Tailgaiting

[shyvas]

Tailgaiting is one of my pet hates and I have to put up with it every single day. There are a few tips to deal with a driver that is tailgating , however in practise it makes driving safely very difficult.

SmartDriving

 

[ledboots]

Lol, I was thinking of American football tailgate parties! I like football and make fun vegan tailgate food.

I hate when people tailgate me in the car, however!

 

[Calliegirl]

I originally thought it was about tailgate parties too.

Depending on the speed we're going I tend to either slow down, or just do nothing. If we're going about 30-40 through the middle of downtown, I don't do anything. There's nothing you really that you can do. It's rare that you even get to go 30.
But, if we're going 60-70 on an open highway, I'll slow down. Partly because if I have to stop suddenly, I don't want to be slammed into by someone going 60 and partly to annoy and encourage them to go around me.

 

[beancounter]

I once saw a bumpersticker thta said "The closer you get, the slower I go".

I think I need one for my car.

 

[shyvas]

I once saw a bumpersticker thta said "The closer you get, the slower I go".

I think I need one for my car.

Oh excellent idea. I need one of those with a flashing mode.

 

[PTree15]

Lol, I was thinking of American football tailgate parties! I like football and make fun vegan tailgate food.

I hate when people tailgate me in the car, however!

Haha, me, too, on all counts. I just wish people were more patient in general. This wasn't a tailgating incident yesterday, but it speaks to people's lack of patience: On my way home from work, a car did a U-turn into my lane and I nearly hit him, as the car on the side of me blocked my view. I was so aggravated. Lack of patience and civility can be dangerous!

 

[ledboots]

Haha, me, too, on all counts. I just wish people were more patient in general. This wasn't a tailgating incident yesterday, but it speaks to people's lack of patience: On my way home from work, a car did a U-turn into my lane and I nearly hit him, as the car on the side of me blocked my view. I was so aggravated. Lack of patience and civility can be dangerous!

That is really scary, I'm glad you avoided the collision. It's the exact way I had my old trusty Saturn totalled about 10, 12 years ago.

This girl u-turned to avoid the traffic snarl when she saw there was a college football game at the nearby stadium, and hit me head on. The other driver was not hurt, and I was fine, just an airbag burn on my arm, though they put me on a board and took me to the hospital I was working at (lol) because I'd had temporary weird tingling in my arms after the collision.

One of the EMTs found my glasses, which were inact, that had flown off in my messy car as I can't see a foot past my nose without them. My friends at work brought me juice and cupcakes in the ER and joked about lucky that I wasn't hurt because the trauma team would have cut off all my clothes, always a thought because of knowing members on the trauma team irl, lol.

 

[Paul1]

It's too bad tailgaters aren't ticketed as often as people who speed, tailgating is so much more dangerous than going a little bit over the speed limit. I'm 45 years-old and only know of one person (personally) who has gotten a ticket for tailgating.

 

[Clueless Git]

The Cretians have the ultimate answer to tailgating.

Immediately they see a faster vehicle coming up behind them they slow down, pull over as far as they can, anything that makes the overtake safer for the other guy.

Completely counter to our own culture they seem to take pride in being the most courteous drivers rather than in being 'king' of the road.

Even more amazing they seem to have no concept that faster/better cars than their own are something to be resentfull/jealous of. If you have nice car out there everyone toots you and gives you the thumbs up all the time.

All that doesn't seem to make the roads safer there though.

You don't need road hazard warnings in Crete.

You know which bits of road are safe or dangerous by the density of the little 'a child killed here' roadside shrines.

 

[PTree15]

That is really scary, I'm glad you avoided the collision. It's the exact way I had my old trusty Saturn totalled about 10, 12 years ago.

This girl u-turned to avoid the traffic snarl when she saw there was a college football game at the nearby stadium, and hit me head on. The other driver was not hurt, and I was fine, just an airbag burn on my arm, though they put me on a board and took me to the hospital I was working at (lol) because I'd had temporary weird tingling in my arms after the collision.

One of the EMTs found my glasses, which were inact, that had flown off in my messy car as I can't see a foot past my nose without them. My friends at work brought me juice and cupcakes in the ER and joked about lucky that I wasn't hurt because the trauma team would have cut off all my clothes, always a thought because of knowing members on the trauma team irl, lol.

Oh my gosh, that is awful!!!! And yes, it was so scary, I had to pull off to the side of the road to collect myself. I was shaking (from fear and anger) and didn't realize it right away. I just don't understand people sometimes. And LOL at being taken to where you work! That would have been so weird if they had to cut your clothes. Yikes!

 

[PTree15]

It's too bad tailgaters aren't ticketed as often as people who speed, tailgating is so much more dangerous than going a little bit over the speed limit. I'm 45 years-old and only know of one person (personally) who has gotten a ticket for tailgating.

