www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/item.htm?id=4596
Having read this I feel
1. Will any driver actually admit that they have a tailgating problem?
2. If not, why bother issuing this press release
3. Some of the advice is dubious - how will checking tyre pressures prevent tailgating?
4. One piece of advice is that if you are being tailgated, move over. Mmm, at least I now know that by tailgating others, I will get the road to myself as everyone pulls over!
Edited by Pugugly on 02/04/2008 at 00:25
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The person in the X5 who tailgated me today urgently needs medical attention. If they think the distance of 3' from their front bumper to my cars rear bumper is a safe braking distance than I have to inform them it is not safe, get your eyes tested and your brain examined.
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It is by far a safer scenario to have the impatient, aggressive fool in front of you.
That way you can then concentrate on your own driving and safety alone as you no longer have to worry, anticipate & watch for what impatient risks that driver will take to get past you.
Also, you have no idea what is motivating the person (could be a drink or drug influenced driver?) behind you to drive the way it is.
Doubtfully, there could also be a very genuine reason...
...then again, probably not.
If you cannot safely slow down to let it pass, open the gap up between you and the vehicle in front of you. This will give you the time to react to events not only in front of but also around you.
Better to arrive late, than not at all. I am not a slow driver (by far) that impedes traffic flow and I always drive to the speed and within the safety limits of the road and conditions around me. However, I frequently have to allow the more over confident (yes, a polite way to say aggressive foolish and impatient) drivers to pass me.
Edited by Tron on 02/04/2008 at 03:27
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"Check brakes, lights, tyre pressure and tyre tread on at least a daily basis"
Implying that one should really check these things more than daily?
That's why he's tail-gaiting, he's making up the thirty minutes he's wasted fiddling with his valve caps every morning.
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But tailgating doesn't make up lost time. If he can't overtake then his journey time (bar 2 seconds) will be exactly the same as if he left a 50 yards gap.
What does make up lost time is hanging back, reading the road ahead, and being prepared to overtake when the occasion presents itself.
Tailgaters who annoy me are those who tailgate when they can't overtake, but who then drop back once the road clears and refuse to overtake, closing the gap again after the opportunity has been missed.
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If anyone tailgates me, I stick rigidly to the speed limit - 2mph. They soon gt the message and drop back.
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If anyone tailgates me I stick rigidly to the speed limit - 2mph. They soon gt the message and drop back.
I've tried that. But it's risky. There is a proportion of dangerous ones who respond by coming even closer. Once you have inadvertantly or deliberately annoyed one of those you are in trouble. They will overtake eventually, then cut in and brake hard just to teach you a lesson.
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"then cut in and brake hard"
That's when you re-overtake them.
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Once you have inadvertantly or deliberately annoyed one of those you are in trouble. They will overtake eventually, then cut in and brake hard just to teach you a lesson.
A bit of (cod) psychology often helps. When confronted (or perhaps 'conbacked' ?) by a tailgater, & I'm keen to let them pass or discourage them, I often go into mimser or not-quite-with-it old duffer mode. When I then go more slowly to lessen any escalation or encourage their (poor) overtaking technique, they merely sneer internally & feel superior, rather than a see gauntlet being proffered.
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There are different scenarios and experiences being described in this thread. Bobby G (the OP) is rejecting the report's advice to pull over, which probably means that come what may, he will continue driving in the wrong lane on dual carriageways and motorways. Most of those with comments are assuming he's talking about tailgating on single carriageways and give helpful advice on how to deal with that. The likely result is even more confusion.
It's simple enough...if you're on a dual carriageway or motorway You must drive IN THE INSIDE LANE unless you are overtaking. Remember that many vehicles are not allowed in the outside lane and if they are tailgating you it may be because they have to be somewhere and are fed up with your inconsiderate behaviour. On the other hand if you are being tailgated on a single carriageway then the tailgater is an idiot and you should heed the advice in this thread and do all you can to protect yourself.
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No ceg999, that is not what I take as tailgating. If I am driving properly on the outside lane, or any other lane for that matter, and someone is up my backside because they think the road is their's, that to me is tailgating.
As soon as I can pull over, I do. I hate lane hoggers and actually quite often undertake them.
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I misunderstood your post... my apologies.
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Tonight I was tailgated on the inside lane of a dual carraigeway while I was doing the limit. Evidently he felt I should undertake the car that was just ahead of us in the outside lane. I slowly let my speed drop to allow the outside lane car to move in but he didn't so the tailgater then moved over behind the car in the outside lane. After a short further stint of tailgating that car he then undertook and turned off at speed at the next left. Just shows that there are bad drivers that standard advice just doesn't cater for. Basically as said in one of the posts above you just want to get them ahead of you as soon as practicable so that you regain some control of your safety zone but it can be a frustrating situation and its hard not to react when someone seems bent on being so aggressive.
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Classic example on the way into work this morning. A van followed me for the whole hour's journey, mostly single carriageway slowish A road with passing stretches.
On bends, white lines, or when passing oncoming traffic, he consistently drove about 10 feet behind me, at speeds of about 50 - 60 mph. If I gradually slowed down to increase my gap behind the next car, he responded by coming even closer. When the road opened up, he dropped back and refused to overtake, even though I gave him space and tried indicating left.
I almost got to the point of pulling into a layby to lose him, when someone else cut him up and squeezed in, so I then had someone else to tailgate me. We all arrived at the same time, because the traffic density allowed nothing else.
