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How do YOU deal with tailgaters?

#81
I've thought about this before and I think some of it (nowadays anyway) has to do with the popularity of NASCAR...or rather those delusional people who don't know the difference between being a professional race car driver on a track, and being a fan who thinks he is one on the highway.

I know quite a few people who brag a lot to me about how fast their car is, and talk incessantly about the last NASCAR race, the next race...and intermingled in the conversation is talk of tailgaters, road rage and how they "blew the doors off" granny in her K-Car. One thing they all have in common is they all brag about how great a driver they are, and how every other driver out on the road sucks.

I'm not talking about NASCAR or NASCAR fans...just the idiots who think they "are" NASCAR drivers while out on the highway. Unfortunately I know too many guys around here (where I live) who really feel that way. I work with two who are like that. Racing is popular and they do take their racing out on the road.

Food for thought.
 
#84
MakiSupaStar said:
You know... I drive a lot safer now that I have my kid on board. I used to engage people on the road, but now I just don't want to risk my little guy's life just to prove a point... I'll move over and concede the race to you Bryan... You win... yay!!!:spit:

Just don't hit me...
Click to expand...


Are you a courteous driver and try not to plug up the fast lane? Then you have no complaints from me.

Are you a safe driver, and avoid whipping through traffic like you're dodging bullets? Then you have no complaints from me.

Do you follow the Stay Right Except For Passing principle? Then you have no complaints from me.

Do you avoid tailgating, knowing that riding my ass in the middle lane is unpractical and the left lane exists for passing? Then you have no complaints from me.

If you tailgate me in the left lane, I'll get the hint and move over. If you're slow, I'll wait my turn to pass you, not demand you get outta my way.


But if you slam on your brakes, I promise you my bumper is stronger than yours. And if you tailgate me, I promise you my trailer hitch is stronger than your radiator.
 
#85
soulgeezer said:
Agreed. The one great lesson I've learned in my driving life:

I arrive at the same time whether I drive fast or slow. In fact, sometimes, I can actually save time by driving slower and more consistently. This doesn't seem to make sense, but real-life experience bears it out -- I can't explain it, it's just the way things are.
Click to expand...


I'll NEVER be able to count the number of times I found myself trying to weave my way through traffic, only to get pinched off or trapped by the way traffic flows. Why bother? I learned that lesson long ago. Yes, the other lane SEEMS to be moving faster, and I should jump over. Give that 30 seconds and I'll look like the fool.
 
#86
Bryan316 said:
I absolutely am.


He wanted to risk his own safety by immediately cutting across three lanes of traffic without considering how heavily packed it was, nor considering how fast we were traveling compared to his entrance-ramp speed.

TOO BAD FOR HIM.
Click to expand...

Let me explain to you the many reasons this is wrong.

First I need to start off by saying some people in this thread are causing themselves WAY TOO MUCH unnecessary stress in their lives on the road. This goes for both sides, the tail gaters, the rolling roadblockers, and the traffic enforcement vigilantes. Chill out, relax, and just drive.

Now I'd like to make a point by telling a different story about Mr. Brian316. These are all the things that COULD have happened.
1. Mr. Slow slams on the brakes again and you're forced to nail his car or swerve into another car. This time, your car can't drive away from the hit and run.
2. Mr. Slow quietly takes down your plate numbers, finds where you live and vandalizes your house/apartment/etc...
3. Mr. Slow chases after you with his 9mm and puts a few holes in your car.
4. You hit Mr. Slow a bit too hard, his car spins out of control, flips over, and he dies. You have to explain to his wife and kids (and a jury) why he didn't make it to his daughter's birthday party that night.

You see, this is why we have a justice system and this vigilante hardcore traffic warrior BS is looked down upon. Who decides what punishment is too harsh? What if someone decides you drive too fast and they give YOUR car a bump?

IMO, you don't deserve a drivers license. You are a danger to me, my family, and anyone else on the road.
 
#87
I don't have a problem with tail gaiters. I pay attention to my surroundings. If someone is gaining on me, I move to the right, and repeat as necessary.
While it is the law and speed limits should be obeyed, I can't agree that it is up to Joe Driver to regulate how fast others should be going on the road. This is the job of the police. I can't believe that people would put themselves and others at risk starting conflicts because they think someone is driving too fast. Especially when it's so much easier for everyone if they just move over at the next opportunity for them to do so.
There are valid reasons for someone to be driving fast. What if that guy that's riding your bumper is trying to rush someone to the hospital?
Driving is not a contest. No one "wins" or "looses" if you have to get out of someone's way. I think it is a shame so many people seem to think this way.
 
#88
Bryan316 said:
Flawed logic. Traveling 70mph, hell, even 80mph, is already a fast enough speed that even small reactionary, emergency changes to your driving will ensure a devastating result. At that speed, you cannot guarantee that your ability to react in traffic is not exceeding your car's ability to perform such defensive maneuvers.
Click to expand...

I need this explained to me, since I was born in 1960, and know better from firsthand experience.

Why was it OK to have the national speed limit at 75 MPH years ago (in the 60s)?

Cars then had:

No safety glass
No padded dashboards
Protruding dash knobs
No collapsible steering columns
No computer designed "crush zones" to absorb impact
No side impact door beams
No rollover protection structural members
No energy absorbing bumpers
NO SEATBELTS (until 1964)
No airbags
Bias ply tires
Drum brakes (manual)
No ABS

...yet it was OK to drive 75 MPH


Now cars have:

Safety glass
Padded dashboards
Flush dash controls
Collapsible steering columns
Computer designed "crush zones" to absorb impact
Side impact door beams
Rollover protection structural members
Energy absorbing bumpers
Seatbelts, many with electronic pre-tensioners
Airbags...increasingly, including even side airbags
Radial ply tires speed rated above 120 MPH
Disc brakes, with dual reservoirs and power assist
Computer controlled ABS

..and we are being told that we must drive slower, because it's just not safe.

