How to deal with tailgaters?

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Ranger X

Lifer
Mar 18, 2000
11,218
1
0
Obey the law? Ever see people driving 65 on the freeway like they should be? Some, but the traffic is generally 10mph faster.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: Zebo
You morons talking about purposely causing an accident are playing a very dangerous game. Not only could you be critcally injured or the other person if he fails to break in time or has a massive vechile, you could also be ticketed. And if it's a peace officer or someone who knows one you will go to jail.

It is a dangerous game...

Still seeing some yahoo with grass and dirt flying around his jacked up Pathfinder is soooooo kewl!

Once my wife even wanted be to go back to see if he is ok.

As far as an officer goes.....I saw a raccoon, a dog, some lady in a walker, Jesus. etc in the road and had to stop. *blink blink*

Å

Hehe Jesus:D

Seriously more of this idea is testosterone driven mindless rage. No way I'd risk it. What if you get a like minded moron behind you and floors it as you slam your breaks? And worse insteed of a nissan he's driving a jacked up 1 ton with a winch bumper?
 

QueHuong

Platinum Member
Nov 21, 2001
2,098
0
0
Originally posted by: desy
DON"T tap the brakes thats dangerous
BUT flipping your lights on so the park lights come on look like you hitting the brake with the same effect.
You can also slow down enough that he will be forced to go around just take your foot off the gas and drift down they'll move around you.


Dangerous as in possibly slamming the breaks too hard? I don't see why it's dangerous if you just tap the breaks very lightly.
 

virtueixi

Platinum Member
Jun 28, 2003
2,781
0
0
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Originally posted by: virtueixi
Really, is your car disabled or something? If you do this in the left lane someone should use a real laser and kill you.

Are you retarded or just stupid? Read the post!

Are you retarded or just stupid? Read the time I posted......before he updated his thread.
 

mikebb

Senior member
May 21, 2001
452
0
76
The problem with driving in general in this country is everyone thinks they're King of the damn Road. Guy riding my bumper; I'll slam on my brakes and show him! Guy driving too slow on my road; I'll ride his tail! Flip him off, cut him off, and on and on....until you meet up with an idiot who goes one step stupider than you, like pulling a gun on your geek a$$.

Anytime I get into a situation like someone riding my bumper with no way out (ie I'm on the interstate but in the SLOW lane, or a one-lane road) I do my best to let the other guy by, and otherwise mind my own business. I know better than to think I'm gonna teach anyone any lessons out on the road, like I said earlier. Ask yourself, if you were tailgating someone, for whatever dumb reason, and they slammed on their brakes, would you think to yourself "Gee, he really taught me!" NO! Stop trying to be fvcking vigilantes people!


 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
14,337
136
Originally posted by: mikebb
The problem with driving in general in this country is everyone thinks they're King of the damn Road. Guy riding my bumper; I'll slam on my brakes and show him! Guy driving too slow on my road; I'll ride his tail! Flip him off, cut him off, and on and on....until you meet up with an idiot who goes one step stupider than you, like pulling a gun on your geek a$$.

Anytime I get into a situation like someone riding my bumper with no way out (ie I'm on the interstate but in the SLOW lane, or a one-lane road) I do my best to let the other guy by, and otherwise mind my own business. I know better than to think I'm gonna teach anyone any lessons out on the road, like I said earlier. Ask yourself, if you were tailgating someone, for whatever dumb reason, and they slammed on their brakes, would you think to yourself "Gee, he really taught me!" NO! Stop trying to be fvcking vigilantes people!
/checks mikebb's postcount average.... 0.31 posts per day.

Please post more often. :)
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Originally posted by: mikebb
The problem with driving in general in this country is everyone thinks they're King of the damn Road. Guy riding my bumper; I'll slam on my brakes and show him! Guy driving too slow on my road; I'll ride his tail! Flip him off, cut him off, and on and on....until you meet up with an idiot who goes one step stupider than you, like pulling a gun on your geek a$$.

