Tail gaters.

General Discussion Forums Car Talk
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Hi good afternoon to everyone,tail gaters as mentioned on a post today,now I have had this quite a lot lately,I used to speed up to try to lose them but that does not work they just stick on your tail,so now I just slow right down and glare into my rear view mirror and they back off for some reason,maybe they can feel my displeasure or something,anyway it seems to work better than trying to out run them.I have noticed this with my last 2 cars which happened to be sportscars,it is a sort of challenge to some people,I have even had people carriers with the suicidal school run mum inside trying it on,slowing them down really pisses them off as they seem to think the roads are there just for them.Ok rant over carry on.

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Totally agree. I think idiots see a sports car and then want to race it. All I want to do on the roads is cruise, and not with a four wheel drive attached to the back of my 5.Yell

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It seems to be a very common occurrence here in Shropshire and I doesn’t seem to make a difference if I’m in the mx5 or my Picanto, it probably doesn’t help that I’m never in a rush to get anywhere.
Last Friday I saw a BMW X5 approaching fast in my 5s rear view and although I stuck at the 50 Mph limit the BMW kept getting real close then backing off, the road was clear so he could of easily overtook me but no he carried with his game, after the third time he got so close I could see the police lights hidden behind his grille! At this point I removed my sunglasses and shot him a look of displeasure he then decided his baiting game had been rumbled.
Of course I would have liked to do and say a lot more as my blood was boiling but from past experience there is no winning when dealing with this type of a Policemen/Women, I thought this type of behaviour no longer went on?

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If you put in a complaint every time it happened, they might think twice about it.

Catching bad driving is one thing, but using aggressive driving to bait people is wrong.

 

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I usually find putting the  windscreen washers on will usually make the driver behind back off.

(Ignore the above when you have the hood down unless you like a soaking).

Years ago I was going to make a flame thrower for the exhaust as I’d had enough of tailgaiters. Never did it in the end, and I’m older and wiser now. Possibly!! Laughing

1 Like
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Hi thanks to all who answered my post on tail gaters,good to hear your comments on these nuisance people.As I got older I realised why speed limits were put in place and so I generally keep to them but when being tailgated I always adhere to them and the frustrated driver behind gets even more angry which makes me very happy.What is that old saying better late in this world than early in the next.

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My solultion was to fit a flashing…flashing…flashing…flashing…flashing …third brake light, seems to do the trick.

P.S. ÂŁ3.89p e-bay and no problem with the MOT which was done two weeks ago.

Dave.

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A few years ago I was being tailgated my some umm “person” in a 7.5 lorry and it was dark and he was so close I could not see where I was going its a pity now but I had such bad road rage I scared myself and my kids and I hate to think what would have happened if he would have stopped :(, so now pulling over is my first choice or if I’m feeling naughty going slow maybe 30 in a 40 or 25 in a 30 is all it takes to see there rage. I will point out I’m not a slow driver but I like to stick to the speed limits not because I’m getting old or anything like that its because I enjoy the drive.

Just thought of another thing I like doing, around where I live you get a lot of tourists and they tailgate even worse for some reason these are not busy roads but out in the sticks with quite a few bendy bits, but what I like to do is keep going faster and faster and not braking for the next corner (that being a local I know well) and its amazing how after that they keep there distance ;) 

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If you not in the mood to show them who’s boss, i tend to find coming of the gas gets them to back off or banging on the hazards, when i am coming to a stop i have a boot brake light mod that flash’s 6 to 8 times and then goes solid and this happens eveytime you press the brake( it can be set for more or less flashes), if they are to close they don’t know what to do? it’s a red light which means braking/stopping and it is flashing like hazdas which means warning.

I have not had tail gaters for years after fitting that mod.

And before we go down the route on this board of is it legal, it as passed every MOT with it and so have all the others that it is fitted to, and never been pulled with the boys in blue behind me, most new cars have it fitted as standard, which flash when slamming on.

 

Just a thought to help buddy as it worked for me , there is nothing worse than than some brat trying to push you for the fix for the day, plus it is very unnerving.

