Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 87 total)
  • Tail gaters
  • fervouredimage
    Free Member

    Going on from the losing it whilst driving thread, I just wondered what others here thought about drivers who tail gate? I’m generally speaking a driver who doesn’t get particularly annoyed with bad driving etc and just go along on my merry way.

    But tail gate me and i become engulfed in a rage that on more than one occasion resulted in me finding an opportune moment to make my thoughts known to the tail gater. I’ve always been angered by tail gaters but since having a baby and having my 4 month old in his car seat in the back I seem to have a radar for any driver that even thinks about coming within a couple of metres of my rear bumper.

    I just find tail gating the most stupid, dangerous thing to do on the roads. Am I over reacting to it?

    ashleydwsmith
    Free Member

    I hate tailgating, I’ll admit that when I was younger I used to do it. But as I’ve grown I hate it. It’s dangerous, it’s stupid. I just hate and try not to get wound up. If they wanna go by let them.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    Have a look at what traffic behaviour is enforced and what isn’t. Clearly tailgating isn’t a problem. Neither is the use of mobile phones or driving down the motorway with the car so full of cannabis smoke you struggle to make out the driver. All were the observed on yesterday’s commute.

    The only dangerous thing anyone can do on the roads is speeding clearly.
    (where’s that tongue in cheek smiley before anyone takes that the wrong way)

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    Full Member

    Wash your windscreen the next time you get a tailgater – interesting piece of advice I picked up on a speed awareness course. It seems to work and is safer than touching your brakes…

    King-ocelot
    Free Member

    I have a quick car and a slow one. Drive both at legal limit. Never get tailgated in sports car, always do in the other despite me doing same speeds.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Aim for the puddles.

    project
    Free Member

    SLOW DOWN PULL IN WHEN SAFE AND LET THEM PASS.

    Theyre obviously in a rush, and youre not…………

    gibbonarms
    Free Member

    Your being protective of yourself and your passengers, nothing wrong with that.

    I’d slow down gradually, and allow them to overtake you into the space you have created in front, you will not be ‘going backwards’ as some claim and your journey will take no longer but both parties remain safer.

    Defensive driving is quite often about creating and maintaining space around you so to increase reaction time.

    Davesport
    Full Member

    Slow dowwwwwn, until the feckers overtake and clear off 😀 Being an old dodger I leave plenty of time for my journeys, so slowing down is no loss to me, but usually is to the odd tailgater.

    john
    Full Member

    I get maliciously patient. The sensible thing to do is to slow down a bit so that you’re less likely to have to stop quickly, the fact that it probably really annoys the impatient moron behind you is just an added bonus.

    It gets particularly fun around sets of traffic lights/ multiple lanes etc where you can try to drive really smoothly and steadily, such that you get through it all as fast as everyone else around you, without at any point giving the car behind a chance to get past. It’s not big, it’s not clever, but it keeps me amused.

    itstig
    Full Member

    Nip the handbrake on no brake lights will come on but be ready to accellerate. Exceptionally dangerous with high risk but they will get a fright.

    Spin
    Free Member

    It’s not just aggressive tail gating but people sitting too close in general that I dislike. I can’t understand their thinking. Perhaps because they’re not thinking.

    cb
    Full Member

    There’s two type though! The arrogant aggressive a holes who clearly want to be in front, even if it is 30 yards. Then there are those that are purely and simply – crap drivers. No intention of getting past even if the road was clear but insist on being right up one’s arse! ‘Generally’ I find men to be the former and women to be the latter.

    The more recent craze to me is the ‘front bumper gaters’. Those on the motorway that think flicking on an indicator (if they can be bothered) and swerving right causing the cars over taking them to brake. Highest form of arrogance – I’m watching the box sets of Dexter at the moment and this type of driving gives me evil thoughts…

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    If I have less following distance behind, I increase the following distance in front. That way, there’s less change I’ll have to brake firmly to compensate for the Muppet behind.

