Poll - How do you handle tailgaters?

Eeeesh I do a lot of highway driving, and I am NOT a slow driver. I get tailgated going 75-80. Where are these people going that's so important?

What I hate the most is when the lane next to me is wide open, and they won't trouble themselves to change lanes anyway!



oh yes, what I usually do is let them pass me and then speed up and tailgate them for a little while. Childish and dangerous I know. I suffer from road rage.

my husband and I are bad....lol....if we are being tailgated...we slow down a lot and when the person trys to pass us we speed back up so they can't...we will stay even to the car next to us so they can't pass us....Its funny when they finally pass and they have the worst look on their face....

OOh I love the topic of ROAD RAGE!! I am A rager!!! If someone tailgats me I hit the brakes hard. If my car gets wrecked its their fault, following to close. I know its dangerous but it gets them off ost of the time. That is exactly why I now drive the big truck instead of the little sunfire. I work on an army base and often come in to work when the soldiers are going in for PT. Don't get me wrong I love my soldiers and what they do for us, but they drive like maniacs. Especially when they are just getting home from war and havent driven in a year. Most drive big trucks and think they can bully little cars and cut you off or tailgate. Its dangerous. I hate aggressive drivers that make me have to be aggressive!!

Another think to do is put on your cruise control then take it off and on to enrage the tailgator even further!! i agree that they don't save much time as I'll usually catch up with them somewhere down the road!!

We have some of the worst drivers in the country here in Jacksonville. I absolutely hate tailgaters, and will slam on my brakes if someone is right on my bumper. I drive a 1985 Oldsmobile and it is HUGE! I get bumped regularly, and I can deploy an airbag of a tailgater and never get a scratch on my bumper. I keep hoping someone will hit me hard enough to actually damage it so I can at least get a down payment on another car. I know that's kind of mean, but If people didn't drive like idiots, it would not even be a thought.

I do nothing. I just maintain my speed and curse their (insert body part) so that it shrivels and falls off!

Originally Posted by gemlady

I do nothing. I just maintain my speed and curse their (insert body part) so that it shrivels and falls off!

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now that's funny!

I take my foot off the accelerator.

I admit to tapping the brakes once, but the logical part of me is pleading with the emotional part of me to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. For a moments retaliation, I put my passenger, the other driver, his passengers, and myself at risk by doing that. It REALLY is a bad and SELFISH idea. I can't imagine the sadness I would feel for the rest of my life if I caused someone harm just because of a tailgater.

Unfortunately I am not the most patient driver - so I slam them.
Very rarely do I go out driving without using every curse word in the book. I can't help it - I'm just so impatient when I'm driving. I don't speed or drive nuts or anything - I just have no patience for people driving that don't have a clue.

It depends on the situation and my mood, but if I'm on the expressway and can easily change lanes I usually just try to move over and let them go on and tailgate someone else...no sense in ruining my mood (or car) for that jerk. If I can't change lanes easily or I'm on a side street, I'll try tapping my brakes. If that doesn't work (and it rarely does) I'll gradually slow down until I'm at a speed where it's safe for them to follow me that closely.

One time when a person was tailgating me and then passed me, a few minutes later, I saw him pulled over getting a ticket. I laughed all the way to work!

Originally Posted by Catkiki

One time when a person was tailgating me and then passed me, a few minutes later, I saw him pulled over getting a ticket. I laughed all the way to work!

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That's awesome!

One morning I had an extremely crazy ride in to work, its a long story..... first I was running late, was getting on the freeway at 8:07 when I should get on absolutely no later than 8:00 and yes those 7 minutes make or break me. Well, of course there was a big ole semi getting on the freeway in front of me and he took FOREVER to get up the on-ramp, so as soon as we were next to the freeway and I checked my rearview and zipped over, but unfortunately there was someone in my blind spot that I cut off, oops! now keep in mind that this is a 3 lane highway right here, semi in lane 1, me in the middle lane, and now extremely PO'ed guy in lane 3. he's driving a suzuki sidekick, probably early 90's, basically POS car. This is where it gets good: when I cut him off he swerved in to the 3rd lane and I did the little "oops I'm sorry wave" well he passed me then zipped over in front of me and starting slowing down, ok dude I'll let you have your little revenge for a second, then I glance at the clock- Oh crap!! So I move over into the 3rd lane (fast lane) and put the pedal to the metal- dude moves over in front me! I did not slow down I just passed him on the berm because he just kept coming over! I am hauling some booty now, doing at least 80 mph, and then of course I come up on a slower driver, while I'm waiting for him to move over into middle lane, suzuki samurai comes zooming up behind me, gets on my bumper, I'm talking i-n-c-h-e-s away and starts flashing his brights!! holy moley dude, If I freaked out everytime someone cut me off on the freeway I'd be in a little padded room by now.... so I took the revenge path myself and slammed on my brakes, immediately accelerating again. Let's just say he wasn't expecting that one, he had to swerve to avoid hitting me and lost control of his car, spinning across the freeway- I don't know how he didn't roll it to be honest. Luckily there were no other cars around us at that point and he regained control of his car, and I kept going (of course I would have stopped if anything bad had happened) and actually made it to work on time... moral of this story? check your blind spots and don't brake check people going 70 mph. I don't think my heart came out of my throat till lunch

