Idiot behind the wheel

[WhimsyTheFae]

I was just saying why i think tailgaiters do what they do. I simply understand their anger. I don't like being right behind anyone since it puts me at risk of violating my own Rules of the Road.

Don't hit anything.
Don't get hit.
Don't get caught.

Everything else is optional.

Well, if you don't drive that way, then I'll revise my opinion.

When I play devil's advocate or explain the motives of the reckless, I like to mention it. Keeps the misunderstandings to a minimum.

 

[diaglo]

TAWANDA


i'm too old for this stuff. and i have insurance.

if you are a tailgater to me. i'm slamming on my brakes.

 

[Harmon]

It is not madness, you do that to subtly encourage the person in front of you to get out of the way or speed up and to make sure no one can squeeze in front of you. Some think doing that is being an ass, but few things are as enraging as missing a green/yellow light by a few seconds because someone being a slave to the artificially low speed limits.

People tailgating me do not encourage me to do anything but slam on my breaks. Let them explain in court what they were doing, then they can buy me a new car and help pay off my house.

(Course right now- I have a daughter and getting hurt or killed because I hit the breaks at 60 trying to get someone off my arse, just cause they are one does not sit well with me. I would rather not leave her without a father and my wife needs me to tend to her on a daily bases. 'Sides my temperment has changed considerably in the past couple years (some of you might even know why).)

I was just saying why i think tailgaiters do what they do. I simply understand their anger. I don't like being right behind anyone since it puts me at risk of violating my own Rules of the Road.

Don't hit anything.
Don't get hit.
Don't get caught.

Everything else is optional.

I can understand the attempt at explaining someone's possible actions, but tailgating is kind of a rage building thing. When you (a general you, not you- Frank, as you have already explained your POV on the tailgating thing) do it you are being very disrespectful.


One thing I think is funny is when I am driving sane and some idiot is being insane and I meet him at every stop light, every stop sign for a couple miles. That I find is humor you can not duplicate. He's running hard from stop light to stop light and I just pull up slow and easy, some times not even using my breaks when I drift up. Its a sadistic pleasure, but hay- I like it that way.


Hay, anyone from Idaho (or anyone with knowledge of the laws in that area), help me out with the above situation?

 

[Infiniti2000]

Now, I'm not a tailgater, but I'm thinking none of you here except Frank really understand why people tailgate. They're already in a rage. Unless you desire to get seriously injured, why on earth do you want to aggravate them even further? You're being as idiotic as the tailgaters in the first place. No, really!



As Harmon points out, the only reason for you to slam on your breaks is for a big fat law suit. Is that what you're after? The point of this thread, I thought, was to discourage bad driving habits in order to save lives / reduce accidents, not encourage bad driving habits in order to kill people or collect a big paycheck at the expense of some insurance company -- which I would like to point out, not all people have. So, even Harmon's idea is flawed.

 

[Banshee16]

The trick there is to remember that he has only gained two seconds on you, and drop back again to maintain your distance. Even if 30 cars do that to you during a journey, you've only been slowed by a single minute.

I was just about to comment on the dangers of antagonising a tailgater, but you've demonstrated it perfectly!

You should be scanning the whole environment constantly - distance, mid-ground, fore-ground, sides, rear, looking for hazards, rating the risks, and planning what you would do. You know what megamania was saying about 60 things to consider a second...

But yeah, basically if you are looking 2 cars ahead then you are probably being more observant than a lot of drivers, and you're probably naturally scanning further as well.

Exactly. I'm not perfect...nobody is, but I try to be relatively responsible. Watching the guy two cars up often allows me to react before the car immediately in front of me does. Barring instances like said driver using his car as a weapon. That I just don't get.

I've been rear ended 3 or 4 times...in most cases, I was stopped, and had been for a while, and someone else either forgot to brake, misjudged the distance, or saw a light turning green, and anticipated I'd get going faster than I did. I never had that problem in Quebec.

Banshee

 

[nerfherder]

Now, I'm not a tailgater, but I'm thinking none of you here except Frank really understand why people tailgate. They're already in a rage. Unless you desire to get seriously injured, why on earth do you want to aggravate them even further? You're being as idiotic as the tailgaters in the first place. No, really!

I think you'll find that some of us have already suggested courses of action that should not aggravate them further. In fact, I quoted advice from a police handbook.

Also, people don't just tailgate because of rage - they often do it through sheer poor driving technique. They've driven that way for years and never had a serious accident, so it must be ok - or at least that's what they think.

 

[nerfherder]

Exactly. I'm not perfect...nobody is, but I try to be relatively responsible. Watching the guy two cars up often allows me to react before the car immediately in front of me does. Barring instances like said driver using his car as a weapon. That I just don't get.

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was ragging on you. You're right that every driver can improve his driving skills.

As far as someone using his car as a weapon... I was driving to work on a two lane carriageway, keeping a good distance from the car in front, when the SUV beside him decided to ram him into the central barrier and then drive off! Because of the distance I'd kept I was able to stop safely and prevent the car behind me hitting me. I later discovered that this was a "road rage" incident caused by the car not pulling over to let the SUV on at a previous junction.

 

[Aeolius]

I later discovered that this was a "road rage" incident caused by the car not pulling over to let the SUV on at a previous junction.

The SUV must not have been using a turn signal. I would not have let him merge either, unless he used a signal... I tend to be very LG, when driving; use your signals or you don't get in.

 

[Jesus_marley]

Here in the Land of the Lotus Eaters (Vancouver, BC), I find the driving habits of others to be absolutely atrocious. I drive a marked company vehicle at work and am on the road constantly. I find that drivers out here feel invincible when confronted with a marked vehicle. For some reason they think that they can tailgate me, which doesn't bother me since I am ahead of them, and even worse cut me off. I have lost count of the times that I will be driving along and a car will race up beside me, pull ahead and then swerve into my lane without signalling thus causing me to react to avoid hitting him.
The stupidest thing I have seen is when a guy on a harley passed me IN MY LANE. He even kicked the side of my car as he was going by. I hate to say it but some people deserve to become road pizza.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

Now, I'm not a tailgater, but I'm thinking none of you here except Frank really understand why people tailgate. They're already in a rage. Unless you desire to get seriously injured, why on earth do you want to aggravate them even further? You're being as idiotic as the tailgaters in the first place. No, really!



As Harmon points out, the only reason for you to slam on your breaks is for a big fat law suit. Is that what you're after? The point of this thread, I thought, was to discourage bad driving habits in order to save lives / reduce accidents, not encourage bad driving habits in order to kill people or collect a big paycheck at the expense of some insurance company -- which I would like to point out, not all people have. So, even Harmon's idea is flawed.

I completely understand the mentality of the tailgater. I've been that guy many times over. I've driven over 100mph in residential areas. I've fled the police. I've been in accidents (some I caused, some I didn't). I've hit a house, a parked vehicle, a moving vehicle, rolled my car, etc. in different accidents. I've drag raced. I've tailgated. I've roadraged. I've had my license revoked. I've learn how expensive high-risk insurance is.

Oh yes, I know the mentality. I know how it feels. I know just how completely stupid, crazy and dangerous that I was. It is only because of luck that I didn't kill anyone.

BTW - While I drive infinitely safer than I used to, speeding is still something that I find myself doing more than I should.