This is great, ok if your being tailgated, and there is space in front of you GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY. This does 2 things, will save me some frustration when you are blocking me and it will let them get away from you. Who wants to be driving by someone who is willing to risk themselves/everyone else on the road. I am guilty of it now and again though, but it is provoked by bad driving IMO. I cant tell you many hairs have fallen out of my head because some dolt is in front of me is driving, 5 mph bellow speed limit, running parallel with someone in the right lane, or he is passing a line of 10 cars, 4 semi-trucks, and 7 vans at 1/2 mph faster then the right lane. GRRR, sorry this sort of ignorance drives me crazy, but to get them stop, 1)get over, and I love it when I get over, and then they don't pass 2) put hand out window and signal to back off 3) I don't like brake checks, it gives them a warning w/brake lights, you really want to see someone wake-up, throttle blip to lower gear and let that slow u down, and watch the face of the offender in the review, not safe, but seems to work in extreme situations. I think I have a love/hate relationship with driving, I love to drive, I hate people that cant. Too easy to get and keep a DL. My 2 cents. Nothing like flashing someone to get over, and they look at you like your crazy. Sorry I could rant for ever about driving pet peves I wil stop now.

Steve
V8-What?

 

I think it depends on how you react to tailgaters. Tailgaters don't bother me at all. I'll either change lanes when I can or pull over at my next opportunity. If I slow down, they might not react fast enough and tap your car. Last thing I need is an accident where someone gets hurt. I smile in the knowledge knowing that if I really wanted to, I could blow his doors away in a second, ...and they know it, too. I usually get their wave after I let them pass.

 

Just get out of their way and let them tailgate someone else. I don't know how many times I'm stuck behind someone doing close to the speed limit with open road in front of them and wishing they'd move over so the faster traffic can keep moving.

If your moving the same speed as the traffic to the right of you move right.

For those folks that are just chronic tailgaters, you just need to mount a couple of rearward facing halogen driving lamps. Turn those suckers on and watch the disappear behind you.

 

You got that right!

I've even been known to pull over (if it's a single lane road with shoulder) to let them pass. If it's a highway and I'm in the left lane I figure I'm the idiot & I get over as soon as possible.

I try to watch for "agreseive" drivers all the time & if I can, I let them get in front of me (safer for me & I don't have anything to prove).

But, there are times when I get pissed at these weirdos especially those who tailgate on a single lane road when you'r going 5-10 mph OVER the speed limit or when ther's a line of traffic in front of you with no way for you to pass.


Great post ralper - I could go on about this all day!

 

This is exactly what causes "road rage".

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ash
[B]Best thing to do is simply turn on your hazards.

 

Carlson, you realize that by changing lanes when someone is tailgating you, you're *encouraging* them to tailgate people. Your one act to resolve this situation might cause someone else to get hurt/killed later on when this driver tailgates someone else.

Think about it, if the tailgater starts to think "Someone is in front of me, all I have to do to get him out of the way is tailgate him/her", what do you think they're gonna do?

Of course, not getting out of the way doesn't guarantee that this driver will not tailgate later on.

Me? I push the cruise control button and wait (assuming I have space in front of me for the current speed). The S has awesome speed holding ability in cruise control. If I'm in the left lane (usually because I passed someone going slower than me), I'll wait until he passes me on the right and then switch lanes. If he backs off, *then* I'll get out of the way, but never when they're 2ft from my bumper. And if they flash their lights at me, my resolve only gets stronger (they have to back off much farther for me to accomidate them)

I'll only slow down when it's clear that there's traffic in front of me, and always via non-brake methods (like letting off the gas). This way I make my point known w/o any threat to the tailgater's car (braking, even lightly, threatens the other driver and his/her car, which some people see as no different than swinging a bat at their head). Plus, the switching lanes when they back off shows them that they don't have to be 2ft to encourage someone to get out of the way.

 

I have to agree with Carlson. I was rear-ended many years ago by a local thug who didn't care for a hand gesture he thought I gave to him. At the next light, he hopped out of his car and asked me to get out of mine so he could "beat my f***ing face in". When I didn't oblige him and drove on, he caught up to me again, deliberately crashed into the back of my car (his car had "state trooper" style bumper guards) then drove off.

The world is full of people who've had bad days, you don't want to offend someone and risk being injured as a result of their lack of self-restraint. People have been shot for less. Learn from my experience.

 

Drivers tend to follow closer to our cars (and motorcycles) because of the size of our vehicle. Even non-aggressive drivers base their following distance to some extent on their perception of the mass of the vehicle their following. Notice very few tail gate large trucks. Size DOES make a difference.

 

I agree with djohnston & Carlson about road rage - it's tough to enjoy your S when you're lying an a hospital bed.