Man of Honour
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West said:
Actually you COULD be done for dangerous driving interestingly enough...
Getting rid of tailgaters?
- Thread starter Stellios
- Start date
Actually you COULD be done for dangerous driving interestingly enough...
Ignore them. By concentrating on them behind you are not concentrating where you are going. Keeping a safe distance is their responsibility.
Fair enough if they appear to be in a genuine hurry, such as an emergency vehicle or they flash their lights or you just feel nervous then find somewhere safe to pull over.
You must learn to accept that there are a lot of people on the road who think they are more important/better/faster than you - let them get on with that and you get on with being a good driver!
Fair enough if they appear to be in a genuine hurry, such as an emergency vehicle or they flash their lights or you just feel nervous then find somewhere safe to pull over.
You must learn to accept that there are a lot of people on the road who think they are more important/better/faster than you - let them get on with that and you get on with being a good driver!
I can't believe some of the absolute idiots in this thread :/
All the cars I've driven engage the reverse lights before you actually engage the gear, so you can shift the stick half into reverse and the lights come on while still being in neutral.
Lopéz said:
All the cars I've driven engage the reverse lights before you actually engage the gear, so you can shift the stick half into reverse and the lights come on while still being in neutral.
While true, it's one of those very hard to prove things. I could, effectively, overtake someone down a back lane out of sight, stamp on the brakes, and play the "He came flying up behind me as I was slowing down for x" argument, and it's very difficult to prove the opposite :\Freefaller said:
Man of Honour
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PMKeates said:
Oh totally. However it won't necessarily be a case of: person who was ran into = victim 100% guaranteed, it'll be contentious.
Soldato
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Jez said:
Like my previous post, I should have worded it better, when I mean by "I never let them past" I am really saying that I don't pull over for them on street roads. I don't stop anyone from overtaking me ever, that is upto them.
Sorry of the confusion
If you had a turbo'd car (preferably carb'd so it runs slightly lean) then a flamer kit (spark plug in the exhaust that ignites any unburnt fuel) would be the best way to get rid of a tailgaiter; just floor it a bit to increase the distance between you both, flick the switch and you'll soon have them keepin back 
Obviously it won't work in your case, and it's not very legal, but it works!
Obviously it won't work in your case, and it's not very legal, but it works!
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I tell you what, more and more 4x4's are annoying me lately. The amount of times I'm being tailgated and it's by a 4x4, it's so annoying. I either just ignore them, or when I come to a stop (say for lights) turn around in the car and give them a good eye-balling or slow down to around 20mph. Not harshly... but usually they get the message and back off. There is just no need for it. All I can see is 2x headlights in my mirrors and that's it. 
Tailgating is the one thing that irritates me the most on the roads today.
The roads I drive to work are NSL but most people take them at 40-45 in this weather, not a problem I just overtake when it's safe to do so.
The worst bit that winds me up, is when it's perfectly clear the 30+ cars in front aren't going to go any faster sitting too close to each other for anyone to make progress. And I have some nub sitting one car length off my boot at 40+.
If I had to brake hard I'd be smashed up the bottom, my usual response is to lift off and create a huge gap to the car infront then accelerate away enough to create a safe gap, the ejit will just close up the gap again. I'll repeat this over and over. Failing that the lighting up of the brake light has the desired affect for most, failling that I'll flick the rear view mirror down and ignore them.
Neil.
The roads I drive to work are NSL but most people take them at 40-45 in this weather, not a problem I just overtake when it's safe to do so.
The worst bit that winds me up, is when it's perfectly clear the 30+ cars in front aren't going to go any faster sitting too close to each other for anyone to make progress. And I have some nub sitting one car length off my boot at 40+.
If I had to brake hard I'd be smashed up the bottom, my usual response is to lift off and create a huge gap to the car infront then accelerate away enough to create a safe gap, the ejit will just close up the gap again. I'll repeat this over and over. Failing that the lighting up of the brake light has the desired affect for most, failling that I'll flick the rear view mirror down and ignore them.
Neil.
Soldato
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So are those people that purposely try to cause trouble on the road by playing silly buggers slowing down and getting in the way like that.mysticsniper said:
Lopéz said:
I always thought slowing down (not braking - just easing off a bit) was the best way to deal with a heavy traffic tailgater (ie one you can't let past because of heavy traffic).
Neil makes a good point.
-Neil- said:
What's more dangerous. Easing off the go pedal a little to create a bigger gap - which also gives said tailgater a better chance to overtake if he wants to since you reduce your speed and are creating space in front of you...
or... carry on driving normally and hope the car (or cars) in front of you don't have to do an emergency stop!
oh and I love the rear washer jets idea!
