Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo
Off-topic (click to toggle):
| ...my mom freaks the fuck out re: motorcycles. Like, she can't drive behind them. She just can't. But she doesn't realize this, so she'll drive really close behind them, and then she'll get nervous and give them some more space, and then she'll get really close behind them again for some reason, and then she'll freak out and decide that she just can't handle it and veer into the next lane without signaling, or looking. |
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As a Vespa rider, I've noticed people do this to me every time I get on a fast (e.g. 50+ mph) road. It's not just your mum. I've therefore given it some thought. It seems that I vary my speed a lot, and so do other motorcyclists and scooterists. This is a consequence of the physics of riding a light and very un-aerodynamic vehicle at high speed. If I reduce power a bit for one reason or another, the speed decays much quicker on my Vespa than in a car, because I weigh one-fifth of a car but have more than half as much aerodynamic drag.
The car behind me, meanwhile, is relatively heavy and aerodynamic, so variations in power (from accelerator pedal adjustments) are smoothed out.
Since realising this, I've made a conscious effort to keep my speed even on fast roads, by paying close attention to the speedometer when I adjust my position on the scooter. And sure enough, cars tend to stay at a more predictable distance behind me (there are still many exceptions, since this is France, after all).