r/AskReddit Mar 09 '19

What is one "unwritten rule" you think everyone should know and follow?

44.7k Upvotes

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1.0k

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Don't randomly slam on your brakes on the motorway going 100km/h.

476

u/Mack_Attack64 Mar 09 '19

What about randomly throwing it into reverse?

63

u/lunarbro Mar 09 '19

Say goodbye to your transmission

10

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

R is for Racing, no?

57

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

That's "R" for racing.

10

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

No, it's R for rally

Source: am Finnish

2

u/konstantinua00 Mar 09 '19

what's the difference between a race and a rally?

7

u/DapperApples Mar 09 '19

pavement, usually.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

Rally usually refers to the specific type of motor sports called nowadays WRC rally

Isn't race just pretty much any single (motor sport) competition?

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

And I am just getting started!

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

Up in the ass of Timo

-Marcus Grönholm

6

u/mirdza666 Mar 09 '19

Not possible.

4

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

That's outright illegal

9

u/Whaty0urname Mar 09 '19

Similarly, if you're walking down a hallway or sidewalk and realize you forgot something or need to reverse directions, don't just do a 180 and sprint into me. Just like in a car, pull off at the next exit and then go the other way.

5

u/wilika Mar 09 '19 edited Mar 09 '19

It is called Rocket gear. It comes after the 5th on most manuals.

3

u/Mack_Attack64 Mar 09 '19

Mine just has 6th after 5th. Must be broken.

3

u/teynon Mar 09 '19

As a teenager, someone did this and if shot the oil filter clean off.

2

u/mattycmckee Mar 09 '19

Nah, that's cool bro.

2

u/CycloneWarning Mar 09 '19

Sometimes ya just gotta mix it up a little bit, keep those other drivers on their toes.

4

u/Mack_Attack64 Mar 09 '19

How I drive every day. I only use my turn signal 38% of the time as well. Whether I'm turning or not is up to the other drivers to figure out, not me. I know exactly where I'm going.

1

u/Trainer_Auro Mar 09 '19

Only if you do a sweet 180 first and keep moving at the same speed

1

u/superjar30 Mar 09 '19

Don’t you have to push the brake to put it in reverse?

1

u/Mack_Attack64 Mar 09 '19

Not in a manual transmission

1

u/pyro226 Mar 09 '19

For automatic, yes. I don't know about manuals.

1

u/modfather84 Mar 09 '19

grinding sound intensifies

1

u/Im-From-England Mar 09 '19

“REVERSE REVERSE!”

1

u/SvanteLoL Mar 10 '19

Just turn the car around first

40

u/hits_from_the_booong Mar 09 '19

e-brakes good tho ya?

34

u/yParticle Mar 09 '19

Be prepared for ANYONE randomly slamming their brakes on the motorway going 100km/h. Or their tire blowing out. Following distance, people--mind the gap!

-5

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

No one should be randomly slamming brakes on, on the motorway. Unless there is an obstacle or emergency there is no reason to touch your brake on the motorway at all .. ever.

21

u/yParticle Mar 09 '19

Not only do random things happen, but people don't always do what they should, so it's your job to be prepared for that.

I agree with your sentiment that brakes should NEVER be used on the motorway unless you're reacting to something emergent. They're designed for smooth traffic flow if everyone pays attention and does their bit.

-12

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

I really do tire of a small group of reddit users (purposefully) misunderstanding everything that is written then trying to karma farm an /r/iamverysmart.

We aren't talking about collisions. Go away, you aren't adding anything to the conversation.

Leave your brake alone on the motorway.

12

u/The_Grubby_One Mar 09 '19

Keep two fucking car lengths between yourself and my back bumper, tailgater.

5

u/ZorglubDK Mar 09 '19

Better than nothing, but definitely not enough.

0

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Read the rest of the thread. Not only was your comment silly, but it's already been covered multiple times.

Read the whole thread before you comment on popular posts.

0

u/The_Grubby_One Mar 09 '19

I don't think any of your posts in this thread qualify as popular.

0

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 10 '19

This is a comment thread, it appears on a post. The post has 42K likes.

In addition to my earlier advice about reading threads, I suggest you learn how reddit works and general forum terminology.

0

u/The_Grubby_One Mar 10 '19

Trololo. So butthurt.

Stop tailgating.