Anytime I get into a situation like someone riding my bumper with no way out (ie I'm on the interstate but in the SLOW lane, or a one-lane road) I do my best to let the other guy by, and otherwise mind my own business. I know better than to think I'm gonna teach anyone any lessons out on the road, like I said earlier. Ask yourself, if you were tailgating someone, for whatever dumb reason, and they slammed on their brakes, would you think to yourself "Gee, he really taught me!" NO! Stop trying to be fvcking vigilantes people!

have to agree with this.

if someone tailgates me i just go on my merry way. though i do give myself enough distance between the car ahead of me so if something happens i can stop.

heck if you dont like the speed im going pass me. i dont get in the fast lane and go slow. but i will NOT speed up to make you happy.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
167
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Nitemare
[Q
By you going 1 mph over you are breaking the speed limit, yet no one gets ticketed, nor do they for 5 mph. People do get ticketed for driving too slow and creating road hazards though

yes. they do get a ticket if they are going to slow. BUT going the speed limit will NOT get you a ticket.

The op was fallowing the LAW. he does not need to speed up to make people behind him happy. if they want to get there faster they should have left earlier.

My grandfather got a warning ticket for driving the speed limit in Kansas City once. He was creating a hazard. The officer told him that if he had not had out of state plates he would have been ticketed


I'd have informed the officer that *I* wasn't creating the hazard, *HE* was by not enforcing the speed limit. If they wanted the speed limit 10 mph faster, then they need to post a speed limit 10 mph faster.

btw, for tailgaters: I STILL don't have a sunroof on my car, and after last night's 8 inches of snow, I've got plenty of snowball material on the passenger seat (seat is covered in plastic to protect it - only the floor gets wet). It's actually kinda fun - toss the snowball up, it slows down in the air and is at the right height... Splat on their windshield at 55mph.
 

mikebb

Senior member
May 21, 2001
452
0
76
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: mikebb
The problem with driving in general in this country is everyone thinks they're King of the damn Road. Guy riding my bumper; I'll slam on my brakes and show him! Guy driving too slow on my road; I'll ride his tail! Flip him off, cut him off, and on and on....until you meet up with an idiot who goes one step stupider than you, like pulling a gun on your geek a$$.

Anytime I get into a situation like someone riding my bumper with no way out (ie I'm on the interstate but in the SLOW lane, or a one-lane road) I do my best to let the other guy by, and otherwise mind my own business. I know better than to think I'm gonna teach anyone any lessons out on the road, like I said earlier. Ask yourself, if you were tailgating someone, for whatever dumb reason, and they slammed on their brakes, would you think to yourself "Gee, he really taught me!" NO! Stop trying to be fvcking vigilantes people!
/checks mikebb's postcount average.... 0.31 posts per day.

Please post more often. :)

I'm usually too busy road-raging to post! ;) Thanks for the compliment.

 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
35,461
4
81
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Nitemare
[Q
By you going 1 mph over you are breaking the speed limit, yet no one gets ticketed, nor do they for 5 mph. People do get ticketed for driving too slow and creating road hazards though

yes. they do get a ticket if they are going to slow. BUT going the speed limit will NOT get you a ticket.

The op was fallowing the LAW. he does not need to speed up to make people behind him happy. if they want to get there faster they should have left earlier.

My grandfather got a warning ticket for driving the speed limit in Kansas City once. He was creating a hazard. The officer told him that if he had not had out of state plates he would have been ticketed


I'd have informed the officer that *I* wasn't creating the hazard, *HE* was by not enforcing the speed limit. If they wanted the speed limit 10 mph faster, then they need to post a speed limit 10 mph faster.

btw, for tailgaters: I STILL don't have a sunroof on my car, and after last night's 8 inches of snow, I've got plenty of snowball material on the passenger seat (seat is covered in plastic to protect it - only the floor gets wet). It's actually kinda fun - toss the snowball up, it slows down in the air and is at the right height... Splat on their windshield at 55mph.

I forgot how much officers enjoyed hearing lip especially when it was on how better to do their job. :)
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Nitemare
[Q
By you going 1 mph over you are breaking the speed limit, yet no one gets ticketed, nor do they for 5 mph. People do get ticketed for driving too slow and creating road hazards though

yes. they do get a ticket if they are going to slow. BUT going the speed limit will NOT get you a ticket.

