Fun in getting rid of tailgaters (helping them pass you safely)

[larrybuck]

This is super easy if you are on a motorcycle, or in a small not too wide car:
it is soooooo easy to use turn signals, vehicle body language, and hand signals to wave faster vehicles by so that you can keep closer to your best mpg cruising speed.

We can't obviously travel on multilane streets/highways 100% of the time.

It can be quite entertaining to find a CLEAN debris free shoulder to pick your spot, right signal a couple of times, combined with your hand w thumb out
indicating to go by NOW, as debris, sideroads, curves, may be coming up.

When you practice this enough, it becomes an engrained artform where most of the time you can maintain your desired speed (mpg), while helping faster drivers by, and ALL are happy!

Even the older couple who backed off for your offer, usually bite at the 2nd chance once they understand the game!

You can set up for fake left, or right hand turn lanes, to get rid of people.

The key is to practice enough, to pick your places careful enough to be smooth about it.

My latest favorite is one place I go every week. If I'm the 1st car, or early
in a line waiting at a red light in a left turn signal lane, at this particular place;
I proceed into that 90 degree turn, and immediately pull into another left turn lane.

Yesterday, I could sense I had a rabid rabbit start guy behind me.
The left turn lane I pulled into is only used by anyone about 1% of the time.

Sure enough, the rabbit gassed it up, an out of tune black smoking Pontiac Bonneville, with 7 other tailgaters right behind him...I creep along for just that moment, then the road is completely clear for me as the next sequence of the traffic light behind me has halted all possible future tailgaters, long enough for me to travel a nice long mile stretch, and slow down a lot for a rough RR crossing, w/o having the next band of tailgaters up to me yet!!!

When you first begin trying this, it doesn't seem natural. But with patience,
you will understand ebb, and flow like never before!

[MetroMPG]

I always look for ways like this to make it easy for following drivers go around.

I think the hand motion out the window is probably the most effective one - I often use it on the rural roads I drive in combination with hugging the right side of the lane (or going on the shoulder) and signaling.

Lots of people seem to stay behind even with clear sight lines and lots of road to drive around, but the hand wave never fails. Sometimes get a "thanks" wave back too.