Associate
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I dunno about anyone else but Id never pull over to a stop and let an idiot past me, thats too defeatist!
i had this the other day.....
picture this. A13 (dual carrage way out of E.london) 6pm, friday.... so its rush hour right?
now in traffic jams i generally dont follow the "accelerate up to the jam, slam brakes on, repeat" method. I try and keep a stedy rolling speed of lets say 5-10mph, instead of "racing" at 20mph then stopping every 5 seconds.
however this fat black bird saw fit to put her full beam on, and press her horn a few times cos *I* was slowing her down, and not the massive traffic jam infront of me. i just slowed down to even slower speeds and put my rear fog light on....
picture this. A13 (dual carrage way out of E.london) 6pm, friday.... so its rush hour right?
now in traffic jams i generally dont follow the "accelerate up to the jam, slam brakes on, repeat" method. I try and keep a stedy rolling speed of lets say 5-10mph, instead of "racing" at 20mph then stopping every 5 seconds.
however this fat black bird saw fit to put her full beam on, and press her horn a few times cos *I* was slowing her down, and not the massive traffic jam infront of me. i just slowed down to even slower speeds and put my rear fog light on....
Associate
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Sorry if this has already been posted I can't be bothered to read 4 pages.
Overview:
You have got to remember that these people arn't good drivers. The best place to sit to overtake someone is not on their bumper. It is best to have some room to accelerate into. Therefore they are either not aware they are tailgating (often the case), or they are trying to make you go faster/overtake.
Motorway:
I have found that people often tailgate without knowing that they are doing it. For example if there are several cars ahead on the motorway in the right hand lane of the motorway and the one behind is tailgating you. Now obviously they can't overtake, so tailgating me is pointless as I can't go any faster as I am held up by the people in front aswell. Usually in this situation I want to go faster aswell. So I simply press my crash/emergency light, and leave it on for a few seconds and give them a few flashes. It is suprising how well this works, and they will often drop back. I have sometimes had people put their hands up to apologise.
Sometimes after this when the road becomes clear I am a bit childish and boot it to show him that it was not me causing the hold up, I infact wanted to go faster too. This usually prevents them from tailgating me again.
As a side point I also use this technique to thank people if they let me out of a road. Sometimes when I let someone out I see peolpe concentrating so much on thanking me with hand gestures that they don't really think about the manoeuvre. Madness!
If a car is very aggresive I change lanes, let him past and then pull back out behind him. This shows him that I was not dawdling and gives him the opportunity to force the people infront out the way if he so wishes. I leave a suitable distance and am clear of the problem. Usually I find that when I do this they tend to not tailgate the person in front and get the message.
Single carriageway:
In traffic I use the same technique as above. If the road is clear and they genuinly want to go faster than me I will slow down to make it easier for them to overtake in suitable areas i.e. not on a corner where they can't overtake anyway (this will infact annoy them more) but definitely on a straight. You need to exagerate this if the road has less overtaking spots.
If it a very small road, then I guess consider pulling over (I have never had to do this).
You should not do the following:
Slowing down on purpose to prove a point is a very bad thing to do. Presumably the reason that the person is tailgating you is because they wan't you to go faster. As for brake testing well this is very childish and would just annoy the driver more and lead him to just be more aggressive
Conclusion:
I find that people normally don't want to travel faster than I am going (except on a motorway but this is not a problem as if the road is clear enough to go faster than I do, I will not be in the outside lane ). So the only time I am tailgated is if there are cars infront when my crash light method usually does the trick.
P.S If I am on the motorway and I feel the person infront should let me past e.g. sitting in the right hand lane with no traffic in front, then I hang back and indicate right. I found out this is what the Germans do on the autobahn and it is considered the only polite way to ask someone to move over. This also seems to work and people appreciate the fact that I havn't tailgated them.
Wow that was longer then I expected!
Overview:
You have got to remember that these people arn't good drivers. The best place to sit to overtake someone is not on their bumper. It is best to have some room to accelerate into. Therefore they are either not aware they are tailgating (often the case), or they are trying to make you go faster/overtake.
Motorway:
I have found that people often tailgate without knowing that they are doing it. For example if there are several cars ahead on the motorway in the right hand lane of the motorway and the one behind is tailgating you. Now obviously they can't overtake, so tailgating me is pointless as I can't go any faster as I am held up by the people in front aswell. Usually in this situation I want to go faster aswell. So I simply press my crash/emergency light, and leave it on for a few seconds and give them a few flashes. It is suprising how well this works, and they will often drop back. I have sometimes had people put their hands up to apologise.
Sometimes after this when the road becomes clear I am a bit childish and boot it to show him that it was not me causing the hold up, I infact wanted to go faster too. This usually prevents them from tailgating me again.
As a side point I also use this technique to thank people if they let me out of a road. Sometimes when I let someone out I see peolpe concentrating so much on thanking me with hand gestures that they don't really think about the manoeuvre. Madness!
If a car is very aggresive I change lanes, let him past and then pull back out behind him. This shows him that I was not dawdling and gives him the opportunity to force the people infront out the way if he so wishes. I leave a suitable distance and am clear of the problem. Usually I find that when I do this they tend to not tailgate the person in front and get the message.
