What gives: the 20ft "gappers" at lights?

[Tailgate]

Am I the only one or is there some sound logic to,the cagers who don't queue up normally at a light and will leave up to a 20ft "gap" between them and the crosswalk line or even just the vehicle in front of them? This now seems more and more to include drivers doing this practice even if they're not the first one before the crosswalk line. And, if the first one in line does this to preclude from getting pushed into the cross traffic during a rear-end incident, why then, don't they move up once a line of cars has established behind them? But, what really baffles me are the ones who are, not even in the front but, say, 3-4 cars back and stop 20 feet or so short of the vehicle in front of them and just stay like that even if there are 20 vehicles completely stopped behind them. WTF? The other day while making my way (splitting at 5MPH or so) through stopped traffic I discover a 20foot or so empty space or "gap" in front of one of the cars stopped 5-6 cars back in the queue. Since the light up front turned green and the cars were now starting to resume movement I just pulled in this empty car length space (I don't like to split at light queues when traffic starts moving). Is this supposed to irritate, do you suppose, the driver behind me who practices this kind of protocol? WTF is going on with the drivers who do this practice? WTF is this supposed to do besides irritate the other drivers behind...including the ones who want to make a left turn but can't move up to get to the left turn lane and, as a result, must now wait for another traffic light cycle? I don't know about you, but this kind of discourtesy "irritates" me, especially if I'm in my van and I could have room to enter in the left turn lane and make it in one traffic light cycle if only the f'ing driver up front taking up enough space for 2 vehicles didn't do this. Imagine if all drivers did this. And you know, if I wasn't on a motorcycle and filtering at these light queues I wouldn't even be aware of how often this is what's happening up front. Tailgating can be GOOD, even courteous, if nobody's moving and nobody's going to possibly rear-end you and push you into cross-traffic or the vehicle ahead of you.

[rbesr]

I've seen lots of drivers leave the large gap between them and the car in front of them at lights. It's not to irritate other drivers, it's self-defense. If for some reason a driver rear-ends the last car in line, it can set off a chain reaction of knocking each car into the one in front of it. If you are stopped too close to the car in front of you and get knocked into them, you can be sighted for causing the damage to the car you hit.

[Troubl]

Originally Posted by rbesr

I've seen lots of drivers leave the large gap between them and the car in front of them at lights. It's not to irritate other drivers, it's self-defense. If for some reason a driver rear-ends the last car in line, it can set off a chain reaction of knocking each car into the one in front of it. If you are stopped too close to the car in front of you and get knocked into them, you can be sighted for causing the damage to the car you hit.

+1. I seem to remember back in Driver's Education in California we were taught to leave about a two-car gap between us and the car in front for that very reason... if you are rear-ended, with that gap you will not rear-end the car in front of you.

[08fz6]

only problem i see is people that do that around here wait till the last second and go o yeah i wanna have a gap so they slam on their breaks thus making me and that could be even worse.... however here in ny we also have no fault so....

[mglowe]

Cars actually leaving some space... not in my town. Bumper-on-bumper seems to be the norm in the Midwest. I was taught that the rear wheels [touching pavement] for vehicle in front should be visible. I wouldn't say that would be a 20 foot separation but a comfortable one.

The reason for a gap is that when the light turns green, everyone can begin moving at the same time. A gap allows for the difference in speed as not everyone will leave at the same rate. I have never seen this work as people do not pay attention and the impatient one inevitably ends up braking.

I absolutely hate it when some impatient bozo (trucks are the worst), really believes they are going to get there faster on my bumper and queues inches away - intimidation. Crazy thing is... where are these people going? I mean, we have no place here that important needing to ride up each others arse or we would ALL be there already.

[Tailgate]

Originally Posted by rbesr

I've seen lots of drivers leave the large gap between them and the car in front of them at lights. It's not to irritate other drivers, it's self-defense. If for some reason a driver rear-ends the last car in line, it can set off a chain reaction of knocking each car into the one in front of it. If you are stopped too close to the car in front of you and get knocked into them, you can be sighted for causing the damage to the car you hit.

Lemme get this straight. If I'm stopped, say 5 feet back from vehicle in front whether it be in backed up freeway traffic, toll booth, freeway on-ramp light, green light queue and somebody rear-ends me causing me to roll into the vehicle in front, I can be cited and held at fault and it's not and not only the driver's fault who initially caused the accident or chain reaction? Also, everybody taking a twice the space necessary, let's say, at a left turn lane, and making drivers behind, as a result, having now to wait an additional traffic light cycle is not going to ramp up road rage? Geesh, even CHP officers don't engage in this practice (I don't think I've ever seen it).

[teeter]

It's a bummer when you're first at a light that you can't trigger and the safe, friendly driver behind you is stopped prior to the sensors. I've had this happen a number of times.

You can't get pissed really because at least they're considerate and not parked on your pillion. It's still frustrating though. I always want to somehow wave them forward, but I know that would be a confusing "come hither" gesture.

[grommit]

Is it not better to make the gap as small as possible...



..thus all the energy is transferred to the car who is first in the queue.

[CHEMIKER]

Here is my 0.02:

What I've noticed is that people around here that leave the gaps also creep forward to close that gap at some point during the red light. They are often talking on the phone or otherwise distracted. I don't believe there are that many people that are paying that much attention to be doing this on purpose as some sort of safety measure. I think they aren't even thinking of what they are doing and then when they realize where they stopped they creep forward to fill the gap.

It is my biggest pet peeve also because of the "I can't make it into that turn lane because of some jacka$$ who isn't paying attention" reason. The worst is when they move forward now I have to move forward so I'm not the new jacka$$ leaving a gap in front of me...

[Tailgate]

Originally Posted by grommit

Is it not better to make the gap as small as possible...



..thus all the energy is transferred to the car who is first in the queue.

Okay, grommit, tell me, do all of these balls individually have operators with a foot on the brake as do just about all automatic transmission drivers because this is probably 90+ percent of everybody. Also, if drivers are stopping within 1-2 centimeters of each other is this realistic? As far as strategy while on my FZ, I will position myself on the side of my lane, not a whopping 20 feet in back of the vehicle in front. That way, if there is something barreling down out of control on me (I keep an eye approching vehicles with my mirrors) I simply move forward to the left or right (lane split) and move out of action (is this going to be deemed an "illegal" lane split in your state?) And, if there's, say, a number of cars already stopped behind me I don't even bother really staying glued to my mirrors out of paranoia because 1) car approaching a light queue that far back is already out of view anyway, and; 2) if there is a errant driver that far back rear-ending a vehicle I'll hear the action before I see anything in my mirror. At any rate, I'm surprised that some of FZ6 Forum posters will do this practice of stopping 20 feet or so short of the intersection line or vehicle in front even after a multitude of other vehicles have already queued up behind you. I dunno, this strikes me as being overly cautious. Maybe like the drivers who are first to go at the light and just sit there hesitating, afraid to proceed because they haven't surveyed what the situation is before the light turned green. Some of them will wait, paranoid and s-l-o-w-l-y proceed...even if all the vehicles in the cross traffic lanes are already and have been for awhile already stopped at the intersection line. Sometimes, this generates somebody directly behind or farther back tapping/sitting on the horn but by that time a number of drivers farther back are already precluded from making that green light cycle. I consider this practice unneccessary to be defensive and more of a discourtesy. By the way, about 30 years ago I was rear-ended while stopped at a light. My car was totaled. I was lucky that I didn't catch fire...it was a pre-unsafe-gas-tank-recall Ford Pinto