bluto22b

I am sick and tired of white van man et al driving ½ an inch from my rear bumper. Why do they do it ? It is more annoying than Terry Wogan. Please explain....Blutes

Ray_li

when that happens to me i slow down to 29mph.

bluto22b

I've tried that, then rocketed off from 30 - 70 (not bad acceleration in a Forester S Turbo) Leaves Mondeo man for dead. But then sure as eggs are eggs (aching mens feet) he catches up again[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] I have tried slamming on the brakes, all the usual tricks to no avial. They don't bother me as much in the Maxi for some reason....Blutes

DaveD

iTrader: (2)

No idea.

Then they flash lights and beep their horns as you overtake them....
Seem to think they'll get there quicker by getting closer to the car in front. uh?

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

Try moving into lane one from lane two, you don't have to stay in the middle lane you know.

F

IanA

They tail gate you because:

They are in a hurry (and of course it's much more important than your journey)and want you to move over.

They think that because you're leaving a safe distance you don't want to make any progress.

They're arrogant and selfish and think of none but themselves.

Frankly it scares the crap out of me how close people will drive to each other at motorway speeds. Even if I'm in a hurry I frequently slow down and go into lanes one and two on the M4 because of it.

Please, please, please don't slam the anchors on or do anything to make the 'gater brake, you cannot trust people to be awake, sober, not reading the paper etc. I'm bored of sweeping up broken glass on the motorway.

Chris_S199

Most people tailgate because they're too stupid to think about the distance it takes a car to stop, even if they are a "good" driver in a car with "good" brakes. Best to err on the side of caution and stop too early than ruin someone else's day/life.

... but what can be done?

Chris

carl

People try this on single carriageway roads with no hope of overtaking

Do they not consider:
1) If they are following a car like a Scoob/Porker/etc. and there were opportunities to overtake, the Scoob/Porker/etc. would have done so already?
2) A few inches off someone's bumper is not a good place to begin an overtaking maneouvre?

I don't get it with these clowns -- I followed one once in nose-to-tail traffic on single-carriageway roads and he was all over the back of the car in front for about 10 miles. What did he expect the car in front to do? Even if he'd moved over/parked/etc. he'd then be right behind the car in front of that?

TelBoy

My missus does it, which makes me very nervous when i'm in the car with her driving. Oooh how i have to keep my mouth shut!!
I think she does it because she doesn't realise how little time she'd have to react if the person in front suddenly stopped moving. Touch wood she never finds out....

AudiMan

Happened to me yesterday on the way back from the coast, BMW right up my rear, which really gets to me especially when they can see I've got two young kids in the back !!, however having had this done to me before I instigated Plan B, I've redirected one of the passenger side windscreen washers so it just goes over the roof, it makes a lovely mess of the car behind,,, and usually gets them of ya tail..

Dracoro

I find that about 2/3rds of people don't realise, so education can help in these cases. the other 1/3rd should be banned.

Most of the time, I flick the rear fogs/water jets/raised hand and most people get the message(as I said they didn't realise). Mind you, I'm sure a certain amount of them back off just to not aggrivate the driver in front rather than realising that they're crap drivers as often they then tailgate the next person after passing.

I had the '1/3rd should be banned' once on a normal A road (single carriageway) and I just eased off the throttle and slowed down, then sped up a bit to create a gap. He kept coming back and right up my ar$e so, as there was no traffic behind him I slowed down to about 10mph (over a period of a couple of miles, hoping that he'd go pass) but he didn't. He then flashed me to pull over into a layby, which I did and he came over and asked why I slowed so much. I explained to him that if he's gonna follow me 1/2 a metre behind then I was gonna slow down to a speed where that distance was safe (which in this case was 10mph). He just said 'whatever' (american style!) and drove off. 5 minutes later I caught up with him. he'd run up the back of some merc!

chopper

Wash your windscreen. Guaranteed to send mounds of filthy water cascading onto his screen, which usually makes them back off a bit.