    Obviously, they don’t understand this.

    jimjam
    Free Member

    King-ocelot – Member

    I have a quick car and a slow one. Drive both at legal limit. Never get tailgated in sports car, always do in the other despite me doing same speeds.

    That’s because the kind of expert driving successful alpha males who tail gate are living in a little bubble where their 140bhp German repmobile is king of the road. They don’t tail gate anything they recognise as faster as it’ll shatter their delusion.

    This is one of the most fun things about owning sleeper.

    tonyg2003
    Full Member

    I just pull in and let them past on the motorway or make sure I give myself plenty of stopping distance from the car in front on other roads. Let them crash into someone else.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    People tailgate the landy all the time. I think they expect im going slow…… I can do 70 no bother and did 85 once on my private road – thanks to an engine swap.

    How ever tailgate me and i just slow down. If its safe to pass me you can pass , if its not safe to pass well sorry but you deserve to be stuck.

    I probably get tailgated in the van too but i cant see them as i have no rear windows – once you get behind me i cant see you you need to be about 10ft away minimum of you dissapear into the void.

    billysugger
    Free Member

    It’s worse in a van because people can’t see there’s anything in front and presume you’re holding them up.

    What’s worse is the zombie driver that lives life at 42mph no matter what the limit is. Sat right up my chuff in 30 zones then nowhere in the nationals then, oh look it’s you again

    fervouredimage
    Free Member

    When they do it to me, I simply want them away from me. I don’t want to do something that will potentially increase the risk of an accident further, the cargo is too precious for me to play games. So usually I will slow down to either just slow the speed of both of us down or to give them the opportunity to pass and piss off away from me.

    As some have said, it’s the generally crap drivers who have no sense of the minucule amount of space they are giving themselves by just hugging your rear bumpre. They have no intention of passing nor are they driving aggressively they just actually think they are driving safely by being a few feet behind you at 50 or 60mph.

    billysugger
    Free Member

    I used to cringe at the idea in my sports bike days but the sooner motorway driving is automated the better

    br
    Free Member

    It’s not just aggressive tail gating but people sitting too close in general that I dislike. I can’t understand their thinking. Perhaps because they’re not thinking.

    Or maybe they thinking more than you? I can’t stand folk who brake when it’s not needed, folk who are too cautious and/or obviously haven’t a clue as they maintain the same speed past every hazard and every condition.

    Folk who overtake need to take MORE care than those that never do.

    Spin
    Free Member

    I can’t stand folk who brake when it’s not needed, folk who are too cautious and/or obviously haven’t a clue as they maintain the same speed past every hazard and every condition.

    and the best way to let them know your disapproval is to sit right on their bumper?

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    😀

    Folk who overtake need to take MORE care than those that never do.

    Bollocks.

    Maybe you meant “Folk who overtake safely need to take more care than those that never do.”

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    On a motorbike I move around to block their line of vision.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    “Or maybe they thinking more than you? I can’t stand folk who brake when it’s not needed, folk who are too cautious and/or obviously haven’t a clue as they maintain the same speed past every hazard and every condition.”

    Not sure if trolling because its complete bollocks

    Unless you have xray vision you have no idea why they have braked. Maybe its the corner , maybe its the dog that ran out , maybe the front left wheel of their car just fell off …. You have no idea.

    And theres no driving instructor in the world who would suggest that the best place to start an overtake from is 2 feet from the car infront.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    What I dont get is when I’m chugging along at 75 or whatever on the motorway and I’m overtaking a lorry going past another one does the bloke driving the X5 really think charging up behind me flashing his lights and then sitting 2 m off my bumper is going to make me do anything other than ease off a bit to annoy him?

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    Used to find it was the boy racer types tailgating me, but in recent years I get far less of them and the majority now are mostly women.

    I find many just drive very close but have no intention of overtaking. Just the whole special awareness thing I guess.

    Spin
    Free Member

    ust the whole special awareness thing I guess.