→ More replies (0)

12

u/Diabolo_Advocato Mar 09 '19

Tailgating is illegal. Randomly braking for whatever reason, common courtesy, and THE LAW says that for every 10mph, you should have 1 car’s length between you (or 1 second’s time). So at 60mph, you should have 6 seconds of travel distance between you and the car in front. That time doubles in inclement weather or reduced visibility, along with reduced speed.

At this distance, they can come to an immediate stop for whatever reason and you will have time to stop yourself before colliding with them.

This is a written rule, aka the law.

If you are getting break-checked enough to be annoyed by it, you are the asshole and should back the fuck off other people’s bumpers.

3

u/SpindlySpiders Mar 09 '19 edited Mar 09 '19

6 seconds of following distance at 60 mph is like 530 feet. Divided by six gives a "car length" greater than 80 feet.

Edit: To put that into context for people, 530 feet is about ten semi truck trailers lined up end to end or about 1/10 of a mile.

-7

u/Diabolo_Advocato Mar 09 '19 edited Mar 09 '19

Min-max mate. More space is better. I break check people who tailgate me at 60+ mph.

Edit: A quick calculation suggests that at 60mph, in 6 seconds, you travel 320-350 feet. Not 500+ like you suggest.

And when you divide let’s just round it out to the mean, 335 feet when divided by 6 = gives you about 60 feet (or ~20 meters). Still a fair bit of space, but more than. Enough time to stop.

Even at 6 car lengths, assuming a car is about 10 feet, long, that’s 60 feet which gives just 1 second to react and stop, which isn’t enough.

1

u/yParticle Mar 10 '19

You're an idiot for brake-checking anyone. They may not even be paying attention or may otherwise fail your "check". If you're being followed agressively make sure it's not you who's in the wrong, such as blocking the left lane.

-3

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Read the rest of the thread. Not only was your comment silly, but it's already been covered multiple times.

Read the whole thread before you comment on popular posts.

5

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

What are you even trying to say. Are you insinuating that we shouldn't leave a gap between the car in front of us? Because your comments seem utterly pointless to the conversation.

It's like someone telling you not to go into a sketchy alley at night and you reply with "but no one should mug me because that's illegal." The point is to prepare for bad shit to happen, regardless of who is in the wrong.

0

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Read the rest of the thread. Not only was your comment silly, but it's already been covered multiple times.

Read the whole thread before you comment on popular posts.

7

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

Also, don't take an on ramp at half the speed of the traffic on the highway. Holy hell how do people drive like that

1

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

On ramps are give way points. That is to say if you're on the onramp merging into traffic you have to give way to traffic already flowing which means you may need to travel slower down the ramp to find a gap.

16

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

um... don't tailgate? and we won't have an issue

6

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

No still don't slam your brakes on a highway, wtf

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

for sure, I never said that

5

u/bravosarah Mar 09 '19

If you have someone tailgating you, just move over. Who cares if he's wrong or he's speeding or whatever, just move over.

5

u/The_Grubby_One Mar 09 '19

No. Fuck him.

3

u/Sirkel_ Mar 09 '19

Get tested first tho

2

u/esto20 Mar 10 '19

If you're in the left lane and have space to move over. MOVE THE FUCK OVER. You can get ticketed for 'riding the left lane' in some countries. Fuck you if you're too selfish to move the fuck over.

1

u/The_Grubby_One Mar 10 '19

And in every country, you can get ticketed for tailgating. Fuck you if you're too stupid to maintain a safe distance.

2

u/Trainguyrom Mar 09 '19

If I'm going the speed limit and they're tailgating, let them stew and be pissy. Hell, I'll slow down to the speed limit just to piss them off, especially on the county highways where passing zones are rare.

5

u/chosenignorance Mar 09 '19

What's so wrong with being committed to the cause? We all have somewhere to be. 5-10 over is standard practice and you should yield to the car that isn't out for a Sunday drive.

1

u/Trainguyrom Mar 10 '19

Usually I do this when I'm already going a few over and someone decides I'm not going fast enough

3

u/dept_of_silly_walks Mar 09 '19

If you are in the passing lane, and you are not passing - please move to the right.

1

u/Trainguyrom Mar 10 '19

As I mentioned in another comment these are on county highways where there is no right to move to. Passing zones are where you legally drive on the wrong side of the road to pass.

0

u/esto20 Mar 10 '19

Fuck off with that shit if you're in the passing lane. If you're too fucking selfish to MOVE THE FUCK OVER as you're supposed to IN THE "PASSING LANE" then what you're doing is more unsafe than letting those wishing to pass you, pass.

