Discussion
Went for a nice steady drive to York today.
Was driving behind a lorry who kept up nicely with the 50mph speed limit.Road was busy traffic coming towards us so not much change to overtake and their was no need.
This irritable t
t driving behind me in a small van something to do with engineering kept pushing and pushing for me to overtake the lorry.
I flashed my hazards lights once for him to back off.He did I'm to old now but I can understand road rage.Maybe I should have slowed down for him to overtake but there was nowhere to go due to busy traffic.
Was driving behind a lorry who kept up nicely with the 50mph speed limit.Road was busy traffic coming towards us so not much change to overtake and their was no need.
This irritable t
t driving behind me in a small van something to do with engineering kept pushing and pushing for me to overtake the lorry.I flashed my hazards lights once for him to back off.He did I'm to old now but I can understand road rage.Maybe I should have slowed down for him to overtake but there was nowhere to go due to busy traffic.
fatjon said:
If you don't intend to overtake then leave a generous gap in front of you sufficient for him to overtake one vehicle at a time. Maybe that was what he was getting irritable about?
But if it's unsafe or simply stupid and rude to be overtaking anyway, then no, you shouldn't leave a gap just for dick heads to pull off a stupid manoeuvre that could be potentially hazardous to yourself.300bhp/ton said:
fatjon said:
If you don't intend to overtake then leave a generous gap in front of you sufficient for him to overtake one vehicle at a time. Maybe that was what he was getting irritable about?
But if it's unsafe or simply stupid and rude to be overtaking anyway, then no, you shouldn't leave a gap just for dick heads to pull off a stupid manoeuvre that could be potentially hazardous to yourself.300bhp/ton said:
fatjon said:
If you don't intend to overtake then leave a generous gap in front of you sufficient for him to overtake one vehicle at a time. Maybe that was what he was getting irritable about?
But if it's unsafe or simply stupid and rude to be overtaking anyway, then no, you shouldn't leave a gap just for dick heads to pull off a stupid manoeuvre that could be potentially hazardous to yourself.In the case outlined above the driver has indicated they weren't going to overtake because of the vehicle in fronts speed relative to the speed limit & they didn't see a need to.
The following vehicle may not have been so inclined to consider the speed limit limitations.
By not leaving a space in front where you have no intention of overtaking you are in fact making the likelihood of a stupid manoeuvre that you could become involved in more likely not less likely.
vonhosen said:
By leaving a sensible gap between you & the vehicle in front it's not so likely to be a stupid manoeuvre to overtake you.
Reading my comment back I'm not portraying what I meant very well. The thing is, I have no issues slowing down, or even pulling over if need be. But sometimes the person behind is just a complete tool. And on some roads leaving a gap only invites them to be silly and run the risk of hitting you. If it's unsafe to overtake, it's unsafe to overtake. Be it the car you are in, or the lorry in front.But each situation is likely to be different.
vonhosen said:
By leaving a sensible gap between you & the vehicle in front it's not so likely to be a stupid manoeuvre to overtake you.
In the case outlined above the driver has indicated they weren't going to overtake because of the vehicle in fronts speed relative to the speed limit & they didn't see a need to.
The following vehicle may not have been so inclined to consider the speed limit limitations.
By not leaving a space in front where you have no intention of overtaking you are in fact making the likelihood of a stupid manoeuvre that you could become involved in more likely not less likely.
Absolutely agree with this.In the case outlined above the driver has indicated they weren't going to overtake because of the vehicle in fronts speed relative to the speed limit & they didn't see a need to.
The following vehicle may not have been so inclined to consider the speed limit limitations.
By not leaving a space in front where you have no intention of overtaking you are in fact making the likelihood of a stupid manoeuvre that you could become involved in more likely not less likely.
300bhp/ton said:
Reading my comment back I'm not portraying what I meant very well. The thing is, I have no issues slowing down, or even pulling over if need be. But sometimes the person behind is just a complete tool. And on some roads leaving a gap only invites them to be silly and run the risk of hitting you. If it's unsafe to overtake, it's unsafe to overtake. Be it the car you are in, or the lorry in front.
But each situation is likely to be different.
The situation presented was "not much chance to overtake" and an attitude by the OP of not being fussed about making progress. That's fine, no criticism of that. When its busy I often take that approach, I'd rather stay chilled and accept the situation; than work hard anticipating and assessing every possible overtake opportunity. But each situation is likely to be different.
The situation suggests that while safe overtaking opportunities might be few and far between, they were occasionally presented; the OP just wasn't particularly fussed about looking for them.
If he'd pulled back to allow a safe gap in front for another vehicle, the tailgater looking to make progress could better take advantage of those limited opportunities.
And if's he's a complete tool, I'd rather be behind him where I can keep a better eye on him, and have more control over how far away he is from me.
vonhosen said:
By leaving a sensible gap between you & the vehicle in front it's not so likely to be a stupid manoeuvre to overtake you.
In the case outlined above the driver has indicated they weren't going to overtake because of the vehicle in fronts speed relative to the speed limit & they didn't see a need to.
The following vehicle may not have been so inclined to consider the speed limit limitations.
By not leaving a space in front where you have no intention of overtaking you are in fact making the likelihood of a stupid manoeuvre that you could become involved in more likely not less likely.
Completely agree with this. In the case outlined above the driver has indicated they weren't going to overtake because of the vehicle in fronts speed relative to the speed limit & they didn't see a need to.
The following vehicle may not have been so inclined to consider the speed limit limitations.
