Tailgated at the 40 speed limit
- Thread starter radderfire
- Start date
Any car with a reasonable amount of power can leave your average chav car standing, you don't normally need a supercar.
Soldato
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I'm fairly sure that the offical line on Tailgaters is to slow down slightly in order to increase the distance between yourself and the car i front. The purpose of this being that should the vehicle in front have to brake you can do so more gently allowing the idiot behind sufficient room to stop.
Strikes me as counter intuitive and a touch ironic but certainly my usual tactic, although i have been known to put the foot down. Only thing that tends to get my goat up us people cruising along in an outside lane of a dual carriageway at 60 simply unaware that this is not the limit!
Strikes me as counter intuitive and a touch ironic but certainly my usual tactic, although i have been known to put the foot down. Only thing that tends to get my goat up us people cruising along in an outside lane of a dual carriageway at 60 simply unaware that this is not the limit!
This is perfectly correct. As you say, the idea is increase your "safety zone" because it means you can brake more gradually if the vehicle in front slows. The fact that it annoys the bejeezus out of the idiot behind you is just a bonus. Once had some clown in a van ten feet behind me at 70+ on a motorway. I was stuck behind a vehicle at that speed overtaking a queue of lorries. What this guy thought I could actually do I have no idea. What I actually did was slow down to about 30mph. Then floor it in third to open up the distance. He still didn't get the idea and closed right up when I was back at 70.
What I find weird is that that the person tailgating always seems to be driving a vehicle slower than yours? What do they think will happen when you hit a NSL zone or the road is free?
M
I just ignore the people who come up close behind if I am doing an indicated 40 in a 40. Overtaking in a town is allowed I think just like anywhere else, I don't see many people bothering though.
To all those that say the stopped are out - well fine so I may be doing 36-7-8 or whatever but 40mph is the limit not the required speed. So if I choose to cruise at the indicated speed then tough.
To all those that say the stopped are out - well fine so I may be doing 36-7-8 or whatever but 40mph is the limit not the required speed. So if I choose to cruise at the indicated speed then tough.
I dont think thats "official", the highway code doesnt say anything on the matter IIRC. That is what the IAM teaches though
I don't get too much problems with tailgaters on the dual carriageways on the way to work. I just sit in the inside lane at around 60-70. Occasionally I get the odd annoying **** that when I have to go to the outside lane to overtake comes flying up behind me as though he expects me to jump out the way.
You know the sort, you can see them coming from half a mile away in your rear view mirror. You have 3 or 4 lorries to pass nose to tail and he sits on your bumper while you are passing them at 75.
I had a particularly bad problem with one road in cambridge that even though it was marked as a 30 everyone seemed to miss the sign and presume it was a 60. I would get people up my backside flashing and sounding the horn. I had one person get out the van and come to have a word with me.
I phoned the police and they suggested writing to my MP. I asked them to stick a car on the road to see the problem, they declined. My Mp wrote back sympathised with my problem but said they were unable to help.
I've kept copies of the email in case I'm ever caught speeding down the stretch of road
The other thing that gets on my bits is when you have gone through a village at 30, your 200 or so yards from a NSL sign and people expect you to accelerate because you can see the sign.
You know the sort, you can see them coming from half a mile away in your rear view mirror. You have 3 or 4 lorries to pass nose to tail and he sits on your bumper while you are passing them at 75.
I had a particularly bad problem with one road in cambridge that even though it was marked as a 30 everyone seemed to miss the sign and presume it was a 60. I would get people up my backside flashing and sounding the horn. I had one person get out the van and come to have a word with me.
I phoned the police and they suggested writing to my MP. I asked them to stick a car on the road to see the problem, they declined. My Mp wrote back sympathised with my problem but said they were unable to help.
I've kept copies of the email in case I'm ever caught speeding down the stretch of road
The other thing that gets on my bits is when you have gone through a village at 30, your 200 or so yards from a NSL sign and people expect you to accelerate because you can see the sign.