 

EDIT:- sorry saftymatch just read through the whole post, did not  realise someone else had mentioned it, but it does work done it buddy ;0)

M-m

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Hi guys thanks for all the posts on tail gaters,it seems that we all come across them from time to time but we have the ammunition now to combat them,from spraying them with windscreen washers,slowing right down,speeding up approaching blind bends on country roads etc etc.We just want to enjoy our MX 5’s without the hassle of being intimidated into going faster ,once again thanks for the interest.

Mick.

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For safety sakes you should just find a safe place to pull over, then let them go by.

If you are immature like me, you do as above and clean your windscreen alot…that sends a message

If i’m in my V70 diesel, I slow down slightly, drop into second gear, and boot it…the thick choking smoke that flies out of the back normally does the trick, and they back off beautifully sucking in all those fumes (can’t do in a “5”) I did this to a plod car once that was too close…he also got the message.

Don’t know why folk try to “push us along” as these cars are not fast as such, just have great grip, and I find 50-60 on a decent derestricted road feels far faster than most other cars, and more fun…yipppppheeeeee

enjoy your car, but pulling over is best, then enjoy your ride without the “mist” falling

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I will slow down as much as I can to the point that they’ll have to overtake.

And with lorries, I create the largest gap between me and the vehicle in front, as lorries can’t stop on a sixpence like a car can.

I once had a lorry bearing down on me so fast in a stop situation, that I had to make a bolt for the hard shoulder otherwise i swear he would have had me.

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Cannot believe some of the rubbish I am reading on this thread, some of you are every bit as bad as the idiots who tailgate in the first place.

Trying to antagonise them, what is that going to achieve other than create a situation where the idiot behind may get so resentful that they do something stupid which might take them AND YOU off the road.

Do you really fancy potentially spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair or similar because you wanted to annoy them.

Now you may not like him but Jeremy Clarkson made a very good point a few years back. As long as the idiot is behind you…and yes, I agree he/she is a total muppet…they are a part of “your life story”. If they are that stupid just pull over and let them past, they are then out of your life and just as importantly you have them where you can see them…in front of you and where you can react accordingly if they continue to behave like an a*******.

Chances are more often or not they will just speed off and then they are gone, out of your life and you can continue to drive as you please.

Two wrongs do not make a right as they say.

2 Likes
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"Peter Rodger, head of driving standards at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, recently gave advice to a consumer magazine on how to deal with other motorists who follow you too closely. Here’s what he said:

"This depends on whether your tailgater is a passive or an aggressive tailgater. An aggressive tailgater has the clear intention of passing you. They will actively drive up your rear in a fashion that says ‘Get out of my way’.

"A passive tailgater is a different beast entirely. Normally they have no real intention of passing you. They’re quite happy for you to take the lead, but simply drive too close. This is most likely an unconscious choice. It’s more that they’re not really concentrating, and not thinking about leaving a safe braking distance. And as different beasts, they require different approaches.“

Aggressive tailgaters
This one’s simple. As soon as you can, and it’s safe to do so, let them pass. That’s it. Not everyone will agree, and aggressive tailgaters clearly press a lot of motorists’ buttons. It can be tempting to hold them up, wind them up, think up tricks that will make them mad. But it’s just not worth it. No-one benefits and there’s nothing to be gained by doing so. The thing is with these drivers, they’re already aggressive. So they’re not about to back off. Anything you do to try and make them back off will just make them more unpredictable. So not only is there nothing to be gained by getting your own back on tailgaters, but you’re potentially creating an extra problem. You could easily trigger road rage, which is only going to make the situation worse. If you’re just further enraging the driver behind, it’s difficult to see how anyone’s going to win. Don’t feed the trolls.

