind them, and slow traffic down. You don't stop to consider that it's not only the person directly behind you that is effected. But also the 100 or so cars behind them, plus the big rigs that need extra distance to slow dow.

So we get someone that just pulls right tight in front of us, and cuts our cushion down for stopping.
Then you have a tater head that decides at that some moment to brake check someone. Well guess what??? That tater head just stacked all the vehicles up behind them like an accordion, and possibly caused a wreck 20 or 30 cars back At the minimum, you just caused traffic to go from flowing smoothly, to a crawl. Thanks alot!!!!!

And the people who rear ended someing in that scenario were ALL following to close. Only safe distance to follow is one where you can stop without parking in the trunk of the car in front of you if that one bombs the brakes.

 

[Dftodd]

And the people who rear ended someing in that scenario were ALL following to close. Only safe distance to follow is one where you can stop without parking in the trunk of the car in front of you if that one bombs the brakes.

I agree with you and try to keep a minimum of 4 car lengths in front of me clear. More if I'm hauling something. The kicker is, in rush hour, at any given time you'll have at least 3 vehicles squeeze into that space in front of me. Till they can pull away from me to free up that space, your limited. And usually it's just more and more vehicles stacking into that spot. Usually turns into a nasty cycle till you can get out of the city and traffic frees up

 

[Dftodd]

Not too long ago I was slowing for a traffic jam on the highway. Felt a mild "thump" from behind. One of those low import hot rods had run up against my hitch. When he passed a few minutes later there was a big keyhole shaped dent right in the middle of his plastic bumper. Left some white paint on my trailer ball.

Had similar happen to me. Was running through the city in an f550 flat bed with the deck loaded. Traffic was cruising about 35 miles an hour, light turned red up ahead, so I went to down shift the truck a gear. Just as I hit the clutch, the truck shot up to 50, then stopped dead in the road Started to pull the truck out of the road and it stalled. Dropped it into granny gear and creeped into the brake down lane. Was a little shocked when I walked back and found a sebring convertible stuck too the Pintle hook.

Gal said I needed to get her car unhooked from my truck since she was late for an appointment. I told her I wasn't doing anything till the cops arrived

 

[TomSeller]

My 3500 lb Mercedes 240D with all of it's 64 HP is allergic to uphills but loves downhills. And I ain't pulling over to let CC drivers go past, it takes too dang long to get back to (actually near if I round up) the speed limit.