"I think that other fellow's purpose is merely to troll for response; he's shown no interest in actual discussion. "
oh contrare....
long detailed discourse.... but basically my view is that it's not proximity alone nor how many times one is in proximity...
... it is how long you are in close proximity and at what speed.
Take a look at a NASCAR race and you can get a sense of the dynamics.... except those are professional drivers using top notch vehicles designed for that environment.
so my premise is:
if you travel in close proximity for extended periods of time at high speeds - you are more at risk than if you change one or both of those conditions - and you CAN do this basically by either speeding up or slowing down to buy you distance - even at high speeds.
and my corollary is that you yourself can determine whether or not the way you drive in congested high-speed traffic is compatible with the flow by simply keeping count of the number of times people cut you off, pbutt you on the right or tailgate you.. the number of times you have to brake or take evasive action because of others.
These are all indicators of conditions that occur in close proximity traffic flows.
Ever notice that some folks who travel at high speed will often wait patiently behind someone until there is an way around them and then they move very quickly and execute the manuever... and often after the pbutt they MOVE to the right lane. These folks are making a statement to those who hug the left lane.... but the folks who insist on staying in the left lane at speeds that back up others behind them are either oblivious (bad drivers) or stubborn about their "rights".. either way - they refuse to adapt to conditions and they don't drive collabratively and cooperatively with others but rather view themselves an independent of others in the flow and having no responsibility to not impede flow.
I don't consider the statement above (and prior ones) as "trolling". .. and yes agree that dialogue and discussion..even disagreement do not mean anger.. hurling ad hominems, etc... are inevitable.
