Tailgaters, what to do with them...

[axio]

So on my drive to work this morning, I notice this big Dodge Ram truck just tailgating all these people behind me. Then he comes up next to me and tailgates me across the bridge. I can't let him pass because there's medium traffic, and he's getting closer and closer. I try to give him the hint to back off, so just lightly tap on my brake for a split second and hopes he backs off. He does for a second and then comes up closer.

I check the rearview, and some meathead is driving the truck. He then proceeds to take both hands off the wheel, and gives me the finger on each hand. Wow.

So he eventually passes me when the traffic clears up a little and then continues on his tailgating ways....

What do you guys do? Do you just move out of the way? Stand your ground? Tap your brake?

[DaveS]

I usually slow way down. Just take my foot off the gas. Usually they get the hint and back off, or just go around. I figure if someone is going to smash into the back of me - I'd rather they were moving slower.

Often I have wished I was a cop in an unmarked car so that I could pick up jerks like this.

If it weren't for that whole "impersinate an officer and go to jail" thing, I would carry a realistic looking badge and a fake radio mic - flash the badge and pretend to get on the radio. Make them think they were going to get busted. he he he. meh... I'd probably get arrested, and/or beat up.

[zootroy]

My father-in law is an ex-fbi agent. His work car had a feature where he could disable the brake lights. Whenever someone would ride him, he would disable the brake lights and apply pressure to the brakes. The amount of pressure was directly correlated to how irate he was.

[Tamarack]

I don't use a cell phone, but one of these days I will get one just to report slobs like that. They cause a lot of accidents, and if you call your local police and help them locate and stop the driver so you can sign the citation as a witness, the penalty in most states is enough to cause most of them to change their habit. If we as citizens don't try to help our law enforcement people on this issue very little can be done. In the meantime I just slow down too, my record is 23 mph in a 60 mph zone on a straight rural road with no other traffic before that particular driver gave up and passed me.

Paul in Idaho

[tribalwind]

one trick my friends dad taught me was if it was daytime,turn on the auxilary lights and from behind it looks like your brake lights are going on lol. if that didnt work i give a god quick jolt to the brakes, instant panic usually to the tailgater...
on my old explorer. i had the rear windshield fluid dispenser orientated to shoot the guy behind me..man do they hate that!!!l learned that from another friends dad when living in romania, he chased away the gypsy squeeqee beggers with that...
im probably not the best person to ask for a mature resolution to the idiots.
not being too slow a driver myself, ive been put on notice a time or two when i wasnt really paying attention, just gave them a 'sorry' wave when i saw i was probably too close..

a DJ i used to work for had high powered flood lights on the back of our work vans for loading up at night...trust me. you did NOT wanna tailgate those vans!!!!!!!.
speaking of car traffic mods..has anyone seen/heard these new air driven "train horns" that you can put in your car now? they put out mega-decibals, id be surprised if its even legal but theyre all over ebay and other stores..god i want one LOL.

[tfischer]

I'm from the "slow down gradually and steadilly" camp. I figure if challenged by an officer or in court (e.g. if an accident occured or some sort of road rage thing broke out) I could legitimately claim that I was nervous with someone driving that close to me at the posted speeds so I slowed down to be safer and hopefully let them get around.

"Road jerks" irk me as much as anyone, but I'm trying to convince myself that it just isn't worth egging them on any more than the above...

In the past, I did the "tap on the breaks suddenly" thing, and had some pretty close calls -- one guy got so pissed he cut right in front of me (basically cut me off) then did the same thing -- it was pure heven-sent luck that I didn't smash into him.

These people just don't think.

-Tim

[AAJIII]

tailgaters

I used to be one of those people who tap the brakes, but by far the most effective tatic for me is just what daves does, take my foot off the gas and just coast. Most of the time the message is received.

[gonesailing]

Defevensive Driving

It is indeed tempting to slam on the brakes, but that was not the recomended action when I took a defensive driving course. I personally just take my foot off the gas and let my car slow down until he backs off, passes, or I find a place to pull off and let him pass. Personally, I really don't want to deal with any idiot that is taking both hands off the wheel in order to give me the finger. It isn't worth the time and trouble.

Yesterday I helped pull a young woman and her two childern out of her pickup after she lost it and rolled it. All things considered, I think that she was very lucky in that neither of the kids were injured, and she will survive with a couple of bruised ribs and probably the Mother Of All Head Aches from the gash on the back of her head. Most likely speeding in order to get to church on time, tried using her cell phone to call someone, and took her attention off the road. She went off the right side, must have jerked the wheel trying to get back on the road. From then on the truck was in control as she crossed the road, flipped end for end and rolled 360 degrees. When we got to her she was sitting on the ground on the drivers side with her feel under the truck. Either she didn't have a seat belt on or it came loose and she was thrown out. Lucky Lady!!!

Grateful that it didn't happen thirty seconds later or we might well have been in her path. But that can't happen to us, can it? We know how to drive.

I have always groused a bit about having to have a childs car seat, but I have shut up about it. The youngest came out of that with just a bit of skin scraped off his cheek, not even enough to bleed. The other girl got a scrape on her back and probably strained a few muscles. Back to wearing seat belts again!!!

Hey people, better to be late to Church than never make it there.

Mike L

[430752]

I'm still young enough....

..... that I think I can continue to get away with this, but if the tailgaiting is bad, I put the clutch in, drop the car into 4th (or sometimes 3rd, depending on how hard I plan on giving a brake test), and then stomp on the brakes. Not tap, but stomp. Pop the clutch out and get outta there before I have a bumper in the back of my neck.

Put one guy all the way in the grass couple years back, some have to swerve onto the shoulder (apparently they didn't study for the brake test. )

I know, I know, but I didn't start it. And, I'm starting to mellow (I rarely do it with my mother in the car. )

curt j.

[maxparot]

First I hate tailgaters!!!! I'm from the tap the breaks and then coast school. But 1 thing I never do this if I'm in the left lane. The left lane is for passing and if someone can get up close enough to be a tailgater then you don't belong in the left lane.

[glencross]

tailgating jerks

friend of mine got so p o'd with these kind of jerks, he now carries bag of carpet tacks in his car...anybody tailgating him now gets of whole lotta tacks in his tires...works, too!!

yeah, i know, they are a REAL pita but i sure like the guy who has the searchlight on the back of his van!!!

[Rob R]

my answer is different now than it used to be.

i say take the high road. some people are just plain angry. getting angry back doesn't seem to make your day any better. i would tap once as you did, then then the coast to let them get by if nothing else. but whatever you do don't fuel it. if he is a meathead, why stoop to his monkey ways?

and what about the carpet tacks that don't get picked up by the offender?? your buddy's girlfriend's honda grabs 'em up on her next trip and your buddy is sitting in the waiting room at bell tire anyway?


rob

[BobSch]

friend of mine got so p o'd with these kind of jerks, he now carries bag of carpet tacks in his car...anybody tailgating him now gets of whole lotta tacks in his tires...works, too!!

yeah, i know, they are a REAL pita but i sure like the guy who has the searchlight on the back of his van!!!

I didn't use a seachlight, but...

I'm driving back from photographing a wedding and this example of why close relatives shouldn't mate comes up behind me in his big ol' Ram pickup (with the high beams on, of course) and parks his grill about two feet off my rear bumper while we're doing about 65. After numerous attempts to get him to back off; breaking, slowing down, waiving him by (using ALL my fingers, not just the one I wanted to use) all to no effect, I reached into my gear bag and pulled out my big potato-masher strobe, charged that puppy all the way up and FLASH!, right out the rear window.

That worked, although I'm not sure I'd do it again — too may crazies are armed these days.

How about a titanium-tipped, pneumatically-controlled ram? Yeah, that'd work!

[jziegler]

I wish that I knew what to do with tailgaters. Here in Jersey, slowing down doesn't do anything. On the highways, say you're in the center lane doing a fair speed, no one is in the left, and some jerk comes up right behind you. They never pass on the left. Occasionally, they will pass on the right to be jerks in a different way. And, of course, happens all the time here too. I'm just glad I no longer live in the crowded northern part of the state. Instead, I live in the least populous county that has many 2 lane roads. Harder to make someone decide to pass on those.

-Jim

[Tim Clark]

Same as Dave. I get off the gas and coast till they go around (sometimes in a huff, can you believe it?).

I've had times when I had to pull off the road because even at 10mph in a 45 with no traffic they didn't get the hint.

I used to run the interstate from Columbus, OH to Winston-Salem NC every month and one time some ding bat in a BMW thought it was a good idea to try to watch my dash dog and listen to my CB from HIS car. slowed down to 35 in a 65 and eventually had to pull over and stop before he'ld pass me.

Yeah, some peopl just don't think (for themselves).

EDIT: Maine has a left lane is passing lane law on the Interstate and works pretty well.