I never have this problem now I ride a bike
Back in the days of old though when I drove my car, I had a chav tailgating me so close I couldnt see his lights. I was doing 30 in a 30. I noticed he was drinking a large mcdonalds coffee so waited for him to take a sip then BAM slammed my brakes on. Coffee everywhere and Mr Chav had to pull over to sort himself out.
Back in the days of old though when I drove my car, I had a chav tailgating me so close I couldnt see his lights. I was doing 30 in a 30. I noticed he was drinking a large mcdonalds coffee so waited for him to take a sip then BAM slammed my brakes on. Coffee everywhere and Mr Chav had to pull over to sort himself out.
I never have this problem now I ride a bike
Back in the days of old though when I drove my car, I had a chav tailgating me so close I couldnt see his lights. I was doing 30 in a 30. I noticed he was drinking a large mcdonalds coffee so waited for him to take a sip then BAM slammed my brakes on. Coffee everywhere and Mr Chav had to pull over to sort himself out.
Thats the type of situation I can only dream of. In fact, I think I might drive around near the Macdonalds here to try and recreate it
When I get tailgated on the M4 I tend to just leave a much larger gap in front, as I believe that book (The Bible) tells me to do. If they still don't bugger off then my rear fog comes on too. But the skill of people on the M4 can never be quantified, as it's so small.
"Oh hi i'm just coming onto the M4 where the bus lane is, and i'll pop straight into the 2nd lane, even though it's actually more congested than the inside lane and i'll end up behind. Please somebody make rude gestures to me."
Ahem.
"Oh hi i'm just coming onto the M4 where the bus lane is, and i'll pop straight into the 2nd lane, even though it's actually more congested than the inside lane and i'll end up behind. Please somebody make rude gestures to me."
Ahem.
Soldato
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Happened to me, then i showed the idiot just how fast my car was when i stopped all attempts to lose me and made him pull into Tescos parking lot, helped having 2 other blokes in the car with me and him only having his girlfriend who threw the mcdonalds cup at me. Apologies like mad and me being hot headed threathening to smash his car in etc etc.. good fun but we all survived lol.
I've often wanted one of these too. However I realise that Janesy is absolutely correct that telling people they are morons will only result in more moronic behaviour.
Associate
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Got tailgated in the 50mph roadworks on the M1 north of Luton recently. Was in Lane 3, with lanes 1 and two congested. He's doing the flashing/gesticulating routine, so I waited for a gap, then indicated to pull over to get out of his way. As I was doing this, he decides to undertake, still gesticulating, and still on his mobile...
I do wonder about some people's mental balance.
I do wonder about some people's mental balance.
Soldato
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I HATE being tailgated on the bike, it usually happens when I'm already behind another car, so it's totally pointless. Most people are, in fairness, not meaning to do it, so when I give them the brake light or ease my speed down a bit, get the message and give me a bit more space.
If they don't, I wind my speed down to about 15mph, then pin it til I'm back where I was in the traffic. Then if they come for another go I do it again, and I just rinse and repeat til it's my turning.
If they don't, I wind my speed down to about 15mph, then pin it til I'm back where I was in the traffic. Then if they come for another go I do it again, and I just rinse and repeat til it's my turning.
Try resting your left foot gently on the brake so your stop lights come on, same effect but you don't get a rear ending.
Yeah, this is fine until the the guy barges past on the next straight bit of road, then handbrakes it round to block the road and piles out carrying a bit of scaffold pole. Oh, and is about 6'8" and built like a gorilla.
This happened to me about 10 years ago, and was quite a scary incident.
Since then, I'll either try to ignore them, or slow down a bit, indicate and wave them past. It's just not worth the aggro if it's a loon.
What else do drivers have to go on if they don't have a GPS unit in their car?
Assume their car is going slower than indicated...
I noticed the same thing in my learner car, it shows 30 mph yet everyone is driving a little bit faster...