Some people are less comfortable in a crowd. And this is an aggressive person invading your space. I control myself, but the tailgates are welcome only to stay back and pass when able. It is also unsafe. If they hit me at high speed I might lose control and be badly injured or killed. Have you seen how the police bump a perp that won’t stop until he loses control?
I was tailgated by one of your 18-wheeler friends on route 95 about 6 months ago. I was going 65 (speed limit) and he didn’t like it. He was less than one car length from me. If I slowed down, he would have hit me. As you may know, I95 is 4 lanes wide between Washington and Baltimore. I was in the middle-right lane. His Majesty could have pulled over, left or right, to pass, but just had to flirt with murder.
With all the nuts out there the best thing to do really is to just provide them an opportunity to go by at your earliest opportunity.
By the way, that clenched fist just may someday be answered by someone who really is violent, and you may regret doing it.
Of all the places I have driven, Maryland is about the worst when it comes to courtesy. Keep in mind that if you ever get hit by a tailgating semi, there will be lawyers camped out at your door ready to sue him and the company for which he works…and they will get you A LOT of money. Some of the smarter companies have installed radar systems that record and report when a driver creates unsafe conditions. If you are being tailgated, it is by someone who works for a company that isn’t so enlightened.
The next time you find yourself in this situation, move over to the right-hand lane if you can and you are not already in the right-hand lane. If you are already in the right-hand lane or you can’t move over, take your foot off the gas pedal. Don’t press the brakes, just coast a bit until you slow to the point where the truck passes you.
I have news for you. The truck driver would not have hit you if you had slowed down gradually. Rear-ending another vehicle will not only get a driver sued, it will effectively end his career. Whether he worked for a company or as an owner/operator, nobody will be willing to hire him if they see a rear-end collision on his federal driving record. You let yourself be intimidated into thinking that he would hit you if you slowed down.
Here is interesting story we were told in truck driving school. There was a man who murdered his wife. He then gathered his children into the family car and parked it on the side of a busy highway. He decided to kill himself and his children by pulling out in front of a passing semi. One of the children lived and he told the police how his father had deliberately pulled out in front of the semi. The man’s family sued the truck driver and won. Do you know why? The truck driver had been trained to recognize a car parked on the shoulder as a potential hazard. He should have recognized the parked car as a hazard and either moved over to the next lane or slowed down. If the truck driver had done what he was trained to do, he may have avoided the collision, or left more survivors. Commercial drivers have a lot of responsibility where safety is concerned. Now if someone can deliberately cause an accident and his family can win a law suit, imagine what would happen if a truck driver rear-ended you because he was tailgating you and you simply took your foot off the accelerator. The collision would have been soft enough that you should emerge unhurt. He would be out of a job and you would own all of his assets. Yet he is foolish enough to think that he can use the size of his truck to imtimidate you. 99% of the truck drivers out there are driving a truck because they don’t know how to do anything else. There are some, like me, who have other options, but they are mostly respectful professionals. Whenever you see an agressive truck driver, it is one of the 99% and he has a deep fear of ruining his life and career by doing something stupid. Don’t let him intimidate you.
Yes, I have a sad story about brake-checking (actually, more like brake slamming) too. It was dark, someone was tailgating me, and I couldn’t tell who it was. I got pulled over. It was State Trooper in an unmarked vehicle. He was on his way to assist another trooper, and for whatever reason needed to use stealth. That was the last time I brake-checked. Besides, like the other guy says, it’s dangerous, and it’s just not worth it.
That trooper’s advice to me was to pull over and try to get the plate number of the tailgater and call it in later. Easier said than done, obviously!
I wasn’t intimidated, I was mad as hell. If I had my cell phone that day, I’d have called 911 to see if I could get the State Police on the tailgater’s case. I had my cruise control on and just kept on going throughout the incident. My major concern was that his judgment was impaired in some way and he was out of control. Who else would something so stupid?
Thanks for taking the time to respond, Jeremy.
Of all the places I have driven, Maryland is about the worst when it comes to courtesy. Keep in mind that if you ever get hit by a tailgating semi, there will be lawyers camped out at your door ready to sue him and the company for which he works…and they will get you A LOT of money.
You’re assuming that the person actually LIVES after being rearended by a semi.
My wife and kids could use the money.
Ditto on the toggle switch to activate the back up lights. I use those high wattage halogen back up light bulbs. Scares the crap out of tailgaters going on down the road at 45+ m.p.h. They’re just cookin’ along and all of a sudden the vehicle in front is BACKING UP! HOLY EXCREMENT, Bat Man! I better stop, huh? I started using this trick back in the mid-60’s, in NH, by the way. I, too, occasionally flip my rear view mirror. I really lucked out a couple of times in the exact right situation. No oncoming traffic, pretty straight road. I was able to adjust my mirror just right to be able to monitor his/her headlight reflection right back in the jerk’s eyes. They backed off real quick. Blinded by the light–their OWN lights!