    I always wondered what the ESP button on our Golf did.

    edward2000
    Free Member

    OP any particular reason why you couldn’t let him pass?

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    Spin – Member
    I always wondered what the ESP button on our Golf did.

    😆

    special spatial 😀 (I blame autocorrect)

    Though maybe both 😉

    porlus
    Free Member

    Love this move. Say if im turning left at a junction and have had someone tailgating me for a while I tend to make the turning mind numbingly slow.

    allthegear
    Free Member

    Disappointed this thread isn’t in relation to these gator tails…

    speed12
    Free Member

    Agree with all the above – making space in front of you is the best way to react (and as mentioned, the act of slowing them down more is just an added amusement).

    However, the other night on the M40 when I had a BMW roar up to my rear bumper whilst I was performing a legitimate overtaking maneavure at about 75 – i may or not have made use of a large amount of the 550hp I had to keep up with him as he tried to overtake (before realising I was being a moron myself and slowing back down – good fun though!)

    Northwind
    Full Member

    cb – Member

    There’s two type though! The arrogant aggressive a holes who clearly want to be in front, even if it is 30 yards. Then there are those that are purely and simply – crap drivers. No intention of getting past even if the road was clear but insist on being right up one’s arse!

    Exactly. TBH I find the latter ones the worse. The aggressive ones at least have a reason, moronic as it is. (especially since it’s generally easier to pass if you leave a gap, for visibility and speed changes).

    But the ones that just latch onto the bumper of the car in front are a more constant threat to others imo, and never go away- not to mention quite likely paying less attention to their surroundings- because at least aggro overtaking dick is looking ahead. There’s something about the scottish borders that seems to attract these little roadtrains of 3 cars in the space needed for 2.

    fervouredimage
    Free Member

    OP any particular reason why you couldn’t let him pass?

    Because he didn’t want to. He just had no comprehension that he was driving too close. Hence when we got to a set of traffic lights and asked if he could get any closer to my bumper he stated that he wasn’t close to my bumper.

    bensales
    Free Member

    Because he didn’t want to. He just had no comprehension that he was driving too close. Hence when we got to a set of traffic lights and asked if he could get any closer to my bumper he stated that he wasn’t close to my bumper.

    Once, after being tailgated on my motorbike, I may have used the line “any closer to my arse luv, and you’ll need a strap-on”, to the female guilty party. She went a bit red.

    Daffy
    Full Member

    Onzadog – Member
    If I have less following distance behind, I increase the following distance in front. That way, there’s less change I’ll have to brake firmly to compensate for the Muppet behind.

    This. I don’t get annoyed by it, but am aware when it’s happening and the above is my response to it. It gives my a smooth braking space and also allows them something to overtake safely into should they feel the need.

    It does puzzle me when people do it when i’m overtaking on the motorway and have moved to the middle lane to do so, they close up right behind me, brake and follow at point black range until I complete the overtake and then accelerate past me…the outside lane was completely free during the entire thing; WHY?

    surfer
    Free Member

    The more recent craze to me is the ‘front bumper gaters’. Those on the motorway that think flicking on an indicator (if they can be bothered) and swerving right causing the cars over taking them to brake. Highest form of arrogance – I’m watching the box sets of Dexter at the moment and this type of driving gives me evil thoughts..

    Its a slight tangent but how many time do you read the road ahead and want to pull out to overtake when Mr “I own the outside lane” has closed up behind the car in front to a ridiculously dangerous distance to close the door on you. I find indicating too early just meets with this response. I indicate and move quite quicky (and safely) but avoid Audi cocks accelerating to block you in.

    jonba
    Free Member

    Slow down let them past, then move further north. There is definitely a correlation between how far south you go and how angry/crap the driving seems to be.

    Spin
    Free Member

    There is definitely a correlation between how far south you go and how angry/crap the driving seems to be

    It’s definitely less angry here in Inverness but it’s no less crap!

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 87 total)

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