What to do about tail gaters?

Your story is similar to what happened to me.

I was in a black 5.0 Ford Mustang at the time. The guy was literally 3 feet off my bumper at 45 mph. I floored it to get away from the guy to move to the next lane.

Unfortunately, it was a night, raining, and I couldn't see that the tail gater was a Sheriff patrolman egging me on.

Yup, I got a ticket.

 

All over the place at e46fanatics.com and bimmerforums.com

And also lots of thread complaining about mpg. Funny eh..

 

Since about 90% out there are speeding, is it really slow?

 

Slow down and create more space for you, in front so you have more options. This is pat ans. In nys license exam.

 

This thread has a lot of replies so I'm sure others have already said this.

If the tailing car can pass me I'll slow down and signal right. Sometimes people follow closely to catch draft, or sometimes just to be rude. I also think many people are offended by the "hybrid" badge.

We've had ours for less than two weeks and already two acts of vandalism. One person dumped their beverage on the car and left the bottle. Someone else tried to pry our side mirror off. Now I don't regret passing on the Solar roof, geess.

And no we don't have enemies lol. In the five years we've had our SUV nothing ever happened to it, no door dings, litter, shopping carts, nothing. I would expect this if a we had a political bumper sticker or a big Prius logo or something, but come on its just a car.

 

Wow, really? I always have to wonder what kind of person would have to do that sort of thing. You'd think they'd be thanking you for conserving our resources.

Hopefully their attempt to pry the mirror off didn't cause any damage.

 

I just watched a local news that showed a driver who got pulled over for speeding on a freeway construction zone. Guess what car he was driving? Yes, prius!


iPhone ?

 

No and yes. No, it's not worth risking your life because you're pissed. Yes, it does matter if someone's so self-centered, self-righteous, and childish to go 35 in a 60 mph zone where there are disrupting other cars. You may as well be siphoning gas from their cars and expect them to not get upset about that.

(Not saying that the OP was doing 35 in a 60, just saying IF they were.)

 

That's entrapment and it's illegal. Unfortunately, nearly impossible to prove. The officer will lie in court and his/her word will ALWAYS be taken over yours. Cops commit perjury very often and nearly always get away with it. Only a 3rd party witness can help you when a cop lies.

 

and not just the US with those tactics...I was by myself at around 1am driving back from Brussels (Belgium) to Utrecht (Netherlands). I was on the final long road in Belgium and 30 miles until I reached the Netherlands...There was this BMW 3 series close behind me and no other cars at all....I noticed a child seat on the well lit sections even, but he stayed very close behind me...I had enough and put my foot down, and fair enough although there was nobody else when I hit around 100mph the blue lights all of sudden went on....

Short story, they took my passport and I had to follow them to an ATM to pay the fine in cash...Equivalent of nearly $500....And then they let me go again...

I was not happy, but it was me who started speedng...

 

I think there are some drivers who must enjoy tailgating. Yesterday, in the Prius, I was in the middle lane of a six-lane interstate, going just above the limit. Traffic was fairly light, meaning the left and right lanes had frequent passing openings, yet, some douche in an SUV was about 5-10 feet off my bumper. I gave it a mile or so, then hit the brakes just hard enough to send a message, they passed on the right, and then pulled up behind another vehicle and began tailgating them.
It's really mind-boggling to me, as I always try to plan to have maximum space between myself and other vehicles. Just can't understand that mentality...
Generally, I try to move to the right, but there is a lot of ingress/egress on this stretch, so I chose the middle lane.

 

I think it's more an issue of lazy driving. Keeping a safe distance requires concentration. Well, not much, but some. Tailgating is easy. You just run up behind until you can't get any closer. It's sort of the default position for inattentive driving.

Once you get tucked in, you don't have to make any more driving decisions. The car in front goes left, you go left; it speeds up, you speed up - it's makes everything easy unless there is a sudden stop.

Tom

 

Tom, that's scary. Are there really drivers who think like that?

 

I think so. I see them cruising along, talking intently on their cell phones, nearly oblivious to everything else. They only seem to wake up when traffic slows and the already short distance ahead becomes shockingly short. I think of it as formation flying.

Tom

 

brake check thats what i do, if they hit then its time for a rental, here in california everyone loves to tailgate if your not trying to break the sound barrier. i drive every now and then my lifted f250 superduty and they seem to try and park in my bed.

 

Horrible advice. You are basically trying to incite road rage here.

Maybe it just appears that they are parking in your bed because your lifted F250 is 10 feet off the ground and you can't see closer than 100ft behind your truck?

Or maybe they're just seeing a nice opportunity to draft with all the drag your big truck creates.

 

O, Yes

 

I have ridden with a few who were driving on mental autopilot.

As a child, one relative was constantly daydreaming, and had been caught driving 20 mph under and 30 mph over the limit out of sheer inattention. In adulthood, I've witnessed other drivers get so caught up in their own storytelling that road control was merely an instinctive maintenance of personal space.

I see this happening in numerous other vehicles around me. It existed before cell phones, but the phones have made it much worse.

 

I'd like to have a bumper sticker that says "go ahead and hit me, the battery will explode in your face."

 

Has any one tried squirting the windshield with the washer fluid?
That usually gets their attention when their windshield gets wet.
childish I know, I get bored sometimes.