How should you react if someone is tailgating me?

[Freddy88FM]

A friend of mine redirected his rear windscreen washer to spray straight back in to the windscreen of a tailgater. Honest truth, the one time he used it he was chased for the next 20 mins by an irate van driver. Not good.

Tailgating is reflective of a combination of one or more personality traits and scenarios:

1) the driver is genuinely in a life or death rush
2) the driver is not paying attention or does not understand stopping distances
3) the driver is naturally agressive

Now, in my opinion, I'd rather not have any of the above behind me. So I try to let them by.

[lightthefuse]

In days gone by I'd have fitted the description of 1 & 3, it didn't take me long to realise that tailgating will get you the precise sum of absolutely nowhere and cut it right out of my driving. To be clear, I soon found dropping back enabled me to spot the overtaking opportunities far better than being right up someone's chuff. It's not something I'm proud of either, then, or now. To be honest though I tend to think in the main it's 2s and 3s out on the road - most people just don't think.

[grayme]

lightthefuse said:

porschebuyer said:

I find that when being tailgated it is usually a good time to clean one's windscreen and headlights. A good five second clean usually shakes the blighter loose, if not, repeat with your left foot just resting on the brake pedal but keeping your speed constant. DO NOT ATTEMPT WHEN HEADING INTO THE SUNSET.
Plan B: when safe to do so, indicate left, slow down and let the tt overtake so he can Valcro himself to the next poor sod's bumper.

I was surprised it took that long into the thread for someone to mention left-foot braking, my weapon of choice. Tiny depression to start with to bring the brake lights on, usually enough to get them to pull back. If they continue thereafter then I slow just a little then boot it from them, brake lights on all the time but with brake pedal lifted to the point in the first sentence where the lights are on but little to no braking effect is applied. This tends to confuse our would-be tailgater no end. My last resort is to then pull over into a layby, but on wider roads I'll always give them enough room to safely pass anyway before even resorting to the left-foot brake.

Tend to find a screen wash doesn't help in Sweden, the screens get so dirty at times that people clean no matter what, so the effect of that here would be rather limited.

I do this too, break lights on when they are too close, off when they back off.

Usually they're just wanting something to follow so haven't considered they are too close, it normally takes them a while to realise what I am doing.

I'm impressed by all those that just calmly pull over and let them pass, can't say I have ever seen any of you on the road.

[abbotsmike]

grayme said:

I'm impressed by all those that just calmly pull over and let them pass, can't say I have ever seen any of you on the road.

Do as they say, not as they do!

[Pothole]

slippery said:

mikebradford said:

Stuff.

I know this is highly unlikely as you are obviously as hard as nails, but do you not ever wonder what might happen if you try that with someone who's even tougher than you?

That's usually the point when he wakes up, still at his Mum's.

[WeeemRCB]

JiyuuA7X said:

Assuming I am driving at the speed limit on a single lane road.

Do I?

A)Slow down to make it easier for them to pass.
B)Pull over.
C)Other.
X)Slam on the brakes and take out the shotgun?

edit- yes, the title is worded weird.

(C)
Let them worry about keeping their distance, so flip your rearview mirror so you can't see them and carry on your journey as you were.

Out of sight out of mind (it's actually really effective)


If you want to be a bit more antagonistic (not recommended) then change down a gear and lift off the throttle so the engine breaking slows you gradually. They'll suddenly realise they're drifting into the back of you and will back-off.
As you see their nose dip from their braking, smoothly accelerate away
Repeat until they get the message (they'll think they can't regulate their speed properly and will eventually back off. Works every time and no-one gets annoyed)

[SK425]

WeeemRCB said:

If you want to be a bit more antagonistic

...

and no-one gets annoyed)

Something doesn't seem quite right there...

[carreauchompeur]

Someone once flashed their reverse lights at me when I was behind them in a van (I was possibly following them a little close as they were travelling at a ludicrously slow speed on a NSL road but the gutless van was no good for overtaking in...). Never worked out how they did it, though.

[SK425]

grayme said:

I'm impressed by all those that just calmly pull over and let them pass, can't say I have ever seen any of you on the road.

It's quite common to see people getting out of the way of tailgaters on motorways and dual carriageways, but if you were thinking more of single carriageways then I agree - I can't remember the last time I saw it either.

abbotsmike said:

Do as they say, not as they do!

There may well be some of that. It's exactly the right advice to give though: if you find a tailgater is taking up an uncomfortable amount of your attention or making you feel unsafe then pull over and get them past so you can get back to driving without the distraction. The "if" is the important part though. I don't generally pull over to let tailgaters past like that because I don't generally find them particularly difficult or uncomfortable to manage.

[BOF]

A few years ago we were at a hotel near Pitlochry - it was on a very twisty narrow road about 5 miles from town...almost daily I had some probably local driver 'pushing' me along when I considered I was driving to my safe limit...speed to vision.