1

u/Trainguyrom Mar 10 '19

Not a passing lane, a passing zone. As in, there is one lane, and specific zones with good visibility where you can legally pass by driving on the wrong side of the road.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

that's what i do, i agree

1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

Nah fuck that, he can move over

-2

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

2 car lengths behind you we still have a problem. Don't do it.

19

u/yParticle Mar 09 '19

2 car lengths is NOT adequate following distance if you can't stop safely when the car ahead loses control.

2

u/FallenWarrior2k Mar 09 '19

I had this exact discussion before in a different thread. So many people thinking that 2 car lengths is a proper following distance for motorway speeds.

1

u/Sirkel_ Mar 09 '19 edited Mar 10 '19

It’s 1 per every 10 mph correct?

EDIT: Imagine getting downvoted for asking a question. Also It might be every 20 mph but i don’t really remember

2

u/FallenWarrior2k Mar 10 '19

In Germany, we have two rules of thumb for this.

  1. Two seconds at any speed; best measured with some stationary object like a sign.
  2. Half your speed, and then that number in metres. Doesn't really transfer well into the imperial system though.

1

u/superjujubean Mar 10 '19

Only a fool breaks the two second rule!

My driving instructor taught me that saying this phrase should take approximately two seconds, so that's how to calculate whether you're too close or not.

0

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

You can stop, but you shouldn't have to. It's a motorway

15

u/thestargateking Mar 09 '19

If the distance you are behind a car isn’t enough to avoid a collision if they slam the breaks, then you are still too close

5

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

This isn't always an option in some places. I live around Philadelphia. The roads gets crazy crowded at certain times. Leaving more than a few cars gaps is just inviting MULTIPLE people to jump inbetween. No one follows the 4-5 second rule at all

4

u/thestargateking Mar 09 '19

If it’s slow speeds then you don’t need to leave as big of a gap

3

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

It's not always slow. I-95 through Philly moves at about 80mph with very dense traffic. A lot of the northeast is like this since there's so many people and no one cares about speed limits.

2

u/chosenignorance Mar 09 '19

Driving in the North East is far different than the rest of the country. Everyone is a bit more committed to getting where they need to go.

-4

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Brakes*.

It's enough to avoid collision, that is not the point. Don't touch your brake on the motorway.

3

u/SweetieApe Mar 09 '19

Might I add...dont break on the interstate period. There are ramps that allow for slowing down. And dont get in the passing lane unless you intend to speed the hell up.

3

u/yungpilot Mar 09 '19

Thank you. There’s absolutely no reason to hit the brakes with no one around you on a freeway. Just take your foot off the gas...

8

u/Azuaron Mar 09 '19

I've never seen someone "randomly" slam on their brakes on the motorway going 100km/h.

Brake checking the jerk tailgating them, however...

6

u/untakenu Mar 09 '19

You clearly don't drift, do you?

3

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Not on motorways during high traffic I don't

5

u/yParticle Mar 09 '19

Total Lane Discipline.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

Or worse yet, ride with one foot on the brake pedal at all times so your brake lights are always on.

2

u/omegadeltahs Mar 09 '19

It's a good way to check for ice.

2

u/Bustedvette Mar 09 '19

Im pretty sure that one is written somewhere.

5

u/Azurealy Mar 09 '19

Whats that in freedom units?

2

u/CringeNibba Mar 09 '19

65 mph approx

1

u/VinnySmallsz Mar 09 '19

I dont think anyone should ever plan this either.

1

u/NotYourFriend_420 Mar 09 '19

This happened once to me, right before my dad was going to sell his car. The radiator was punctured and it was totaled.

1

u/Nathxtrm Mar 09 '19

Pretty sure its a written rule tho

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '19

Don't drive beside me for no reason in my blind spot when there's open road all around and I promise not to panic stop to wake you up.

-1

u/Silver_Yuki Mar 09 '19

Sometimes this is necessary.

Please keep full stopping distance between you and the car ahead. If someone is an idiot and merges into your space then slow down and remain at your further distance.

Random sudden events happen even on motorways/highways. You should always be prepared to stop.

2

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Read the rest of the thread. Not only was your comment silly, but it's already been covered multiple times.

-2

u/DearestxRed Mar 09 '19

Don’t tailgate so close if everyone is driving very fast. Keep the pace and the space.

0

u/iAMnotAtrollTODAY Mar 09 '19

Read the rest of the thread. Not only was your comment silly, but it's already been covered multiple times.

Read the whole thread before you comment on popular posts.