Driving tip for towing your boat that probably saved my boat this past weekend!

[gcoxvb]

Always leave enough space in front of you to be able to speed up. Even when traffic is stopped, pay attention to people coming up behind you. You never know when some idiot is going to try and rear end your boat. It happened to me this past weekend and if I had not hit the gas pedal to accelerate when I saw the guy not stopping the damage could of been much worse. You also never know if the idiot that hits you will have insurance to pay for the damage that they will do to the most expensive component on your boat, the motor. Lucky for me the guy that hit me did and I will get my boat examined with a fine tooth comb this week to determine the extent of the damage. Some accidents can't be avoided but you can help reduce damage to yourself and your boat by checking the rear view mirror.

[BillB]

Great tip Glenn. Years ago while sitting at an intersection with the family sitting in beach traffic, I heard brakes squeeling and looked up just in time to see a pickup truck sliding into the rear a pleasure boat with a Merc-Cruiser on the back. I am not sure just how much damage it did but it looked totaled to me. Ever since that day, I try to leave enough room to get out of the way if I see in my rear view mirror someone coming to hard to stop. I have had a couple of close calls too.
Thanks for posting this.

Bill

[tae73]

Good tip, I also watch behind me. If I hadnt one day a semi would of creamed me and the boat. Lucky I was in the passing lane and was able to dive into the center turn lane. By the time he got stopped his front bumper and my rear truck bumper where even. I bet his butt was as puckered as mine was.

[luckyal]

Sorry about the idiot. Here's another little driving tip, learned when I unfortunately had to live in the L.A. area and drove the congested traffic every day: When you come to a red light, or see traffic slowing down in front of you, start slowing down way before you need to, to give the lunkerhead behind you more time to react. Also, if your lane starts to slow down, edge over to the right or left just a tad, still keeping in your lane. That allows your brake light to be seen by drivers further back. This may help whether you are towing or not.

[fishingmarlin]

One of the most important things I learned while on the fire department is always have an escape route. My wife can never figure out why I concentrate so much when I drive. I told her that I am not just watching the road. I am keeping an eye on everyone around me and keeping my options open in case something goes bad.

When its raining really hard put those hazards on people can see you a lot better.

Don't travel in the pack! I will speed up just so I am not stuck in a pack of idiots. These are usually a group of the worst idiots who constantly break and pass really slow.

I not only pay attention to people on my side of the road but oncoming traffic as well.

I try to stay in the right hand lane as much as I can since I can always pull off the road if need be.