My wife still sometimes repeats what she said one day on that road - looking in the nearside mirror at the punter trying to get into my boot;

"The closer you get, the slower he goes!"

I had not thought that she noticed :-))

BOF

[LouD86]

Now a days, I slow, pull over, and let them pass. I dont need the pressure, the hassle, or risk of accident.

In my youth, I used to put my foot down and go. Was all ok until one day it was a unmarked police car, ramping up the road away from it at 2am, its only when the blue lights came on I damned myself. Havent tried being clever like that again.

[WeeemRCB]

LouD86 said:

Now a days, I slow, pull over, and let them pass. I dont need the pressure, the hassle, or risk of accident.

In my youth, I used to put my foot down and go. Was all ok until one day it was a unmarked police car, ramping up the road away from it at 2am, its only when the blue lights came on I damned myself. Havent tried being clever like that again.

I've had a police car tail gait me to try and push me faster.

I didn't know it was a cop car.
Unlit road (Runnymead if you know it) and he had a headlight out, so it looked like Joe Schmo being a dhead right up my arse.

I wasn't in the mood, so I did the rear view mirror trick and cruised a couple of miles to the end of the road which was lit. Flipped the mirror up and then saw it was a jam sandwich as he turned away.

Not impressed

[DaineseMan]

WeeemRCB said:

I've had a police car tail gait me to try and push me faster.

I didn't know it was a cop car.
Unlit road (Runnymead if you know it) and he had a headlight out, so it looked like Joe Schmo being a dhead right up my arse.

I wasn't in the mood, so I did the rear view mirror trick and cruised a couple of miles to the end of the road which was lit. Flipped the mirror up and then saw it was a jam sandwich as he turned away.

Not impressed

I had an undercover cop do that to me in an unmarked A4 in Vienna when I was doing the legal speed limit. I ended up speeding up another 10kmph and they then pulled me over. Knobs.

[VinceFox]

WeeemRCB said:

I've had a police car tail gait me to try and push me faster.

I didn't know it was a cop car.
Unlit road (Runnymead if you know it) and he had a headlight out, so it looked like Joe Schmo being a dhead right up my arse.

I wasn't in the mood, so I did the rear view mirror trick and cruised a couple of miles to the end of the road which was lit. Flipped the mirror up and then saw it was a jam sandwich as he turned away.

Not impressed

Had this as well. Pulled me for "spot check" after couple of minutes so i pointed it out.

[OllieJT]

I personally ignore them... My mother always said they have 2 choices. They can over take or stay where the hell they are and like the sight of my cars arse.

[mikesalt]

carreauchompeur said:

Someone once flashed their reverse lights at me when I was behind them in a van (I was possibly following them a little close as they were travelling at a ludicrously slow speed on a NSL road but the gutless van was no good for overtaking in...). Never worked out how they did it, though.

There are some faulty reverse light switches out there that trigger whilst changing into any gear, it might not be that they did it on purpose.

[Pig benis]

I know I will get flamed for this, however I have solved this age old problem. When someone gets a bit too close for a period of time, a long squirt of the washers will sort this out. Never once has it failed and it is a lot safer than jamming on the anchors

[walsh]

Anyone brave/stupid enough to admit that they have lost their temper with someone tailgating, and done something, well, a bit stupid?

40 limit, open road, but drenched, and some goatee sporting dick st in a fiesta about 2 foot from the bumper for the last 2 miles. Happens to be going the same way as me, three T junctions he has been behind me now . I should have pulled over to him get on his way. I Didn't. When the car in front of me slowed to 15mph or so, and turned off, I just stomped on it in 1st. Rear tyres said "Nope", made virtually no forward progress and just felt (and made myself look) like a knob for getting annoyed. He pulled off a junction later.

Not sure now what I was trying to achieve, Some space between us I guess, But as I'm not happy to speed in a 40 in the wet, he quickly caught up, and I only managed to annoy myself further.

I fully expect to get flamed for this one. I'm guessing everyone else here behaves properly, and I do normally, but as It's just happened, I thought I would be honest...

[GrumpyTwig]

Used to get annoyed and maybe tap the brakes, not to the point where the car loses any speed but just to flash the lights.
These days just flip the rear view mirror to dark if their lights are in my eyes or simply maintain speed and pull over when convenient.

If only everyone pulled over when convenient and appropriate there wouldn't be this mass of seemingly pissy drivers around........

[Johnnytheboy]

Depends if there's someone in front of me when I'm tailgated. If so then I just open a bit of a gap in front of me.

If I'm solely responsible for holding someone up I'll let them by.

The only exception to this is part of my commute which is extremely narrow. If someone is following me, it's highly likely they'd have to go at the same speed as me if they didn't have someone to follow. But you'd have to be an utter idiot to tailgate someone on a single track lane with poor sightlines.