What do you do when someone is tailgating you?

[Snowysmom]

If I am driving on a road where I can't change lanes, I will be sure I am going the speed limit and that's it. I don't speed up or slow down. If it is a multi lane road, I will go into the other lane. There are alot of crazies out there and I get concerned about road rage.

 

[Firedog]

I must be a little more militant than you guys. If someone gets right on my butt I try to drive through any patch of gravel at the intersections (or even the shoulder if I'm really in the mood). This will kick up a few stones to crack and/or bust their windshield. I shouldn't have to put up with idiots.

 

[Chattyaholic]

At some point I decided to pass the car in front of me, so I pulled into the left hand lane. I had been in this lane for a few minutes when this car comes speeding up behind me and flashes his lights to get me to pull over. After taking a few seconds to determin he wasn't a police officer, regular or unmarked, I decided to slow down to the speed of the car beside me...and stayed like that for quite a while.

That's pretty rude. You were in the passing lane "for a few minutes?" It doesn't take "a few minutes" to pass a car.

How do you know the poor guy that came up behind you wasn't on his way to a hospital to be with a critically ill loved one? Or his wife was having a baby and you prolonged his getting there?

You have no idea why he was trying to get by you in such a hurry. He definitely had a right to be angry with you. And THAT is what causes road rage!!!

 

[Curious]

What do you do when someone is tailgating you?

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Just curious.

Hit the breaks. Speed up. Hit the breaks again. Speed up again. Try to sandwich the offender between vehicles. And that's just when it's MIL doing the tailgating...

 

[Tazicket]

I've resorted to putting my windshield washer on when there is nothing I can do otherwise and the person is just being an idiot. The spray is usually enough to get them to back off.

I've done this before! I didn't have time to go into the story behind this thread when I posted it this morning. I had to leave for my internship and I thought I had more time than I did when I started it. Soo...here's the story.

There's this stretch of two lane road on my way to work. The speed limit is 30 because it is a neighborhood. I've been pulled over and given a warning on it once, so I set my cruise control at 33 or so while I'm going down this road, b/c I don't want a ticket.

A couple of days ago, I was driving to work and this guy in a big truck started tailgating me. So, I bumped the cruise control button that slowed my car down a little bit. I kept bumping the button until he finally backed off, then I hit the other button to speed back up to where I was. When I got there, he got right on my butt again! So...I bumped the button until he backed off. This kept going on all the way down the dadgum road.

I don't usually toy with them like this, b/c I'm scared that somebody will shoot me or something (I'm a criminal justice major- most of us are paranoid! ). And we actually had someone die in a car accident a few months ago. The guy cut her off and she wrecked her car and died and he just kept driving. The real kicker is he was a doctor!

But in this case, I was so fed up!

 

[ilovepcot]

There's nothing more irritating than to have someone tailgate me. I'll tell you a story about something that happened just yesterday. It happened when I was coming home from work. I got off the train, got in the car and drove off. Well, I got on the freeway and got my car up to speed. At some point I decided to pass the car in front of me, so I pulled into the left hand lane. I had been in this lane for a few minutes when this car comes speeding up behind me and flashes his lights to get me to pull over. After taking a few seconds to determin he wasn't a police officer, regular or unmarked, I decided to slow down to the speed of the car beside me...and stayed like that for quite a while. Well, needless to say that really irritated him. He was right on my tail the whole time. Eventually I decided that he had had enough and sped up and into the right hand lane. He then pulled up beside me and... (not the correct finger, but I think the point gets across). I waved at him and he sped off.

I live in the Road Rage Capital of the World and would be surprised if you got away with that kind of game here. A neighbor of mine was shot and killed in a road rage incident for less than what you did.

 

[MoniqueU]

God I miss germany and europe in general where people actually checked their rearviews to see if someone was coming up fast on them and then they would move right. The POLITE thing to do. No wonder there is so much road rage.
I saw the greatest bumper sticker the other day. If I have to pass you on the right you're in the WRONG LANE DUMB @SS. Sheesh people. You dont need to park in the fast lane to prove a point.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

God I miss germany and europe in general where people actually checked their rearviews to see if someone was coming up fast on them and then they would move right. The POLITE thing to do. No wonder there is so much road rage.
I saw the greatest bumper sticker the other day. If I have to pass you on the right you're in the WRONG LANE DUMB @SS. Sheesh people. You dont need to park in the fast lane to prove a point.

Sometimes one cannot get over into the right lane safely, but the idiot rides one's bumper anyway. I speed. I make no bones about it. On highways and non-residential roads I go at least 10 MPH (usually 15, sometimes 20 on the interstate) over the speed limit. So if someone is on my bumper and I am in the left lane I am usually passing the cars in the right lane. Sometimes the ******* is the one riding people's bumpers.