Passive tailgaters
Dealing with passive tailgaters requires a bit more thought. “Always leave plenty of space in front,” says Peter Rodger. As much as it may be tempting to try and put some space between you and the car behind, you don’t want to create the same situation for the car in front. If the car in front were then to suddenly brake you’ll end up the unwitting filling in a sandwich. He adds: “Avoid braking sharply. Flashing your brake lights isn’t going to help. It’s better to just ease off your accelerator.” This is because if you repeatedly brake, the flashing of your brake lights will start to lose impact. It’s better to slow down gradually with your foot off the juice. Then, if you do need to brake suddenly, the brake light should hopefully prompt the tailgater to take some evasive action. This won’t entirely eliminate the risk of getting rear-ended but at least there’ll be less damage at a slower speed. And, in the event of a car insurance claim or the police getting involved, you’re unlikely to be found at fault. And finally: 

“And there’s one last tip,” says Peter Rodger. “Don’t be a tailgater yourself.” After all, only a fool breaks the two-second rule.”

So from that you form a two stage process: Intially slow down sensibly to build space between the vehicle in front of you giving you more distance and brake for lighter for a longer period if necessary if they still tailgate then pull over when safe to do so (giving them plenty of warning that you are going to be doing so). Having done this secondary step about five times most of them are shocked and embarrassed wondering what is going on. Most suddenly realise then they are driving like complete douches (only one or two decided to gun it - one nearly ploughing into another car and missing a roundabout in the process). 

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Hi Perussel.

 

So last night travelling down the A1 (Dual carriageway), 60mph, moderate to heavy traffic and leaving a nice safe gap between me and the vehicle in front.

I had a French Articulated Lorry no more than 6 feet off my rear bumper, where would you suggest I go ?

Easing off the gas slightly to leave enough space for not only me, but the lorry behind me to stop, only made him get closer still, now only 3 feet off my bumper. (maybe even closer)

I dabbed my brake light about 3 times, just to say “Back off a bit buddy” but this made no difference.

In the end, i had to slow down to about 50mph, just so the nob head would overtake and leave me alone.

 

I wouldn’t mind if i was lane hogging, or not keeping up with the flow of traffic.

Everyone else was doing 60mph, so not sure where he thought he was going to go.

I was fuming …

 

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Drives me nuts when trucks do that. You know full well that if you need to stop fast, there’s no way they’ll stop as fast as you. I once got flashed by a speed camera because I was so busy worrying about the truck sitting two feet off my rear bumper that I completely missed the change from 40 to 30 mph.

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He was tailgating to hide his number plate behind your car - he must have slowed down to reveal yours to the camera! This used to be a common tactic until they changes the average speed cameras to point down t a sharper angle but it still happens.

I used to commute up and down the M54, M6, M5 every day. I’ve been tailgated by  truck at 40 in a posted 40 limit on the M54/M6 slip road which was coned off into a single lane - I could feel the heat from all those lamps!

More frighteningly, again around J9 south toward J8 on the M6, all crowded lanes, obeying the posted 40 limit on the gantry, tailgated by a truck with all lights on - can’t see very well since they reflected off my door mirrors. Truck in front doing 40 like me. Didn’t panic and pull over 'cos I couldn’t see, and stuff was overtaking on the left. Fortunate I didn’t 'cos another truck went by on my left at 60! No-one, but no-one is going to convince me that the b*****d in the truck tailgating me didn’t know what was coming up on his left Yell

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Why don’t you just ignore them… Problem solved.

 

 

If they want to pass, let them pass. Then they’re no longer tailgating you. I don’t see what you’re actually achieving by driving worse* than them? 

 

  • Driving below 50mph, illegal brake lights(?) and with the windscreen washers on could be an inconvenience to all the other motorists cueing up behind you or even dangerous.

 

 

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Hi yes I suppose it is best to ignore them but how can you when your rear view mirror is full of an idiot driving too close.Yes it is happening more often and usually every day to me,the rear of an MX5 seems to be like a magnet for the discerning tailgater.I am usually cruising around the country lanes near to where I live so it is not always easy to pull over to let them pass and I am not going to pull into a muddy field in my shiny speed machine to accomodate some would be Lewis Hamilton.Happy motoring to you all this sunny weekend.