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How do YOU deal with tailgaters?

#201
What about single lane roads? Pretty much everytime I go driving someone always races straight up behind and tailgates. I admit I'm rather strict about doing the limit. I find it irritating that people will risk their lives by driving so close. What's worse is when they do it in wet weather. Seriously, some people shouldn't be on the roads in these conditions.

As for multi lane roads, I always keep left unless overtaking (we drive on the left in Aus). I don't agree with people breaking the limit and I generally get out of the way. However, when someone tailgates me at 100km/h in the left lane on the freeway before overtaking 5km's later they can get ******.

All this said though, the most important thing when driving is being aware of your surroundings.
 
#202
Ray Salamon said:
I asked a police buddy of mine from my local district about this.
Here, tailgating is regarded to be a much worse offense than either riding in the left lane (while still maintaining good speed) or generally obstructing traffic. Generally, they'll pull you over a lot faster (and, you also get a bigger fine) for tailgating rather than just going the speed limit and passing. FWIW.
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I've asked before as well. I was told that speed laws apply to all lanes equally, meaning the speed limit applies to the left lane just as it does the right.

The trump card in this debate is how will the opposing views be enforced. Will the faster driver be cited for speeding or will the person traveling at or slightly over the speed limit be cited for obstruction? Here, fast driving awards would be more common in that scenario.

I agree with someone earlier who said that a large part of the problem is time allocation. It's more likely that you'll get there two minutes earlier, if you leave the house two minutes earlier than driving faster.
Again, I challenge you: Do the math. How much time do you save by driving 15mph faster? For most of us it's mere seconds on a trip. One extra traffic light becomes an equalizer. It simply isn't worth it.

(fwiw, I'm a camp in the right lane or middle lane driver on my daily commute. The stop and go, speed up, slow down of the left lane is too intense. The right lanes are more consistant)
 
#203
Diggler said:
BryanTheHitAndRunCriminal:

I don't care how quick his car can stop, and how long it takes for your truck to stop.

If you can't stop in time to keep from hitting someone, you are following too close, period.

Around here you would have your license revoked and maximum points awarded for:

Unsafe driving
Following too close
Too fast for conditions
Leaving the scene of an accident.

And you'd deserve every bit of it.

I can't believe how many people freely admit to being, uh, let's say UNSAVORY, and how many people, I mean KIDS... pile on with their "right on, that will show him."

What you did was criminal, period.
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rkejeepin said:
I think you are totally missing what they are saying happened. Although driving off wasnt too cool because Bryan would not have been at fault. That is if Im reading it right myself.
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Nope, Diggler's got his blinders on. He's like a guy at the bar arguing politics with you. He only sees his point of view and YOU ARE WRONG, MISTER!

Screw him. He doesn't understand, nor admit, that what the guy did to me was far more dangerous. Cutting across three lanes of traffic without caring about the current flow of traffic was far more foolhardy and dangerous than anything I've ever done on the freeway. No turn signal, sure didn't see him checking his mirrors, and sure didn't care that traffic was far too densely packed to try a stunt like that.

But then again, Diggler's opinion is OBVIOUSLY the correct one. He couldn't POSSIBLY be incorrect, or missing the important part of my argument. According to him, this driver's sin is trumped by my sin, even if what I did was nowhere near as dangerous as what the driver did.

Diggler, I will state it once again.

I absolutely believe, participate in, and support, vigilante justice. If I am wronged, and I know that the Law will not help the situation, be it no witnesses to side with me or no proof that I was wronged, then I WILL administer punishment.

If someone was breaking into my car to steal my bass gear, I will beat the snot outta them, drag them to a curb, put their heels on the curb, and sit on their kneecaps. I will not wait for a cop to show up and write a police report that my gear is gone, while the thief runs off with my well-earned gear. I will cripple him permanently, without a fraction of guilt upon my conscience.

You can ignore my story's actual message, and just read into it what you want to cry foul against me and my driving habits. You can ignore the truth of the situation all you want. But if I am wronged, I WILL wrong you back. Eye for an eye worked for centuries. It still does today.
 
#204
Wow, we have a regular Batman in our midst.

Did that 'deep' philosophy go through your head in the seconds after the accident before you fled the scene, or did you just think "I'm getting out of here so my insurance rates don't go up because I rear-ended someone?"

Go ahead and keep on plowing into cars that cut you off and let me know how that continues to work out for you.

rkejeepin, you ARE reading it right... A car cut him off, he rear-ended it, and left the scene of the accident without stopping. Dishing out vigilante justice, you know. Righting all the wrongs in the world with more wrongs.

All he needs is a tight costume and a cape.

ETA: Please don't hack my router and shut off my internet access to avenge yourself for being called out on your violation.
 
#206
There are situations where I'll move over, but what I find happens most often is this...

I'm in the left lane, going ~80-85. The next lane over is at 70 or so. The person behind me is riding my bumper because he feels like going 95~100. Guess what? Too BAD. I'm not going to slow down and get over because I'm not breaking the law hard enough for his tastes.

So I'm supposed to slow down and get over because he wants to go faster than I do? Why shouldn't HE slow down to my speed? Do his desires trump mine? Does he have more right to that section of road than I do? Hardly.

Granted, I don't do anything rude like tapping my brakes, or slowing down even more, but I see no reason why his desire to speed should trump mine.
 
#208
Dan1099 said:
So I'm supposed to slow down and get over because he wants to go faster than I do?
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Just long enough for the other person to pass, yes, Faster traffic has the right of way, by virtue of the "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT/ LEFT LANE FOR PASSING" rule of the road.

You MAY (if you don't chose to, or cannot move over in an unused gap, BRIEFLY) need to slow for the shortest interval for the traffic to pass...or you could impede someone else for a PROTRACTED length of time. Which is more conducive to good traffic flow??