For real. If they did do that, traffic would be snarled for days just from the amount of people getting tickets!

 

[Calliegirl]

The Cretians have the ultimate answer to tailgating.

Immediately they see a faster vehicle coming up behind them they slow down, pull over as far as they can, anything that makes the overtake safer for the other guy.

Completely counter to our own culture they seem to take pride in being the most courteous drivers rather than in being 'king' of the road.

Even more amazing they seem to have no concept that faster/better cars than their own are something to be resentfull/jealous of. If you have nice car out there everyone toots you and gives you the thumbs up all the time.

All that doesn't seem to make the roads safer there though.

You don't need road hazard warnings in Crete.

You know which bits of road are safe or dangerous by the density of the little 'a child killed here' roadside shrines.

I don't know what traffic is like in the UK, but here the roads are pretty crowded. There isn't anyplace to move over to.

The other day traffic was going about 60 (in a 55 limit area), and I left one car length between me and the next car. Apparently that irritated the person behind me and when traffic slowed down because of a red traffic light, the person behind me squeezed in front of the car in the next lane, making them slam on their brakes. Then they squeezed back into my lane in that small gap I had open between me and the next car. So, they did two unsafe lane changes to get one car length ahead of where they were. Idiots.

 

[Clueless Git]

I don't know what traffic is like in the UK ...

Sometimes like this ...

But more often like this ...

Occasionaly it's just a nice way for people to get together for a bit of a social event ...

 

[Blobbenstein]

If I had a car, I would just slow down until the distance they were behind was safe, or they overtook, and I would pull in. I don't fancy getting whiplash.

It would be fun to slow them down, anyway.

I think people think they are showing off their Jedi reflexes or something, when they tailgate..or are just a bit thick.

 

[KLS52]

I once saw a bumpersticker thta said "The closer you get, the slower I go".

I think I need one for my car.

Just ordered one.

 

[Clueless Git]

I once saw a bumpersticker thta said "The closer you get, the slower I go".

This is dumbassery in-extremis.

I read it as "You need to get right up my *** before I'll have the courtesy to let you overtake".

Just ordered one.

Purely out of curiosity ...

Do you see yourself as a dumb-***, BC?

 

[Dedalus]

This is dumbassery in-extremis.

I read it as "You need to get right up my *** before I'll have the courtesy to let you overtake".

To be fair CG, it is not always a matter of simply getting over to let someone pass. Where I'm from - the interstates are mostly two lanes. I'm often cruising at about 4 over the speed limit which is comfortable enough for me. This means I'll need to utilize the fast lane now and then to pass some of the slower vehicles - trucks and such. Sometimes there is a long line of trucks and slower traffic, (which could mean I'll be in the fast lane for miles) and one of these d-bags will come barreling up my arse, riding my bumper. My choices are to speed up and risk a ticket or stay the course until I can get over, which seems to irritate the tailgaters. As much as I'm not thrilled with their riding my *** - I don't feel like I should have to speed up in order to let them by.

 

[beancounter]

The other day traffic was going about 60 (in a 55 limit area), and I left one car length between me and the next car. Apparently that irritated the person behind me and when traffic slowed down because of a red traffic light, the person behind me squeezed in front of the car in the next lane, making them slam on their brakes. Then they squeezed back into my lane in that small gap I had open between me and the next car. So, they did two unsafe lane changes to get one car length ahead of where they were. Idiots.

Around here, people are hyper lane changers. If the other lane is going faster, they'll change to the faster lane, until another lane is faster, then they'll change to that lane..never using their turn signal, of course. What all this lane changing does, is slow traffic down even worse than it was before the lane changing.

But my favorite idiots are the ones that race you to the red light. That is, you're going too slow for them, so they'll speed up to pass you only to have stop 100-200 feet later at a traffic light...so they end up having to slam on the brakes about 2-4 seconds after passing you..

 

[beancounter]

To be fair CG, it is not always a matter of simply getting over to let someone pass. Where I'm from - the interstates are mostly two lanes. I'm often cruising at about 4 over the speed limit which is comfortable enough for me. This means I'll need to utilize the fast lane now and then to pass some of the slower vehicles - trucks and such. Sometimes there is a long line of trucks and slower traffic, (which could mean I'll be in the fast lane for miles) and one of these d-bags will come barreling up my arse, riding my bumper. My choices are to speed up and risk a ticket or stay the course until I can get over, which seems to irritate the tailgaters. As much as I'm not thrilled with their riding my *** - I don't feel like I should have to speed up in order to let them by.

That's exactly right. If the lane to the right was clear, they would just pass you without "needing" to ride your ***.

 

[Dedalus]