By not leaving a space in front where you have no intention of overtaking you are in fact making the likelihood of a stupid manoeuvre that you could become involved in more likely not less likely.
DocSteve said:
vonhosen said:
By leaving a sensible gap between you & the vehicle in front it's not so likely to be a stupid manoeuvre to overtake you.
In the case outlined above the driver has indicated they weren't going to overtake because of the vehicle in fronts speed relative to the speed limit & they didn't see a need to.
The following vehicle may not have been so inclined to consider the speed limit limitations.
By not leaving a space in front where you have no intention of overtaking you are in fact making the likelihood of a stupid manoeuvre that you could become involved in more likely not less likely.
Completely agree with this. In the case outlined above the driver has indicated they weren't going to overtake because of the vehicle in fronts speed relative to the speed limit & they didn't see a need to.
The following vehicle may not have been so inclined to consider the speed limit limitations.
By not leaving a space in front where you have no intention of overtaking you are in fact making the likelihood of a stupid manoeuvre that you could become involved in more likely not less likely.
pim said:
Went for a nice steady drive to York today.
Was driving behind a lorry who kept up nicely with the 50mph speed limit.Road was busy traffic coming towards us so not much change to overtake and their was no need.
This irritable tt driving behind me in a small van something to do with engineering kept pushing and pushing for me to overtake the lorry.
I flashed my hazards lights once for him to back off.He did I'm to old now but I can understand road rage.Maybe I should have slowed down for him to overtake but there was nowhere to go due to busy traffic.
Completely agree with vonhosen on this occasion.Was driving behind a lorry who kept up nicely with the 50mph speed limit.Road was busy traffic coming towards us so not much change to overtake and their was no need.
This irritable t
t driving behind me in a small van something to do with engineering kept pushing and pushing for me to overtake the lorry.I flashed my hazards lights once for him to back off.He did I'm to old now but I can understand road rage.Maybe I should have slowed down for him to overtake but there was nowhere to go due to busy traffic.
The only safe response to a tailgater is to increase the distance between yourself and the vehicle in front. The additional space should be sufficient to, 1) give you sufficient time and distance in front of you to enable you to think about, and react to, what's going on in front for both yourself and the driver behind. One way of looking at it is that the tailgater is putting you in the position of having to do his thinking for him, and 2) allow space for the driver behind to overtake you if he sees fit to do so.
With regard to creating space for the tailgater to overtake, you write... Maybe I should have slowed down for him to overtake but there was nowhere to go due to busy traffic. But, you see what you did there? By saying to yourself, and by implication the tailgater,... "there is nowhere for you to go in this busy traffic", you made the judgement call for the other driver. Which is probably not a good idea. If he wishes to overtake you in a situation that you wouldn't attempt to overtake then your best option is to assist him, as far as is possible, to overtake you with safety. That way nobody gets hurt.
I know of so many drivers who get angry with tailgaters. The real problem with tailgating arises when the driver who is being tailgated gets emotionally involved in the situation. This usually results in the driver becoming fixated with the tailgater to the exclusion of more important stuff up ahead. Your example of flashing the hazards lights being one example of this.
johnao said:
The real problem with tailgating arises when the driver who is being tailgated gets emotionally involved in the situation.
No, the problem with tailgaters arises when you have to stop, and the tailgater runs into the back of you.Rather than lecture the victims on how they should or should not react, a simpler solution is for the tailgater to LEAVE MORE BLOODY ROOM.
Perhaps we should have national brake test day when everyone is encouraged to slam their brakes on at random intervals. That might get the message across.
Dr Jekyll said:
No, the problem with tailgaters arises when you have to stop, and the tailgater runs into the back of you.
Rather than lecture the victims on how they should or should not react, a simpler solution is for the tailgater to LEAVE MORE BLOODY ROOM.
Difficult to get that message across from the driving seat of the car they're in front of. Leaving double the space in front of you that you would normally leave is pretty much the only option, to cater for their stupidity. Rather than lecture the victims on how they should or should not react, a simpler solution is for the tailgater to LEAVE MORE BLOODY ROOM.
Dr Jekyll said:
johnao said:
The real problem with tailgating arises when the driver who is being tailgated gets emotionally involved in the situation.
No, the problem with tailgaters arises when you have to stop, and the tailgater runs into the back of you.Rather than lecture the victims on how they should or should not react, a simpler solution is for the tailgater to LEAVE MORE BLOODY ROOM.
Perhaps we should have national brake test day when everyone is encouraged to slam their brakes on at random intervals. That might get the message across.
On that basis I'll use what control I do have within the situation to legally minimise the risks for myself & others, rather than place myself in such peril (as well as risking prosecution against myself for Sec 2/3 RTA too).
Edited by vonhosen on Thursday 16th June 12:42
Tony1963 said:
I just go by the old adage that it's my job to obey the law, not enforce it.
I'd rather have an idiot in front of me than an angry idiot behind. It makes no sense whatsoever to wind up an idiot. It means he has won.
Its often said you cant argue with one they'll bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience.I'd rather have an idiot in front of me than an angry idiot behind. It makes no sense whatsoever to wind up an idiot. It means he has won.
300bhp/ton said:
But if it's unsafe or simply stupid and rude to be overtaking anyway, then no, you shouldn't leave a gap just for dick heads to pull off a stupid manoeuvre that could be potentially hazardous to yourself.
Please can you explain what constitutes a "rude" overtake.........Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff