What to do if someone is tailgating you.

[multigraincracker]

I usually drive at or near the speed limit. Seems to be that pisses some off and they tailgate me. So, this is the right thing to do.
I try to stay in the far right of my lane to make it easy for them to pass and see ahead to see if it is safe to pass. If I see a row of cars backed up, I'll try to find a safe place to pull over and let them go by.
Sometimes the driver that passes me will hold up a single finger, telling me I'm the "number one safe driver". I may give them the thumbs up to thank them.
The last time I was confronted about my speed was at a stop light. The guy that was tailgating me rolled down his window and nicely ask if I knew what the speed limit was on this road. I was going 5 mph under that, so I asked him if he knew what the minimum speed limit is. He smiled and went on.
Not everyone is in a hurry. I tend to leave early if I wish to get some where on time.

[marble falls]

1. Let them by ASAP. Sometimes I get to see them pulled over by a squad car.

[a kennedy]

2. Hate the damn tailgaters.......and I do always try to find a place where they can pass or like suggested

here, drive as close to the right side of my lane as possible. And it does seem as if EVERYONE is in a hurry. And really??? Who actually does the speed limit, everyone is always over it. 🤬 🤬 🤬

[Walleye]

39. Of course they'll call themselves law-abiding citizens

[edisdead]

3. Move to the right.

I drive for a living and the best advice I can give people is if you aren’t passing someone is stay to the right or at least out of the left hand lane.

Also learn the smith system of driving.

[Goodheart]

14. And there's your answer

Stay out of the left lane unless you're passing someone.

[hlthe2b]

22. They are referring to two lane roads that generally have nowhere to go/pull over.

But, yes, it is a no-brainer to stay right on an interstate as much as possible. The problem is these morons think they can insist on this on an undivided city boulevard where left turn lanes require you to travel on left lanes and stop-and-go traffic require both lanes to be full. This is not a "stay-right" road pattern but the a'holes choose to bully drivers nonetheless.

[MiHale]

4. Pulled over one time for a tailgater...

I knew it was a sheriff, I thought he might’ve been in a hurry. He pulled off right behind me came up and asked if I was ok …did I have a problem? Told him I didn’t like how close you were to my rear end. Look on his face was unforgettable…he apologized a we went on our ways.

[multigraincracker]

8. +1

[ret5hd]

9. Coulda gone a lot worse:

[Shermann]

5. Back in the day I was guilty of the occasional brake job

However, it is illegal and dangerous in many ways. Even if you don't cause a wreck, you might get shot nowadays.

So don't do that.

[LizBeth]

11. It is a stupid ass jerk move. I did it once in my life and thought what an ass I was.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

6. When some idiot 4 wheeler tries to draft off the rear of my trailer,

I'll just start slowing down, forcing them to slow down or pass me.

Tailgating a semi trying to draft to save gas is incredibly dangerous and highly stupid.

[Walleye]

41. In my job as a news photographer, I've seen too many wrecks. Tailgating a semi is decapitation

Last edited Sat Jun 3, 2023, 02:45 PM - Edit history (1)

[MarineCombatEngineer]

55. Yup, like you, I've seen too may accidents involving a semi and a 4 wheeler, the 4 wheeler almost

always loses.

I've been the recipient of a few times with this issue, luckily, I've gotten on my CB radio and let Highway Patrol/State Troopers know and they've nailed the offenders.

Why anyone would think this is a good idea is beyond me.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. There's a warp speed driver I encounter sometimes

He drives 85 or 90mph everywhere. On back, curvy roads with 35mph limits. 90mph. Whip around passing, 3, 4 cars at a time. I got his license plate one day but forgot to write it down, and the auditory repeat faded. He is a danger to anyone pulling out of their driveway. He has old, out of state plates, very new vehicles. i don't know what to do with the information if i see him again. Who wants to get involved?

[BlackSkimmer]

12. I have called the sheriff when I see dangerous drivers.

I call the non-emergency number with license plate, description of car and driver, direction of travel and last location.

They take it seriously around here. Rarely do I get to see the result, but a couple of times I'v watched as the deputies pull them over further up the road.

Just keep the number in your phone. It's worth a try.

[ProfessorGAC]

56. I've Done That

Back was I was still working a guy went by me like I was stationary on a 30mph, one lane each way street in town.
A few days later, it happened again.
I called the non-emergency number and reported it. They said I was about the 5th person to call about it.
A week after that, cops were sitting in the veterinarian office lot, and nailed him.
Paper said he was clocked at 68.
He wasn't just hit with speeding, but i forget what else he was charged with. I do remember he was taken into custody though. Wasn't just "Here's your ticket, you can go."

[multigraincracker]

62. I think it's 30 over

the posted speed is a reckless driving ticket. Lots of points and dollars.

[ProfessorGAC]

64. That Makes Sense

He blowing by side streets, driveways, parking lots...
Reckless certainly fits.

[BlackSkimmer]

67. It's very satisfying to see them pulled over up the road lol.

Most times we don't see it, but I tell myself they'll catch them (hopefully before they kill someone!)

They've always thanked me when I call, so that's at least encouraging.

[ProfessorGAC]

68. You Bet

Happened a few times to me.
Someone blows by me & a couple miles later they're sitting in their car waiting for the cop to do paperwork.
I admit to thinking "That'll learn ya!"

[LizBeth]

10. I swear we have an internal speed. When in the zone of our speed we are at our ultimate.

In focus, agility, reflex. And when outside that speed either too fast or slow, then clumsy, non focused, uncomfortable. I talk fast, walk fast, type fast move fast and yes, drive fast. I do not pay much attention to speed limit more my comfortable speed. I get in someone's car that drives slower than that I am moving my body forward to get them to increase speed. The only time I have hit something with my car, literally is when I am going 5, 10 mph. Creeping up to car or stop sign or whatever. It is like I am going so slow I stop paying attention. People that go too slow does something to my insides. BUT... you do you and consideration is always a wonderful thing. And even in impatience I am a firm believer in healthy distance from cars. Hate being rode on and hate being the one on someone's bumper. I need that distance for that comfort thing.

[ret5hd]

20. That's a lotta words to say "I wanna go fast."

[LizBeth]

21. Well, ya. But then I say that often enough, I have no issue owning it.

again 61 not accident but fender benders and I drove for a living... I am good with it

[MustBeTheBooz]

25. If you're not first, you're last...

… Ricky Bobby

[intrepidity]

33. I get what you are saying

My experience matches yours, athough I had never articulated it. Going any other speed, fast or slow (and not just as with driving, but with walking, typing, speaking, etc), is extremely frustrating and debilitating. No doubt neuroscience has an explanation.

[LizBeth]

47. +1

[teach1st]

13. A few more things to keep in mind when being tailgated

* If you can't pull over or get away from a tailgater, increase the distance between you and the car in front of you. That way, you'll be able to stop more gradually and save the tailgater from hitting you.

* If you're being tailgated and traffic in front of you is slowing or stopping, move slightly to the right in your lane (if safe) so that the tailgater can see the slowing traffic in front of you (being especially mindful of cyclists that might be near).

I like to travel 3 or 4 mph over the limit when safe, and so I know that people going under the limit can be frustrating. The slower cars, however, rarely cost me more than one traffic light on a half-hour trip. Every time I get behind the wheel, I remind myself that somebody will be going slow and that people will pull out in front of me causing me to brake. I remind myself that it's not worth the stress. I add five minutes of drive time to each trip so that I can chill and remain friendly to those whose concept of traffic flow is different from mine.

[MissB]

70. Your last paragraph is great advice for everyone

[allegorical oracle]

15. In my rural area, the worst tailgaiters are males 18-25 in big pickups. I maintain a steady 55 mph

on these two-lane roads because that's my optimal gas mileage. Speed limit is 60. The truckers flash their lights on and off, then they drop back and roar up to my bumper again and again. It's truly scary. When they do pass, they come close to taking off my car's rear left quarter panel. This has become a recent trend.

Not long ago, one of the young truckers who roared past me and several others, slammed into a logging truck, which overturned, spilled all its logs, and jammed traffic for hours. Amazingly, nobody got hurt, but the pickup truck was royally smooshed.

[Zeitghost]

30. Not keeping up

With the speed limit and the flow of traffic is dangerous. Not that the negative responses you get aren't worse, they are. But slowing the flow of traffic to save a few pennies doesn't seem worth it to me. Please try to pull over when have cars behind you.

[multigraincracker]

49. If you are going one mile per hour over the posted speed,

you have no rights if you are in an accident. Pretty much what the law says. You can get pulled over for not driving the speed limit, but you will win that ticket by the judge.
The major freeways here have a speed limit posted for cars and one 10 mph slower posted for trucks. That can save you any ticket for going 10 mph slower than the car limit.

[Martin Eden]

69. I agree

Kudos to the OP for staying in the right lane, but vehicles going much slower than 99% of the traffic create dangerous situations when other vehicles in the right lane have to slow down and change lanes in heavy traffic.

Where I live in Chicago's western suburbs, driving under the limit creates a traffic hazard, especially on 3 lane interstate highways.

However, the worst offenders are slower vehicles in the middle lane. They may be going over the limit, but the vast majority of traffic is going faster. All too often the right lane is nearly empty, so the fastest traffic tries to zoom past the left two lanes by using the right lane. When there is a truly slow vehicle in the right lane they couldn't see when starting that maneuver they have to hit the brakes, then desperately try to get back in the left.

I am not defending such reckless driving. I'm pointing out that drivers going much slower than the vast majority of traffic create dangerous situations. Doing that to save a couple mpg is just not worth it.

Sure, you have a legal right to drive at any speed between the min & max limits, but in my view a better code by which to drive is safety first.

[Happy Hoosier]

16. Thanks for getting out of the way.

The speed limits where I live are often ridiculously low. And I am a lead foot. Thanks for getting out of the way. It drives me nuts. Lol.

[hlthe2b]

24. I wonder if those who think the speed limits are too low consider the possibility of hitting a kid

or a pedestrian, or a cyclist--or a dog or wildlife. Speed limits typically have a reason. And the thought of killing something or someone absolutely haunts me. So, that typically contains my own lead-foot tendencies. Just saying...

[Happy Hoosier]

43. I am a mindful driver

I always consider where I am and what the conditions are. I only drive the speed I feel confident at. If that speed is lower for you, then good on you for driving at that speed.

[hlthe2b]

45. Mindful does not mean you know what the expected circumstances were that led to the speed limit

I have a lead foot too (or have had) but a rental car with faulty brakes encounter several years ago nearly led to disaster for me, a 180-degree spin on hidden black ice that left me within inches of a guard rail even prior to that, and a friend whose brother died on a motorcycle as a result of a speeding motorist while trying to merge onto the interstate have made me incredibly aware of how little "mindfulness" can mean when unforeseen circumstances intervene. - It made me think long and hard... I'd rather get there a little later than face a lifetime of regret.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

17. I do many of these things

The other thing to do, so you don't have to worry about speed, is use cruise control if you know you'll be on the road for a while and won't be stopping or turning often. It will work on speeds as low as 50kph/30mph.

On my wish list for a new (or new used) car is having all of that lane detection and rear camera stuff. My car didn't have any of it, but I wish it did. Don't know if I'd care for that forward detector, because I tend to give people lots of room, but I guess if you get the lane detection, the forward detector comes with it.

Sorry if I'm not using the "proper" terminology for those features. I don't have them in my current car, so I haven't had the chance to get familiar with what they're called.

[Happy Hoosier]

44. My adaptive cruise control...

Will adjust speed to maintain spacing with the car ahead of you. Works great. It can also apply breaks automatically to mitigate collisions.

[MissB]

71. Yep. My Volvo EV has adaptive cruise control

And when I’m on the freeway, it’s a joy to use.

[PJMcK]

18. Road rage

When driving, I tend to stay in the right lane whenever possible. I’ll drive no more than 5 mph over the speed limit. I will pull over if someone behind me is “in a hurry.” If someone starts verbally assaulting me from their car, I’ll give them a thumbs up and slow down to avoid them.

In short, I drive defensively and safely.

There are too many crazy and angry people on the roads. I don’t want to be their target!

[chia]

19. I live in SoCal, where it's common to see 6 or 7 lanes of freeway traffic doing 80 mph or more,

in unison. The freeway moves like one behemoth, heaving snake, shimmering for miles with machines and humanity - and I cross my fingers and hope it stays alive until I get where I'm going, because if the snake breaks, it turns into a 12-mile-long slow-rolling corpse.

[moonscape]

29. Great description!

[chia]

52. Thank you :)

[Zeitghost]

32. California Driver here as well

It's definitely a little different out here. I'm so used to 80-85 being the norm, it's a shock when I go out of state.

[chia]

53. I have a sister who lives in the rural northwest now but grew up as I did in SoCal. Every time she

comes back to visit she says "I've forgotten how to drive here..." I love a wide open freeway in the early morning though, and the whoop-de-dos of the 138 headed to Mojave and points beyond. On a good straight drive on the 5 I can get from San Diego to San Francisco in 7.5 hours.

[hlthe2b]

23. WHat is not addressed is those tailgating as you are trying to turn right (with turn signal well in

advance). There are plenty of turns where you simply cannot swerve in, i.e., barely slowing down in order to accommodate these a'holes behind you who don't want to slow down as you turn. My own neighborhood allows on-street parking so there is quite often no room to accommodate a too-fast "sloppy" turn. Not to mention this also happens after snow storms and it is infuriating when you are trying to avoid patches of ice.

[brewens]

26. If I could get a whole truck or bus over to the shoulder on a two-lane highway, slow drivers

can get their car over there to let people by.

[JanMichael]

27. Or if on a freeway do this

[Chainfire]

28. I keep a Molotov cocktail in the pouch of the driver's door. If they tailgate, I light it

and lob it out the window. It almost always makes them back off. Sometimes they even have to stop and bail out; now that is really satisfying and leaves me smiling for the rest of the day. Don't tailgate in Florida!

[KPN]

34. Lol. Carl (Hiassen), is that you?

[Chainfire]

35. No, but I may be one of his characters. ;)

[ProfessorGAC]

57. Good Plan

And, I know how to make a wickless cocktail, so I wouldn't even need to light it.
Now you've got me thinking!

[Chainfire]

59. I have always wondered what would happen if you pulled along side a redneck, in a pickup truck

Showed him a grenade, pulled the pin, and then tossed it into the bed of the truck. What a video that would make. I know, I have an evil streak, I should probably be a Republican.

[ProfessorGAC]

63. Another Good Idea

Nobody really gets hurt but would tighten some sphincters!

[Chainfire]

65. It it happened to me, I would probably be killed from getting out of the truck at 70 mph.

[Hotler]

31. A Summary of "Keep Right" Traffic Laws in All 50 States.

https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/SLOWER-TRAFFIC-KEEP-RIGHT.pdf

That hardly happens to me as I'm the one setting the pace. I have been given the finger before from slow drivers in the left lane because I passed them on the right. Harley riders get pissed when they're passed on the right by a Ducati

[tiredtoo]

36. Will never forget my brother-in-law

Told me his daughter called him once and said. "Dad, there is a car driving to close in front of me."

[Marthe48]

37. My daughter and her hubby just got a new Hyundai end of May

I wanted to tell you about the cruise control, in relation to tailgating. It has cruise control, with 4 settings. On each setting, if you get too close to the car ahead of you, her vehicle slows down. The distance varies from about 1000 ft down, but not to tailgating. We took it on a 200 round trip, which is the most she has driven it. She put it on cruise control and couldn't figure out why it kept slowing down. Her husband called her and told her about the cruise control settings. She thought maybe he had the car system connected to his phone, but he didn't. I guess they can do that, but haven't got to it. She adjusted cruise, and learned that if she was approaching cars, she could get into another lane to maintain her cruise speed. But if she doesn't use her signal, she gets a chime. If she doesn't stay between the lines, she gets a chime. If there are perceived hazards, the car slows down. That was fun with debris by the guardrail, and contrsuction barrels. She said that the car adjusts itself to turns in the road. But there were a couple places that it didn't, so she thought maybe a satellite connection was iffy in the (rural) spots.