NBW

This is a just another symptom of what many drivers do these days -engage gears, disengage brain.

However, we all know, because the government keeps telling us, that it's not crap drivers that are the problem, it's speeding that is the root of all evil on our roads!

I particularly like the ones who come steaming up behind you in a 30, then when I hit the NSL sign they are dust. They just about catch you up again in time for you to slow down for the next 30. That must really wind the stupid ******* up, but they still do it.

Best advice is to slow gently until the tailgater either overtakes (let him/her - remember you are the better driver), or becomes more attentive to your driving style and backs off.

I found a full decat exhaust helped to

Cheers
Tim

Stephen Read

Here in Switzerland, they are running an anti-tailgating campaign with media advertising and roadside posters at the moment.

http://www.verkehrssicherheitsrat.ch...z/kampagne.htm

(All in french I'm afraid my leetul breetish chums!)

My GF can't stand them. If I'm in no hurry, I try to let people past by signalling. If it is at night, I just dip my rear-view-mirror and try to ignore them but the wing mirrors are a pain.



[Edited by Stephen Read - 27/05/2002 17:46:39]

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

I just normally let them get on with it as it doesn't bother me overly, 'cept if sprog in the car. If they are doing it to me, its because it is either not safe or possible to change lanes, otherwise I would've. I would welcome a new car

On the other hand, I hate people who sit in the o/side lane when it is clear and safe to move in. I would probably say that I, like a lot of people here, am guilty of driving too close at that time, if nothing else on the expectation that they're going to move in any moment

& I will flash my lights at them...

If they gesticulate and still stick steadfastly in the o/side lane, then I will undertake them ( cautiously) rather than tailgate them for the next 10 miles...

A bit of driver education into keeping left, together with a bit of policing to back it up, will make the motorways flow faster overall but at a lower highest speed, because if people aren't been held up by plonkers in the o/side lane, they don't need to tailgate & drive fast for the time they should've allowed for in the first place.

Brendan Hughes

Warding off tailgaters is what your headlamp washer switch was installed for.

Sorry to say, if there is space to move over (ie lane 3 of a motorway), I do so. Can't be arsed with the grey hairs and stomach ulcers otherwise.

BJH

IanA

If I am being held up I quite often try a quick flash of the headlights or putting the right hand indicator on. I know that done the wrong way or repeatedly it's aggressive but I always wave or 'wiggle' my indicators to say thanks if someone moves over.

Thoughts on this?

I try to avoid any kind of retaliatory action, except the windscreen washers (clipping puddles can be good too, if you're going slowly!). Muppets like that feed on your reaction and it makes them concentrate even less on their driving.

uncle buck

Had a huge lorry about an inch from my **** once (they don't like to brake too much). A quick flash on the fogs engendered a huge PPIISSSHH from his brake vacuum pumps as he panic braked and he dissappearded from my rear view mirror. Prat!

Turboteeth

Headlight waterspray works wanders...

neilbbb

tailgating is bad news, personally i always try and move over (even for BMW drivers).

but almost as bad is people camped out in a lane when there is no traffic to their left.

FLAT ERIC

iTrader: (1)

Spotty faced youth tailed me all through town in 30 for a good 10 mins.Me cruising,him late for work.Pulled over(when safe to do so)& let him by.I followed at safe distance to his work car park.

When he got out I wandered over with a big smile & said "Hello,my name is Mark.If you want to get any further up my a**e i'd better know your first name."

He took off for the safety of the building like a scalded cat.Have to take the wife with me now to regain my street cred.
She worries about letting me out on my own.

philc

I always thought tailgating was an economy measure - getting into the slipstream of the car in front, thereby saving petrol and being more environmentally friendly?

Seriously, tho', it can ruin a pleasant journey; always worse in a station wagon (eg a Forester) 'cos the vehicle behind looks much closer.



[Edited by philc - 28/05/2002 07:58:45]