GUESS WHAT: YOU ARE BEING LIED TO.

Driving is inherently dangerous. We take this risk, and accept it in in lieu of being a backwards society that cannot travel, and enjoy all of the things we take for granted...like SHOPPING FOR FOOD, at ACTUAL STORES that have to have their goods trucked to them.

The argument that 55 MPH is "safe" is absurd.

If 55 MPH is safe, 45 MPH is safer. Wait, 35 MPH would be safer still, no? Heck, lets not say that...let's keep going: 25 MPH? 15 MPH? 10? 5?...I HAVE AN IDEA:

LET'S ALL STAY HOME.

Oh wait...don't most accidents happen in the home?

I think it's best we just stop reproducing and give up as a race. Clearly, there is no saving us. We're all doomed to die.
 
#89
soulgeezer said:
Agreed. The one great lesson I've learned in my driving life:

I arrive at the same time whether I drive fast or slow. In fact, sometimes, I can actually save time by driving slower and more consistently. This doesn't seem to make sense, but real-life experience bears it out -- I can't explain it, it's just the way things are.
Click to expand...

Do the math sometime. 5 mile trip, an average speed of 80mph compared to the same trip at 65mph.
 
#90
need4mospd said:
Let me explain to you the many reasons this is wrong.

First I need to start off by saying some people in this thread are causing themselves WAY TOO MUCH unnecessary stress in their lives on the road. This goes for both sides, the tail gaters, the rolling roadblockers, and the traffic enforcement vigilantes. Chill out, relax, and just drive.

Now I'd like to make a point by telling a different story about Mr. Brian316. These are all the things that COULD have happened.
1. Mr. Slow slams on the brakes again and you're forced to nail his car or swerve into another car. This time, your car can't drive away from the hit and run.
2. Mr. Slow quietly takes down your plate numbers, finds where you live and vandalizes your house/apartment/etc...
3. Mr. Slow chases after you with his 9mm and puts a few holes in your car.
4. You hit Mr. Slow a bit too hard, his car spins out of control, flips over, and he dies. You have to explain to his wife and kids (and a jury) why he didn't make it to his daughter's birthday party that night.

You see, this is why we have a justice system and this vigilante hardcore traffic warrior BS is looked down upon. Who decides what punishment is too harsh? What if someone decides you drive too fast and they give YOUR car a bump?

IMO, you don't deserve a drivers license. You are a danger to me, my family, and anyone else on the road.
Click to expand...



1. You can't even spell my name correctly, so nothing you say is gonna make a lick of difference to me. Even if you said something important or relevant, I'm ignoring you already.

2. You don't seem to get it... this guy SLOWED DOWN far faster than I could. His little Saturn had far better 60-0 braking performance than my enormous truck loaded with stuff in the bed and four extra people riding with me. I had no choice but to hit him, cuz I couldn't stop in time. Not because I was tailgating him, but because he suprised me and gave me no reaction time. I was already slowing down gently by the time he decided to be "traffic enforcer vigilante" on me.
 
#91
Bryan316 said:
Are you a courteous driver and try not to plug up the fast lane? Then you have no complaints from me.

Are you a safe driver, and avoid whipping through traffic like you're dodging bullets? Then you have no complaints from me.

Do you follow the Stay Right Except For Passing principle? Then you have no complaints from me.

Do you avoid tailgating, knowing that riding my ass in the middle lane is unpractical and the left lane exists for passing? Then you have no complaints from me.

If you tailgate me in the left lane, I'll get the hint and move over. If you're slow, I'll wait my turn to pass you, not demand you get outta my way.


But if you slam on your brakes, I promise you my bumper is stronger than yours. And if you tailgate me, I promise you my trailer hitch is stronger than your radiator.
Click to expand...

I SAID I was out....:p But no I don't do those things... But I'm out of here still. LOL
 
#96
More like...


hat1.gif



OH T3H CONSP1RASEE!!!
 
#97
Bryan316 said:
I was traveling home from an event with four passengers with me. A driver merged onto the freeway, and cut across all three lanes to get to the fast lane, and was still going considerably less than the speed limit, and CERTAINLY far slower than the flow of traffic. He cut right in front of me, and I had no option but to try to slow down. He then decided that I was a tailgater, and started braking. I slammed into the back of him. He slows down all the way to a complete spot, obviously thinking he's gonna confront me. He pulls off the road and onto the left-hand median, and I BLEW RIGHT BY HIM. And so did probably 20 other pissed off drivers behind me who were also inconvenienced like heck because of his arrogance and driving snobbery. I'll bet that idiot was trapped there for 20 minutes waiting for that lane to clear long enough for him to merge back in. Heh heh heh. "I'll show him! I'll slam on my brakes!" He didn't have the last laugh.
Click to expand...
hahaha dude you're so metal. Sounds like the douche deserved it.

NOTE: The only time I intentionally hit someone was when a friend and I were playing Car Wars.
 
#98
Or this:

i-want-to-believe.jpg


I saw it, dude! With my own eyes! Well, not really my eyes. More like my friend's eyes. Before. Like, way before. But, he saw it! He told me so! Well, not really him, but his friend. A while back. Over there, I swear. It's true! I heard from my friend who knows the guy who saw it before he told the guy who told my friend who told me!...

It *has* to be true!
 

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