we hate that - we tap the brakes and make them think twice about getting too close. My frind Vicky ha a little sign she could turn on and off that said "BACK OFF F*****S!"

Originally Posted by LilleKat

we hate that - we tap the brakes and make them think twice about getting too close. My frind Vicky ha a little sign she could turn on and off that said "BACK OFF F*****S!"

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I want one!!!!!!!!!!

I've been known to tap the brake. What I've found more effective lately is to just gear down to the next gear which slows my car down considerably without the brake lights coming on and the guy behind me thinks I don't have working brake lights so he backs off. Works like a charm.

I too had a fellow go tearing past me (I was doing 10 km over the limit) a couple weekends ago and I waved to him as I passed him being ticketed by the police officers.

I actually like the lead-foots to pass me - I can then safely go more than the speed limit because they're going to be nailed first and the officer will be busy with them and I'll be able to glide on by.

I just tap on the break

I hate tailgaters - but I always laugh when I see them zoom past me and a few miles up the road are sitting there getting a ticket! Thats always good for a laugh or two!

Originally Posted by Catkiki

I take my foot of the gas pedal too..

One of my pet peeves is 18 wheeler trucks. Just as I am passing the truck on the left, they change lanes right in front of me. When I am merging, they either speed up or slow down to where I almost have to stop to merge in.

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As a trucker's wife, I have to comment here. Now I know that some truckers are just big jerks, but most of them really aren't. Any time you are driving around a big truck, please just keep the "rule of thumb" in mind, that if you can't see the driver's face in his side view mirror, he probably cannot see you and has no idea you are there. I sat in the driver's seat of my hubby's truck once and I was amazed at how little you can see behind you up there. NEVER ride alongside a truck if you can help it, mostly because you'll be in big trouble if a tire blows. I'm very careful of how I drive around big trucks. I don't stop alongside them, and I keep at least one car length (in city traffic) between me and the rear of the truck, regardless of if I'm behind him or in another lane. I try at all costs to avoid passing on the right (there's little to no visiblity on the right), and when I do pass, I get it overwith as quickly as I can.
I'm not trying to jump on you, just taking the opportunity to educate those who may not know (and most people have never been in a big truck and have no idea what the view is like from up there) to make the streets and highways a little safer for everyone. I know that some truckers are jerks just like anyone else, but most of them are professionals just trying to do thier jobs and feed thier families.

Amber

Originally Posted by fatkitties

. Any time you are driving around a big truck, please just keep the "rule of thumb" in mind, that if you can't see the driver's face in his side view mirror, he probably cannot see you and has no idea you are there. I sat in the driver's seat of my hubby's truck once and I was amazed at how little you can see behind you up there. NEVER ride alongside a truck if you can help it, mostly because you'll be in big trouble if a tire blows. I'm very careful of how I drive around big trucks. I don't stop alongside them, and I keep at least one car length (in city traffic) between me and the rear of the truck, regardless of if I'm behind him or in another lane. I try at all costs to avoid passing on the right (there's little to no visiblity on the right), and when I do pass, I get it overwith as quickly as I can.

Amber

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That is Excellent advice!

I grew up around trucking, my stepdad was a driver and now I'm married to a driver. I've had this stuff drilled in my head since I was about 10. But if you ask any trucker thier biggest gripe about "4-wheelers" and they'll say that they just don't know. Don't know about blind spots, don't know how dangerous it is to cruise along by the drive tires (the tires at the back of the tractor, under the trailer), don't know about following distance, don't realize that just because there's 2 truck lengths between the truck and the car in front of him, you shouldn't cut in there because they need that space to stop the truck, don't realize how long it takes a truck to come to a compelte stop from highway speeds, don't realize that 18 wheels doesn't equal 18 sets of brakes. Lots of things. Most truckers also think you should have to watch a video on sharing the road with a truck before you can renew your drivers license. It would sure make the roads a lot safer. Like I said, there are truckers who are just big jerks, but I have more run-ins with car drivers who are big jerks than I do with truckers.
Sorry to get off on a tangent, this is one of my passions!

Amber