Tailgated at the 40 speed limit

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:17

Hi All

Getting tailgated and flashed at whilst driving at the 40 speed limit does get me wound up. I won't go into specifics but just need to vent.

I would pull over and let these people past, but they are obviously so incensed that you are driving in the legal manner, that you wonder if it's safe to slow down for fear of them attempting to attack you, so you just keep going. If I don't know the road, I won't be bullied into going any faster, I don't want any more speeding tickets thanks.

I am seriously considering buying some kind of in-car camera device just so I can record incidents like this in future.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:20

I try hard not to rise to it, I did let them past when it was safe to do so, whereupon some form of projectile was dispatched from the passenger window. Sometimes I despair of humanity.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:28

The incident was an aggressive driving act by White Van Man. As soon as he was behind me I could immediately sense he was going to be trouble. I could tell he was in a hurry. In between the 40 zones, my efforts to appease his frustration by accelerating as quickly to 60 as I could were probably misinterpreted by him as me playing a game. Admittedly, because my car is quite high powered, he did keep falling back in my mirrors, and due to the nature of the road and frequent 40 zones, he kept getting left behind. With some people you just can't win. In future I will accelerate out of the 40 more gently and try and let them get past and out of my life as soon as possible.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:33

Really, my driving in this case was faultless, it was totally legal, zero error driving, but you still get tailgated and flashed. That is what is so sad. If I had been on a dual carriage way and lane hogging I could understand it, but to be driving at the limit on a single carriageway, such aggressive driving from a tailgater is unforgiveable.

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:39

Perywinkle said:
Were you driving a C1 up the A264? saw something very similar happen with a pursuing 206 lol

No, but I don't really want to go into specifics, suffice to say white van man was the miscreant involved.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:42

I think the lesson I learnt from this is to pull over much sooner when you get someone like this behind you, but really the thing that made me not do this was they were freaking me out so much by their driving, you wonder if it's safe to do that ...

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:44

Also, I have to try very hard to keep calm myself ... after the incident I had to pull over anyway for a few minutes just to calm down ...

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 17:50

Hequn said:
While I totally agree, I really hate when people pull into the outer most lane as I've clearly been driving up towards where they are at a faster speed and they overtake someone 1mph faster than said person in the inner lane. Drives me insane.

... yes, they should never pull out if they can see you approaching.

However, what about when a driver has not pulled out in front of you, but is overtaking at the speed limit, do you still get angry then?

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 18:20

Yes, I am not disputing that they should move back over and get out your way.

However, on occasion I have been overtaking in the outside lane at 70mph, when the car in the inside lane is doing 60-65mph, and people have come up behind me and flashed me. It is being flashed when driving to the rules of the road that I object to, as this is just plain wrong. I will always move out of the way as soon as I can, but I should be allowed to overtake a car if I am travelling at the speed limit, providing no-one was behind me when I started the manouevre. People do not have the right to attempt to bully me to go faster than is legally allowed, and that is what winds me up. I won't attempt to overtake if the speed difference is marginal.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 21:50

iaind said:
Shocking how some people can drive like that an not kill themselves

Eventually many probably do kill themselves, but it's the other innocent road users I feel sorry for. That's why I drive an NCAP 5 star car.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 21:56

R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
Whats the point? Internet fame for morons?

I would probably take the evidence, put into onto a DVD, and then post it anonymously to the local police station, and say please have a word with this person about their driving.

Generally I'm very polite to other people, and try to be tolerant. I don't want to go into detail about this case, but it was extremely aggressive for absolutely no reason, and as I get older I start to feel maybe I should be taking more of a stand ... although I have yet to start ...

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 22:07

I would also urge anyone who has resorted to brake testing the tailgater to deal with it in a more sensible way, as this is just being brought down to their level.

I think the most sensible way to deal with it on an A-Road is to slow down at a safe overtaking spot, putting on your left indicator, when the opportunity arises, and let them pass. This is most likely what I will try if it happens again.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 22:09

I will also not speed up rapidly when leaving the 40 zone as this appears to give some people the impression that you are playing a game with them.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 22:18

Gustov said:
lol are you having a laugh!?

There's no way I'd do that.

If they are tailgating me when I'm doing 30 in a 30 or 40 in a 40 I'll go out of my way to p*** them off as much as i can.

Childish i guess but they started it

No absolutely not. I am proud of myself that I have the self control necessary not to be forced into something that could be dangerous on the public highway. Believe me, it takes me some self control, I won't tell you the thoughts that are actually going through my head!!

Some people here are recounting stories where brake testing has resulted in a collision, and I just think this is just reckless and making the roads more dangerous.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 22:35

alexhull24 said:
Kudos on the honesty, but avoid antagonising people, you never know who is behind the wheel and what they're prepared to do to you if you anger them.

+1. I always assume they are extremely dangerous and never make eye contact with them, and I won't ever stop the car completely. Even though my brain is sending me messages to destroy them, I am able to override this and look to avoid trouble whenever possible. This technique has served me well in life.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 22:40

radderfire said:
+1. I always assume they are extremely dangerous and never make eye contact with them, and I won't ever stop the car completely. Even though my brain is sending me messages to destroy them, I am able to override this and look to avoid trouble whenever possible. This technique has served me well in life.

Rgds

... and I am a thoughtful keyboard warrior at heart, mindless violence is not one of my strong points ... ultimately I know that if I was to confront the situation, they would always be prepared to take it one step further than I would, so I always do my best to avoid any flash points and be considerate of other people, even if they are acting in a banal manner ... however, this still isn't good enough for some, hence my post in the first place.

Rgds

radderfire · 12 Apr 2009 at 23:59

R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
Much easier to pull up sharply infront of them & have a bit of road rage...

I am 6ft, but only between 10.5 and 11st. I have never actually had to throw a punch, no-one has ever punched me. I have never undergone any form of offensive fight training. I find the most effective form of self-preservation is to distance oneself from any threat ... I don't fancy my chances against white van man ... any dust off between Radderfire and white van man is unlikely to happen any time soon ... as a very last resort I would attempt to drive away from any threat, I certainly wouldn't be stopping and opening the window to explain to them the error in their ways ...

Rgds

radderfire · 13 Apr 2009 at 21:01

Camalot said:
I go 30mph on a 30mph road yet people are right on my exhaust. I get worried and panic, can't take my eyes off them etc.

You should be going at 30mph and you have every right to, so try to stay relaxed. If you can tell they are getting really aggressive, like the one on my tail, when an overtaking opportunity arises, slow down and pull your car to the left a bit, possibly indicate if that can't be misinterpreted as turning left, and let them pass.

I always remember that really I should be driving no faster than the speed limit, and imagine how guilty I would feel if I ran someone over when speeding - it might have been unavoidable and not your fault anyway, e.g. they ran into the road, but if you were speeding you're going to look bad and feel worse.

Rgds

radderfire · 13 Apr 2009 at 22:34

InvaderGIR said:
When I got to a dual carriageway I quickly got up to 70mph on a on the slip road, leaving him behind...for a little while, till he decided to do ~90mph past us in the pooring rain.

Peugeot 307CC too, not like it was a real car.

Yes, I imagine it's even worse when you have the family in the car with you.

I was being tailgated by a relatively low powered Transit, my car is a 2.0 Turbodiesel. In an effort to not inconvenience them further, I was speeding up rapidly when I left the 40 zones, but I think in future I won't do this and give them an opportunity to get past first, even though overall that would probably be slower for them, but at least then they won't get the wrong impression that you're playing around with them. With some people, nothing is good enough, and you just have to accept that these types of people are on the planet too I guess.

Rgds