The op was fallowing the LAW. he does not need to speed up to make people behind him happy. if they want to get there faster they should have left earlier.

My grandfather got a warning ticket for driving the speed limit in Kansas City once. He was creating a hazard. The officer told him that if he had not had out of state plates he would have been ticketed


I'd have informed the officer that *I* wasn't creating the hazard, *HE* was by not enforcing the speed limit. If they wanted the speed limit 10 mph faster, then they need to post a speed limit 10 mph faster.

btw, for tailgaters: I STILL don't have a sunroof on my car, and after last night's 8 inches of snow, I've got plenty of snowball material on the passenger seat (seat is covered in plastic to protect it - only the floor gets wet). It's actually kinda fun - toss the snowball up, it slows down in the air and is at the right height... Splat on their windshield at 55mph.

I forgot how much officers enjoyed hearing lip especially when it was on how better to do their job. :)

still wouldnt change that it is fact.

when/IF it got to court it would be tossed out. i would love to see it happen.
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
3
0
I was heading home from my mom's house on the Sat. after Thanksgiving. I near the bridge over the river and there's a passing zone...finally. I'd been behind an older man and his wife (?) for a couple of miles going 10 mph UNDER the limit and every passing zone until then had cars coming the other way (no passing zones were clear...go figure
rolleye.gif
)

So, I pass him and get over when I can see his car fully in my rear view mirror and I go on my merry way...looking out down the river as I cross over the bridge. On the other side, I look in my rear-view mirror and this guy is RIGHT ON MY ASS! I couldn't even see his headlights!!

I hit the brakes and then floored it at the same time so the car did a bit of a nosedive and a brief slowdown...enough for him to think I was braking haard but then I sped up so he wouldn't actually hit me.

Well, I see him nail his brakes and apparently stuff went flying as he *and* his wife were bending over and looked like they were picking up stuff off the floor! :D

Fvcker! :|
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: Zebo


Hehe Jesus:D

Seriously more of this idea is testosterone driven mindless rage. No way I'd risk it. What if you get a like minded moron behind you and floors it as you slam your breaks? And worse insteed of a nissan he's driving a jacked up 1 ton with a winch bumper?

Well you can't be stupid about it, if he is going to impact (which seriously I sort of hope for, since I profit from accidents), you just accellerate. You are maybe talking a 10mph speed difference or 20...not a bad hit really...but you have to know how to take it and drive.

Å
 

XZeroII

Lifer
Jun 30, 2001
12,572
0
0
Originally posted by: teddythemonster
you need to get one of those scrolling message board things to put in your back window.
program it to say "BACK OFF YOU F***ING A**HOLE! or something equally informative and instructional.

I was actually thinking about something like that
 

ozonecomputer

Member
Nov 12, 2003
28
0
0
Hmmm I'll have to check in with my grenade supplier, I seem to be all out. ;)

One of my teachers once pointed out that she didn't care what people behind her did, she had a ball on the back of her truck so it was obvious who the loser would be.

"I brake for tailgaters" might be a good custom bumper sticker.
 

johnjbruin

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2001
4,401
1
0
Originally posted by: mikebb
The problem with driving in general in this country is everyone thinks they're King of the damn Road. Guy riding my bumper; I'll slam on my brakes and show him! Guy driving too slow on my road; I'll ride his tail! Flip him off, cut him off, and on and on....until you meet up with an idiot who goes one step stupider than you, like pulling a gun on your geek a$$.

Anytime I get into a situation like someone riding my bumper with no way out (ie I'm on the interstate but in the SLOW lane, or a one-lane road) I do my best to let the other guy by, and otherwise mind my own business. I know better than to think I'm gonna teach anyone any lessons out on the road, like I said earlier. Ask yourself, if you were tailgating someone, for whatever dumb reason, and they slammed on their brakes, would you think to yourself "Gee, he really taught me!" NO! Stop trying to be fvcking vigilantes people!

most normal post in this thread. you guys seriously need to realize that you are not tdriving-instructors on the road. stop teaching other guys 'lessons' by squirting viper fluid or slamming your brakes. that will just cause the other moronic driver to become more moronic. just chill, and drive defensively, without aggravating other drivers.
 