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'Twas ever thus Cliff. Charitably speaking I guess some people have poor spacial awareness. I often fantasise about chucking gravel out of the sunroof at 'em. ;-)
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Back in my youth it was a pot of out-of-date yoghurt from one's mum's fridge :)
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Back in my youth it was a pot of out-of-date yoghurt from one's mum's fridge :)
going equipped .... nice one
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Tailgated today in Manchester by a fully loaded 38 tonne lorry. Lorry drivers always say that their brakes are fantastic and will stop anything. Not correct, the fantastic brakes will stop the wheels going round but will not stop the vehicle from going forward. I find this an increasing problem with HGV of all sizes especially in 60mph zones. They are doing 62mph flat out and don't want to slow down so they bulldoze on. It's only a matter of time until before I share my back seat with one. Concrete
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Night-time tailgaters on winding A or B roads are particularly annoying. Quite often, after they have overtaken, they don't go any faster than the car they just overtook because the visibility is worse than they'd assumed.
Also, once in a 30 limit was tailgated by a nutter, which made me more determined to keep to 30 mph. Eventually he overtook, cutrin front of me and slammed on his brakes.
Edited by Sofa Spud on 03/04/2008 at 22:23
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I was just tailgated away from the lights in the road past the zoo from Camden Town to ghastly St John's Wood by some kind of huge white van, which I had to press quite hard in second and third to get clear of away from the lights so it wouldn't scrape me off against the parkers down the road, you know the scenario. It was a rude white van so I went up to 40. But it was a sensible white van because it then backed off and let me go at the proper speed along there these days, a pathetic 35mph speedometer mimse, provided of course none of the SJW locals aren't in the way making it even worse, how I hate the 21st century.
Edited by Lud on 04/04/2008 at 02:05
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What gets me is people tailgating on the motorway, when I am in the slow lane. I typicaly do about 60mph, but regularly get people tailgating wanting to take the next exit. The only thing is somtimes the next exit is 2 miles away!
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I can't stand tailgaters, it's my absolute pet hate... I do the slow down to 2mph less than the speed limit and if they get closer then I dab the brakes lightly to flash the lights on and off (only if I can see there's nothing behind them of course).
Was once almost drawn into an episode of road rage because some lunatic in a white van tailgated me and then became offended when I stopped for a red light... He wanted to run it and slammed on, skidding... Then proceeded to chase me down the road, overtaking in front of me and slamming on. Scared me to death as I'm not a confrontational type.
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Low-powered motorbikes, many but not all driven by pizza kamikazes, are among the worst London tailgaters. I worry about it in the wet especially and can't wait for the carphounds to nip past, which they usually do at an unexpected moment, on the side one isn't expecting them.
Clearly these things have better grip and handling than I imagine because I haven't been hit by one yet. But then I am a fairly predictable driver and very seldom brake heavily in traffic.
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One day, I'm going to buy an ancient Land Rover, fit an enormous tow bar on it, and go for a drive along the motorway. Then, the next time I got tailgated (hopefully by a very expensive car driven by someone in a huge hurry), I'm going to give the brakes a good stamping and see what happens. Rinse and repeat.
One of those plans that I'd love to carry out but never could. :-(
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In my sharp-toothed youth I too used to fancy a Land Rover or similar with nasty bits of scaffolding clamped to the ends and sticking out a bit, to get a bit of respect from taxis. Another thing I quite fancied was a bicycle pump filled with liquid mud to squirt at snooty limousines.
If we were all aware of the crazed thoughts and fantasies of those around us we would probably be quite surprised and go mad in short order.
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I don't get confrontational, just pull over to the nearside as much as poss and slow down to let them pass. Often get a strange sign of thanks as they go by.
Wimpish? maybe but i'd much rather they had an accident with someone other than me, and i have had an instance like that where i've seen the tailgater pranged on Silverstone bends (some years ago now) as i passed by some time after they passed me 20 miles previously.
Are we sure its tailgating though and not some frugal minded individual slip streaming their way to economic stability.
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For real, true, purposeful tailgating and slipstreaming, I recommend the boring and incomprehensible NASCAR racing whose commentators make our F1 people sound like Shakespeare amd Sartre rolled into one, and that takes a bit of doing.
Of course racers tailgate shamelessly and often give each other a sly or not-so-sly punt. But they are supposed to know what they're doing.
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I was being tailgated by a BMW 4x4 last week on the school run, my instant response to this was to ignore it for a quarter of a mile and then pull over and let it past... Just in time for it to get pulled at the police speed trap!
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>>I was being tailgated by a BMW 4x4 last week on the school run, my instant response to this was to ignore it for a quarter of a mile and then pull over and let it past... Just in time for it to get pulled at the police speed trap!
~Like it....
Years ago i had a very highly tuned triumph herald, SAH tune about 110bhp, so quite quick for it's day, andway was being tailgated by this ford fiesta xr2 with 4 "lads" in it. Pulled up at a set of light where it went into 2 lanes and then back to one the other side, I was so cheesed off with this guy but thought i'd teach him a lesson.( i was a cocky 19yr old) so floored it away from the lights and he could not get passed me, so ended up sitting next to me on the other side of the road, Eventually I slowed and let him in, Next minute sirens and blue lights, my immidate raction was "oh sugar"... so pulled over only for the police car to go round me and pull up the fiesta just down the road, Needless to say I drove past very slowly with a smile and a wave....
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 08/05/2008 at 20:11
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I once was 'pushed' through traffic lights on amber I decided it wasn't safe to stop as the car behind me was fast approaching... As I crossed the junction I could see a police van in the left hand lane of the farside carriageway and panicked a little.... The nerves kicked in when the blues came on but then I noticed the car behind me had followed me through on red.
Couldn't hide the grin on my face as I saw him pulling over just after the junction.
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