"The fact is that staying in close proximity to other vehicles (whether
it's side by side, 15 feet off the rear bumper) is not safe."
Amen and I'm astounded that this is a arguable point.
Anyone who thinks running side-by-side with an 18 wheeler at 70+ mph for an extended period of time is 'ok' is fooling himself.
If for ANY reason... good or bad ... right or wrong .. that 18 wheeler moves from his path - you are OUT OF OPTIONS of than the left shoulder - and as Arif sez... that's going from the frying pan into the fire....
In the left lane ... you are inches and seconds from becoming a corpse and taking others with you. This is all beyond the other aspect which is creating 10, 15, 20+ car rolling roadblocks which bring on their own problems, not the least of which is encouraging those with less tolerance and less brain cells to do something even more stupid.
1. Don't get in the left lane unless you intend to pbutt quickly - even if it means going faster than you "normal" speed.
2. Once you are there - get on with it - do the pbutt and get out of the way.
3. You don't own the space your car occupies - you are SHARING it with others and you have a responsibility to others to drive COLLABORATIVELY by adapting to conditions and not driving your own "game" no matter what.
4. The German's mindset is everything the American mindset is not when it comes to driving. The Germans do 1, 2 and 3 above as if it is their National duty. Americans think 1, 2 and 3 are "debateable" points.