GermyBoy

Banned
Jun 5, 2001
3,524
0
0
Slow way the fvck down. That'll show them. They wanna go faster, they have to go slower. Also slam on your brakes and have them hit you. Their insurance will go to hell.
 

boyRacer

Lifer
Oct 1, 2001
18,569
0
0
Originally posted by: XZeroII
Originally posted by: JohnCU
Turn your windshield cleaner squirty thing on... the stuff will blow back on their windshield.

No good. My squirters are on the wipers themselves and shoot directly onto the windshield.

So are mine... :D The spray gets blown by the wind onto their cars... :p
 

Doggiedog

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
12,780
5
81
Had some jerk in an MB S500 cut me off 3 times when merging into a tunnel in bumper to bumper traffic. Each time the guy would make a stupid move and lose his spot. He would then force himself into my lane by jamming his car literally an inch away. Finally, I got fed up with him so I gunned it and cut back in front. Traffic in the tunnel loosened up and the guy turned on his high beams and tailgated me at around 50mph. Finally, I sped up faster, opened my sunroof, grabbed a whole bunch of change and chucked it real high. Needless to say, he pulled way back. Later he gave me the finger. I laughed my ass off.
 

McCarthy

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,567
0
76
MB S500? Is that a motherboard? ;)

It's a frustrating topic. Hard for me to see the point when people obeying the law are being called names and threatened with violence for going too slow. Too slow? That's an odd concept to me in the first place. I mean sure, if someone is driving a covered wagon down the highway I'd be annoyed, but then again I do end up behind farm machinery a lot and have never resorted to flipping off the combine operator. Just wait till there's an opportunity and go by.

Been a lot of suggestions to slam brakes and other risky behavior such as throwing things out the window. I don't condone either, not so much because of the tailgater's safety, but because people in the oncoming lane are endangered by the resulting pileup or ricocheting projectiles. But at the same time please recognize that the person doing the tailgating is doing something equally as dangerous as the front driver slamming the brakes. If there's a mechanical failure, if the front car has to slam the brakes, if a tire blows there car in front is going to get nailed by the tailgater. Unlike the brake slamming scenerio, only one driver is participating in creating the danger here.

I had that happen, some woman was right on my tail even though I was at the speed limit. Jack rabbit jumped out, I have no option but to hit it which did damage to the front valance of my car and cost the rabbit it's life. Apparently she didn't notice or it didn't concern her because she kept it up. She finally passed, I followed at a distance to see what her big rush was. She got to Wal-Mart, pulled in, parked and sat in the car checking her list. Big emergency. Went up and knocked on the window, but she pulled her cell phone and started waving her arms and shouting to get away, decided I didn't want to get arrested and left. Knew there wasn't a thing to be accomplished by calling the police, couldn't prove a thing, her insurance wouldn't have paid a dime, just more hassle for me.

There's also been discussion of messing up the following car's view with washer fluid, oily substances, whatever. This is said to be bad because it's blinding the other driver. Well again, the exact same thing often happens to the driver in front. I drive a compact car, the headlights from pickups and SUVs are above the line of the rear window and turn the side mirrors into spotlights shining right into my vision. So now here I am moving my head so the right side mirror isn't pointing at my face, holding my hand up to block the left side one, entire passenger compartment is lighted like a marjiuana grower's closet and I'm supposed to be able to see where I'm going well enough not to veer into oncoming traffic.

But it's my own fault for not breaking the speed limit and driving as fast as the guy behind me wants to go. Or the even faster guy who comes along next. From the replies here it seems I'm supposed to take my vehicle to it's top speed and even then pull off the highway or drive into the ditch if someone with a faster car comes along.

This isn't NASCAR. And you're not a race car driver. It's also not the Jerry Springer show. Showing a little decency and respect for strangers isn't going to hurt you one bit.
 

MikeMike

Lifer
Feb 6, 2000
45,885
66
91
well do it legally, wait for a driveway, hit your brakes and your turn signal all at once.

you were gunna turn into the driveway!!! cheap yes, more moral than just slammin your brakes? sure.