Single carriageway:
In traffic I use the same technique as above. If the road is clear and they genuinly want to go faster than me I will slow down to make it easier for them to overtake in suitable areas i.e. not on a corner where they can't overtake anyway (this will infact annoy them more) but definitely on a straight. You need to exagerate this if the road has less overtaking spots.
If it a very small road, then I guess consider pulling over (I have never had to do this).
You should not do the following:
Slowing down on purpose to prove a point is a very bad thing to do. Presumably the reason that the person is tailgating you is because they wan't you to go faster. As for brake testing well this is very childish and would just annoy the driver more and lead him to just be more aggressive
Conclusion:
I find that people normally don't want to travel faster than I am going (except on a motorway but this is not a problem as if the road is clear enough to go faster than I do, I will not be in the outside lane )
. So the only time I am tailgated is if there are cars infront when my crash light method usually does the trick.P.S If I am on the motorway and I feel the person infront should let me past e.g. sitting in the right hand lane with no traffic in front, then I hang back and indicate right. I found out this is what the Germans do on the autobahn and it is considered the only polite way to ask someone to move over. This also seems to work and people appreciate the fact that I havn't tailgated them.
Wow that was longer then I expected!
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Associate
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I too have used the "indicate right and hang back" trick to get people out of the fast lane that could happily occupy the middle lane, though usually i myself cruise in the middle lane to pass traffic on the left (though i do move over for people behind me or if there's no-one to stay in the middle for (i.e. no trucks 30 sec down the road) (just wanted to make clear that i'm not a middle lane cruiser).
As for single carriageways, i just try and make it clear to them they can overtake when the road looks good, at which point i'm happy to slow down and oblige them a bit more tarmac to get back on the right side of the road. I'd rather have him sit up someone else's rear end than mine, even if i catch up to him 15 seconds later (which is the funniest thing). always feel tempted to wave, but scared that he might implode my skull with a bat / club / hammer. The other thing i consider, is that being further behind the car infront than normal gives mr tailgaiter a slot to fit in should he decide to pass me.
it's interesting that some people take offense to being tailgated, I do too, but i really try not to let it bother me as long as i can. I'd rather let him hassle someone else. Not my problem what happens then, he could run over a baby (oh god, someone PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN) for all i care (though i'd be narked at having to stop and provide witness statement etc). probably a bad example then, grrr.
As for single carriageways, i just try and make it clear to them they can overtake when the road looks good, at which point i'm happy to slow down and oblige them a bit more tarmac to get back on the right side of the road. I'd rather have him sit up someone else's rear end than mine, even if i catch up to him 15 seconds later (which is the funniest thing). always feel tempted to wave, but scared that he might implode my skull with a bat / club / hammer. The other thing i consider, is that being further behind the car infront than normal gives mr tailgaiter a slot to fit in should he decide to pass me.
it's interesting that some people take offense to being tailgated, I do too, but i really try not to let it bother me as long as i can. I'd rather let him hassle someone else. Not my problem what happens then, he could run over a baby (oh god, someone PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN) for all i care (though i'd be narked at having to stop and provide witness statement etc). probably a bad example then, grrr.
Associate
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Cool to hear someone else using the indicate right trick. I have only ever seen one other car in this country do it, and it turned out to be a friends dad (funnily enough he is a car enthusiast, runs a specialist dealerhship and has autobahn experience)
I really wish more people did it here. If you are leaving an appropriate space the driver in front has no way of knowing that you want to go faster and so would not move over. So a lot of drivers think the best way to tell them is by tailgating. But it is an extremly dangerous and rude way of doing it; to some it is intimidating which adds to the danger (a panicked driver is likely to do something stupid). A simple indication right gets the job done in a safe, courteous manner.
I also only indicate when the car in front actually has a suitable space to move into, so as to not force him over into a situation where he has to brake to get in behind another car. If you do it as soon as you come up behind them and they have nowhere to go they will be very aware that someone wants to get past. Again this could intimidate them as they can't move over. Whats the point in asking them to move over if they have nowhere to go? I hang back untill they do and if they don't move over themselves I will then proceed to indicate to ask them to.
I really wish more people did it here. If you are leaving an appropriate space the driver in front has no way of knowing that you want to go faster and so would not move over. So a lot of drivers think the best way to tell them is by tailgating. But it is an extremly dangerous and rude way of doing it; to some it is intimidating which adds to the danger (a panicked driver is likely to do something stupid). A simple indication right gets the job done in a safe, courteous manner.
I also only indicate when the car in front actually has a suitable space to move into, so as to not force him over into a situation where he has to brake to get in behind another car. If you do it as soon as you come up behind them and they have nowhere to go they will be very aware that someone wants to get past. Again this could intimidate them as they can't move over. Whats the point in asking them to move over if they have nowhere to go? I hang back untill they do and if they don't move over themselves I will then proceed to indicate to ask them to.
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