I've been caught by surprise before when a conservative driver slammed on their brakes when the light turned yellow even though there was ample time for both of us to coast through the light. Instead, I nearly rear-ended them.
There, FTFY. I tend to follow too closely, too, but let's call it what it is and not blame the driver in front of us.
The problem is, if I relied on other drivers to be predictable, I'd probably already be dead. I tell other motorcycle riders, "ask yourself what the stupidest thing that driver in front/next to/behind you can do. Now plan for that." It's not too often that plan needs to be executed, but it's handy when the time comes. (Anecdotally, I've found WA to be the hardest to plan for; man, they're a creative bunch.)
So, yes, be predictable; but expect the unexpected. As Red Green said, "we're all in this together."
I look forward to the day that self-driving cards are mandatory. Driving is one of the most excruciating things I endure in daily life and only because of the huge number of people on the roads exhibiting random and completely irrational behavior. If there is absolutely no rational reason to stop your car in the midst of moving traffic, then why do it?
I was once told by a driving instructor that the safe following distance behind a car is always 3 seconds regardless of speed. At 3 seconds distance there are no evasive stopping actions and your underwear remains unsoiled.
I witnessed an accident where a tiny little compact slammed on his brakes the second a light turned yellow. Unfortunately, he was being followed by a large SUV. The SUV hit him and pushed him into the intersection.[0] The very next day, at the very same intersection, I saw the now dented compact do the very same thing under the very same circumstances. He had learned nothing.
[0]To make matters worse, he left his perfectly drivable car in the middle of the intersection instead of pulling ahead. He got out of his car, made a phone call, and just stood there in the intersection having a conversation (with police or insurance I would assume), endangering himself and others.
Smooth and predictable is safe.
I'm not advocating NOT keeping appropriate distance. You should.
I AM advocating NOT slamming your brakes needlessly.
Even when keeping appropriate distance, when the driver in front of you slams on their brakes, you will need to also.
But the legality of it is orthogonal to whether his behavior was right. It wasn't. It was unexpected, reckless, and very unsafe.
Of course, the other driver should have given ample distance himself and have been paying attention, but people often don't do that.
At the margin, I think it is safer to err on the side of running a yellow then stopping abrubtly. I have never seen someone run a yellow and think they were being unsafe (even when the yellow turned red), but have seen people stop on yellow in a way that seemed unsafe.
Running a yellow is less dangerous to the person driving then stopping for yellows. That is why we have yellow
Traffic lights originally only had red and green. Municipalities added yellow specifically to prevent brake-slamming stops that led to crashes. Slamming the brakes on yellow is contrary to its purpose.
I have seen people who have so egregiously missed the yellow that the cross-signal turned green before they entered the intersection. Saying that running a yellow is safer than not trains people to be entitled to running yellow lights, and that is going to make their actions much less safe.
If there is someone in front of you, do not plan on running a yellow light. That is a very simple rule to follow and is going to be safe to follow. If you planned on running the light, and the driver in front of you did not plan on doing so, it is you who is going to be at fault.
> If there is someone in front of you, do not plan on running a yellow light.
Can I plan on running a green? Because greens turn into yellows abrubtly.
> If you planned on running the light, and the driver in front of you did not plan on doing so, it is you who is going to be at fault.
If someone slams their breaks in the middle of a clear road and I rear end them, then I am at fault. That doesn't mean it was safe to do so.
if you have to slam on your brakes, it is (arguably) not safe to stop.
In my Subaru STI I can stop faster than some Escalade with only 2/3rds the brake pedal pressure. I'm not even close to maximum braking force. It's even more true in a lighter car like a Porsche 911.
Just as if they were driving a large commercial truck it is the SUV driver's responsibility to not be too close to me.
Try to be smooth and predictable.