We've all see people in the left lane, with a number of cars backed up behind them. These people eventually cause a buildup of congestion that can create, by what is know as the "accordian effect", a stack-up of braking reaction times that can result in MAJOR traffic congestion, and even multi-car pile-ups. I've already pointed out the dangers associated with elevated closing speeds created by forcing faster drivers to pass on the right and mix with slower-moving traffic.

Why must you defend creating such risks for others? Stop being so egotistical. Move right, and let the person with the right of way pass. There is no reason to put others at risk.

The left lane is for passing. Slower traffic keep right.
 
#209
Basshole said:
By making people pass on the right, you are creating a dangerous situation. If the guy forced to pass on the right is going 15 MPH faster than you, and the woman (with a family of four children, or the school soccer team) in the minivan in the right lane is going 15 MPH slower, you've now created a 30 MPH closing speed. This is dangerous. Do you think your laziness and arrogance entitles you to put others (even innocents) at risk?

You could even force someone going 20 over right into the back of someone's grandmother doing the posted 45 MPH minimum, creating a VERY dangerous situation.

I've seen people like you cause accidents like I've described firsthand. What sick form of entitlement makes you think your selfish laziness places you above the safety of others?

There is NO EXCUSE for not moving right for faster traffic. In most states, it's the law, and in all cases, it's the safe, responsible, and courteous thing to do.
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Look Basshole... wait for it....


I agree with you. If you're travelling slower than most people in the fast lane move over to the right... Generally I do.


BUT if you are in the fast lane, and you are passing say a line of trucks, and you are going about 5-10+ and some j off behind creeps up to sniff your a hole AND gets into an accident trying to pass me... It is by no means MY fault that the accident was my fault... He made an unsafe lane change at excessive speeds. If he gets into an accident because he has to clear that 30 mph closing speed he's endangering others with his wreckless driving. You don't see that? This is all hypothetical, and I understood your point, and to an extent, I agree, but your argument is a little flawed and I hope it doesn't get you in trouble on the road.... Otherwise I'd have no one to ignore me on TB. ;)
 
#210
Basshole said:
Just long enough for the other person to pass, yes, Faster traffic has the right of way, by virtue of the "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT/ LEFT LANE FOR PASSING" rule of the road.

You MAY (if you don't chose to, or cannot move over in an unused gap, BRIEFLY) need to slow for the shortest interval for the traffic to pass...or you could impede someone else for a PROTRACTED length of time. Which is more conducive to good traffic flow??

We've all see people in the left lane, with a number of cars backed up behind them. These people eventually cause a buildup of congestion that can create, by what is know as the "accordian effect", a stack-up of braking reaction times that can result in MAJOR traffic congestion, and even multi-car pile-ups. I've already pointed out the dangers associated with elevated closing speeds created by forcing faster drivers to pass on the right and mix with slower-moving traffic.

Why must you defend creating such risks for others? Stop being so egotistical. Move right, and let the person with the right of way pass. There is no reason to put others at risk.

The left lane is for passing. Slower traffic keep right.
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Nope, not if you're already over the speed limit.
 
#213
Basshole said:
.. Faster traffic has the right of way, by virtue of the "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT/ LEFT LANE FOR PASSING" rule of the road.

..let the person with the right of way pass. There is no reason to put others at risk.

The left lane is for passing. Slower traffic keep right.
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What do you think of this statement: "You Must Not Insist On The Right-Of-Way. The law does not really give anyone the right-of-way. It only says who must yield it. A driver must do everything possible to avoid a traffic accident."

Just curious?
 
#215
I just go slower and slower and slower. They can pass me, or sit there and freak out.

I do get annoyed with people who drive slow, though. We live in the Texas Hill Country, full of winding roads. People move here, and they can't handle it, and they drive REALLY, REALLY SLOWLY!!! If you want to live in country with winding roads, you need to learn to drive on them. Don't be a Nervous Nellie! If the road conditions are good, there is no excuse or reason for excessive caution. That causes as many accidents as speeding does.

But I don't tailgate. I *want* to, but I know it does no good, so I don't. I count to ten, practice my foreign language cursing, or blast metal on my stereo. And keep at least a car's length back, to where I can see the mirrors of the car in front of me.

I *do* pass as soon as it is safe to do so. And I get very annoyed when people try to speed up and keep me from passing them. Fish or cut bait! Drive the speed limit, or let people go around you! Don't play cat and mouse on the road! Its not a contest. If you want to drive 40 or 45 mph in a 55, then let people pass.

Cherie
 
#218
To the OP: Being tailgated is an unhealthy risk. Do what you can to avoid it courteously. For the rest, a few facts.

Tailgating is illegal.
The posted limit is the same in all lanes.
Slower traffic, stay right laws are for traffic slower than the limit.
Speeding is illegal.
Excessive speed is a factor in most highway deaths.
Your chances of surviving an accident against my 80,000lb tractor-trailer are extremely remote.
Driving isn't worth dying for.
You will ignore me until you actually see a mangled loved one dead or dying in the street at the scene of a car accident where excessive speed was a factor.

Sorry to sound like an old fogey, but, I've seen the aftermath of too many accidents. Dead parents. Dead kids. It'll never happen to you, right? Statistically, it will.
 
#219
soulgeezer said:
I have a .50 calibre machine gun installed in the trunk of my car, facing backwards. If anybody crawls up my rear and stays there, I just pop the trunk and let them have it.

Quick and clean. That's the way I like it.

:ninja: ;) :p :D
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LOL...:D This thread is like the Godfather... As soon as you think you're out... It keeps pulling you back in.
 

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