All in all, it is amazing.

[LunaSea]

38. Couldn't find the photo

Of the large wrench one driver welded to his back truck bumper looking like it was
left there but about to fall off. Apparently works quite well at keeping drivers at a distance.

Did find these-

[Chainfire]

40. Some places are worse than others.

The worse that I have ever experienced was driving to work every day on the Palmetto Expressway in Miami. Four or five lanes in both directions, speed limit around 60 as I remember. In wall to wall traffic, I would drive in the slow lane at about 80 mph, 30 feet behind the car ahead of me. (If you left more than a car length, someone would fill the hole) At that people would get on your bumper and start flashing their lights and blowing their horns for you to get out of their way, and the only way you could do that was to disappear. The emergency stop lane was frequently used for passing. It was insane.

After three years of that I moved to the country.

[Walleye]

42. I understand driving is a habit, people have bad driving habits. But some people are aggressive

Being aggressive in this country is considered a virtue, unfortunately. I think, when tailgating is done with intent to terrorize, it should be considered assault

[GoodRaisin]

58. I have often thought that by observing one's driving habits

that character may be revealed, and have found on occasion to be accurate.

[Walleye]

60. I was just thinking we should look at somebody's driving record before selling them a gun

[GoodRaisin]

61. That is a GREAT idea. nt

[Moosepoop]

46. The officer in the video advises against dynamiting the brakes.

I assume by "dynamiting" he means slamming on the brakes hard. I don't do that, but I absolutely will and do lightly tap my brakes, just enough to make the brake lights come on for a second. I only do this if the car behind me is up so close that the driver wouldn't be able to even see my left and right brake lights, but of course can see the one in the back window.

If a car is that close (and it happens all the time in my residential area when I'm going the posted speed limit), I do this to alert the other driver to back off a ways. If I had to stop suddenly for a child or animal, there would be a collision, and my intent is to avoid that. And the other driver damn well knows better than to be following THAT closely.

If need be, I'll tap the brakes repeatedly while also slowly reducing speed by easing up on the accelerator, especially when approaching a stop sign or right hand turn.

I used to have a novelty lighter that strobed very bright red and blue lights for a few seconds when activated. That worked GREAT at night for cars following too closely -- they would back right off and stay that way. I may look into finding another one.

[multigraincracker]

51. Sometimes I'll put on my 4way hazards.

I tapped the breaks one time when the guy was way too close. Looked in my mirror and saw him going sideways down the road. Could have crashed and died. Never done that again.
I will start to really slow down until he or she has to go around. If asked why, I’ll say I though there was a problem with my car you wanted to warn me about.

[marybourg]

48. This thread reminds me why, now retired,

I don’t drive on interstates any more. I get where I need to go on regular streets.

[Snooper9]

50. you lightly touch the brake pedal with your left foot while punching the gas--

Pretty simple-

Dumbass behind things you are actually braking, they hit their brakes and by then you're are already gone. It's hilarious

[ProfessorGAC]

54. Sounds Like Me

I hit cruise when I'm a couple mph below the limit. Speed limit at the most.
I'm just never in that big a hurry.

[womanofthehills]

66. I had a sicko tail me on a country road

When I pulled way over to the right he got in front of me and slowed way down.

My alarms went off - then he sped off & I was relieved till I drove around the bend - he had pulled over and had his pants down around his ankles masturbating as I drove by. I went way over the speed limit getting out of there fast

A crazy Republican woman in my exercise class told us she always carries and during a recent road rage she pointed her gun at the other driver. Knowing people like this, I always pull to the right and do not react.

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

72. i'm retired, and live in a very rural area, so I usually just pull over,

and let them go by, and hope the person tailgating me gets to wherever they are going on time.