MIKE
 

Redviffer

Senior member
Oct 30, 2002
830
0
0
I'm on a motorcycle, so I tend to drive faster than most (even if I drive the speed limit, I still tend to driver faster than most because I don't slow down as often and I can speed up to the speed limit faster). If I encounter someone who is going slower and there is no way for them to pull over, I slow down. If I see someone who is going slow and they don't seem to have any particular reason to do so (IMO), then I give them the bright lights a couple of times, if they don't pull over, then I just pass them at the next opportunity, I DON'T tailgate them as many times you will be concentrating on not hitting them, and fail to see debris on the road. I've found that it's not even worth it to "teach" them a lesson, or even waste any more time that I already have. If someone is tailgating me in my motorcycle, I speed up (almost no one can keep up with me), if there is no possible way for me to either out-distance them, or they continue to tail-gate me, I slow way down. I will then pull over and wave them by. Again, no reason to deal with them. If someone puts me in danger, then it's cell phone time to call in a reckless driver. Most people don't seem to realize that, if they hit a car, they might cause injury to another, if they hit a motorcyclist, they are not only going to injure them, they will probably kill them as well.
 

JustAnAverageGuy

Diamond Member
Aug 1, 2003
9,057
0
76
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: mikebb
The problem with driving in general in this country is everyone thinks they're King of the damn Road. Guy riding my bumper; I'll slam on my brakes and show him! Guy driving too slow on my road; I'll ride his tail! Flip him off, cut him off, and on and on....until you meet up with an idiot who goes one step stupider than you, like pulling a gun on your geek a$$.

Anytime I get into a situation like someone riding my bumper with no way out (ie I'm on the interstate but in the SLOW lane, or a one-lane road) I do my best to let the other guy by, and otherwise mind my own business. I know better than to think I'm gonna teach anyone any lessons out on the road, like I said earlier. Ask yourself, if you were tailgating someone, for whatever dumb reason, and they slammed on their brakes, would you think to yourself "Gee, he really taught me!" NO! Stop trying to be fvcking vigilantes people!
/checks mikebb's postcount average.... 0.31 posts per day.

Please post more often. :)

*agrees with Vic*

 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
I don't know why everyone assumes that the driver controlling the situation is enraged.

I am calm about what I do. If someone is driving ahead of me slow, I let them drive slow....I don't go attacking people and it doesn't make me angry as I could always pass usually....now if the guy plays roadblock or something stupid, then all bets are off. Same way with the guy tail gating....I usually will stay to the right anyways, but if I forget and I see a light dip I move over, now if someone comes from the far right lane and gets on my tail and starts flashing and honking, he is going to have a problem. To me it's fun, sure MAYBE he will pull out a gun and shoot at me, or ram my car, or whatever...part of the game to me. This antics are pretty rare for the most part....I'd say though an easy 6 times a year it happens. So far I'd say the best was the truck that went bajaing (tried to fly up on me in the dark and hit all his lights at the last second....I just nailed my brakes in to a major G stop....and he went flying off into a field spinning and spinning but didn't flip or hit anything), and some punkas$ mini trucker that kept passing people and hitting his brakes and cutting people off at the merges it was bad, people were swerving all over the place...the guy was laughing his butt off....I sped past and waited for him to pull something (my car was running a side exit exhaust so pretty loud and noticable) and sure enough he ducked behind me, got on my tail and then cut to the right and into the next merge lane and started speeding up the merge lane in an attempt to try and cut me off at the end, I just kept slowly accellerating (and then this other guy got right behind me also and starting speeding up too), the punk was trying to get in front of me and paying attention to my bumper trying to squeeze in right on top of me, however he wasn't paying attention to the curb in front of him....it was freaking loud when he hit that, the guy that got behind me helping to block the merge lane gave us a thumbs up at the next light, he was like 50 something and was already on his cell...I seriously thought I was going to get arrested for that one, I thought the guy behind me was taking my plates down to call it in...but he must have been cut off too. I thought the idiot was going to stop though....I didn't mean for him to really mess up his truck.

I remain calm though and I drive accurately....chances are the other driver is ticked off beyond belief and not thinking, he will be the one making the mistakes...I drive courteously and I expect other's too so that's that. I totally agree my antics are stupid.

Å