from "Click and Clack"
Dear Tom and Ray:
I need help. I am married to a bonehead. My husband insists on pulling practically into the trunk of cars in front of him. Moving, stopped - it doesn't matter. At stoplights, not only does he pull to within inches of the car in front, but he insists on starting to move forward the nanosecond the light turns green. Whether there's one or four cars in front of him, it doesn't matter. His excuse is that he is overcoming "inertia" and that it makes no sense to wait until everyone has started moving before he starts moving. He claims "study after study has proven this." I have yet to figure out what is supposedly proven and where these so-called studies have been published. I have tried time and again to point out that this tailgating is dangerous and that he is not allowing for the fact that the person in front of him might be an even bigger knucklehead than he is. What is this "overcoming inertia" thing? What possible purpose does it serve? And can I politely (or otherwise) tell him he is full of bovine scatology? - Lois
their answer here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/26/MTRA18BIA1.DTL&type=autos