Dave Head
True, I don't disagree with that; for the purpose of this discussion we've been using "speeder" to refer to one who is driving at a rate substantially above the platoon.
I've never seen it work on crowded interstates. There rarely is a "clear" zone. But even if there is, the speeder's exposure to nearly all of the cars in the clump through which he's maneuvering negates any claim of safety once he clears. He's just successfully run the mine field, whereas the steady driver doesn't trip any of those wires.
Not so on most highways Americans travel. Even on non-freeways, most speeders I see weaving around on expressway or major arterials excape nothing. I pull up to them at the next red light (smirk!). And even if it were the case on less crowded highways that he's nit he clear 50% of the time, he multiplied greatly the level of hazard for himself and others in the process, creating a worse situation than would have existed if he'd stayed with the flow.
Not so. Maintain proper following distance and this is no issue at all. Once he speeds to try to thread through the platoon, *then* he's in hazard.
The person in the platoon who maintains flow also has no hazard from behind if others behind him respect the rights of those ahead of them in the first place. In any event, you've just aptly demonstrated my very point that it is the speeder coming up from behind who is introducing the hazard in the first place.
I think this is your predisposition speaking. Maybe it's the effect of the MTV-induced thinking that we must constantly be diverted in order to maintain attention. But there's no reason to think this.
Wrong. Think of the old PAC-MAN or Space Invaders game. At some point, the increasing rush of input and changing situations - that which is brought on by increasing speeds - that defeats you. If Space Invaders stayed at the same pace with each level, I'd have never lost a game.