They won’t hit you unless you do something sudden and with no warning. Remember too that the speed differential won’t be that great either. The only two times I have been rear-ended, it wasn’t from a tailgater. It was from someone well behind me that didn’t stop, in one case didn’t even slow down when I stopped, and I didn’t stop suddenly or brake hard either time. When your stopped and someone hits you at 30-40 mph, it hurts.
I think its incredibly stupid when I hear someone tell me how dangerous tailgating is and how someone could get hurt, and then they slam their brakes on at high speed because they think someone is too close behind them and they are going to "teach “em a lesson”. Thats why I maintain a constant speed and don’t worry about them. If an emergency does come up, then its the tailgater that will be responsible to avoid running into me, but I’m not going to try to make them hit me for no reason. I’ll let someone else “teach 'em a lesson”.
Such a hard thing to deal with. I just let them go, especially where you -may- know where the radar man may be sitting. I have been successfull twice in my life,knowing where the man sits. So I call the tailgaters cop suckers. They suck the cops out of their well thought parking places to get the tailgaters who speed past you. They are so typical, I really do not think they even know they are so ignorant and dangerousl
I also have a new bumper sticker you need to get close to read the fine print. From a distance, you can see “Jesus loves you” The fine print says, “if you are tailgating, everybody knows your are really an arzz hale” they back off so fast. I am going to get into the business of bumper stickers. This is such a big problem in America with fuel at 3 dollars per gallon. I thought 2 per gallon would slow the fools down. Let us see what it takes. Be carefull out there
One of the most common jokes I hear about Massachusetts drivers is “You know you’re from Massachusetts when: The speed limit is 40. You’re doing 65. Even the cops are passing you.” And believe me, that’s definitely true of me. I usually figure that anyone who needs to tailgate ME either has to get somewhere in a hurry (ie, someone in the car is in labor or is bleeding to death, etc.) or has far bigger issues than how fast I’m driving.
That said, I will sometimes brake-check, not slamming on my brakes, but just hitting the pedal enough to flash my brake lights, and usually that works. If it’s at night, I grab my mini Maglite and shine it over my shoulder. Also effective. If all else fails, I pull over. Funny story, I once did just that, and a few miles up the road, I came across flashing lights. Sure enough, the guy who had previously been tailgating little ol’ me was now sheepishly trying to explain himself to a cop. Oh, how sweet it was!
And finally, if I may just play devil’s advocate, how fast are you usually going when you’re getting tailgaters? Since you got a speeding ticket, I’m guessing you’re not a “nervous Nellie” type of driver, but if you’re not going the speed limit (or five to ten miles over it, depending on where you live or what kind of road you’re on) tailgating is something that’s just going to happen.
I too am worth more dead than alive.
I typically give about 4 car lengths at 55 MPH and am willing to back off if someone pulls in between. I know that they will pull into the left lane soon, anyway.
4 car lengths? At 55 MPH, the “two second rule” says you should be allowing at least 160 feet, which is around ten compact cars. At 4 lengths, you’re going to be chewing rear bumper if the guy ahead of you ever slams on his brakes. True, it’s a problem that 10 open lengths will invite some doofus to jam his way in between the two of you…
What it’s gonna take is a cheap car that, literally, drives itself. Given the way auto tech is developing, it’ll probably be 25 years or less when one becomes affordable for “normal” people
Interesting,
Quote “What’s the best way to deal with tailgaters, aside from safely pulling over and letting the line of cars pass. Any ideas ?”
In my job I have to be on the interstate every day, and can’t fathom why anyone would stay in the leftmost lane (“fast” lane) when faster moving vehicles are approaching. The approaching vehicle is not a tailgaiter until the slower vehicle refuses to move over even when there is room to the right.
It’s called driver courtesy to move over.
If you know there are cars in a line behind you, what motivates you to be there , preventing their moving on? I for one have zero issues with pulling to the right and allowing cars to move on. And I frequently drive in the “slow” lane as well so I understand the speed differential issues.
This is a matter of courtesy, traffic flow and safety all wrapped up in one. It’s not worth your mental time or energy. Get some good music , check your mirrors and let the cars by. Your day will go much better
Howdy, i put a bumper sticker on " pratice random acts of kindness and sensles acts of joy" and no one has tail gaited after a few seconds.
Last Fall a driver was impatiently tailgating a young girl driving through construction in an area a few miles from my house. At the end of the construction, the guy whipped around her, causing her to panic and drive into the oncoming lane. She was killed (21 years old), the driver who hit her is in therapy, and the tailgater is awaiting trial . . no kidding. Worth the aggravation? Nope. What to do about it? Hold up your cellphone so the aggressive driver can see you, and then call 911. If you see ANY driver acting like that . . call 911 and report them. Gotta start somewhere . . let’s start it here. Rocketman
And don’t just “fake” the call . . . CALL and give the police the vehicle description and your location . . . wait to see if you can get their license number. Rocketman
Remember to stop if it’s illegal to use your cell phone while driving.