How do you handle EXTREME tailgaters?

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by LSKLYNN

I prefer to carry a Supersoaker type watercannon filled with veg. oil. Roll your drivers window down slightly and place the tip of the oil gun out the window(careful not to look like you have a real weapon) and spray a little oil into the air passing by. Some will land on the tailgaters windshield and appear to be water drops. When enough oil causes the tailgater to activate their windshield washer, the oil will spread and create a sheen that the driver cannot see through - problem solved. Use with caution!

Umm....that is NOT ok that can cause serious accidents, why not just slow down, stop on the side if you have to but DON'T do that !

[bestclimb]

If someone is following and not much opportunity to pass I will speed up to about the speed limit then slow and use the flashers when the passing is good getting as far to the right as possible. If there is ample opportunity to pass I will slow down a bit to help them get around me quicker. Most people on the road are not jerks or overly aggressive just rushed. One can take on a condescending attitude about "all those poor dumb slobs who don't know any better" but doing things that intentionally piss them off does not do them or us any favors. Relax and realize that just because we hypermile does not mean we are a superior example of humanity.

If someone is feeling froggy and really getting close extending the glide is a good option coupled with hugging the shoulder. My relationship with a tailgater is just to short to get all worked up.

[trikkonceptz]

I try and remain at the speed limit if I find myself on a roadway where passing is challenging, but even then people are impatient. Otherwise, when I find myself in those situations I simply try and signal from within the cab to pass me. That way I acknowledge the idiot in a hurry and send a clear signal that I have no intention of speding up.

They pass often spewing carbon from the buildup in their injectors and I laugh as I pass them by in traffic or coast past them through a traffic light because I have learned to time my stops.

No matter what the case the last laugh is yours ... at the pump.

[VegasDude]

Rather than escalate what could be a case of road-rage, I recommend turning your hazards on. That's pretty much guaranteed to diffuse the situation. When people see hazard lights, they assume something is wrong with the car and pass without question.

If I'm on a multi-lane road, I don't change my driving at all. I've had people tail-gate me for several miles, timing every light so that we end up passing the people that passed us, only to have them eventually zoom around me and, inevitably, slam on their brakes when the light changes. They won't learn even when they see it first hand.

If I'm on road with one lane in either direction and I see a car approaching quickly, I turn on my hazards and pull off toward the shoulder before they even get close. They immediately pass without slowing down or tail-gating me.

I've also considered a sign that reads: "Slow Moving Vehicle" or similar, but my aim is only to encourage them to pass asap. A sign would only be distracting.

[ShadeTreeMech]

I don't see a problem with spraying a tailgaters windsheild with washer fluid. ("You were following so close I could see the bugs on your windshield....")

My worst reactions to tailgaters were when I rode a motorcycle, and both times the driver was a young woman., and both times it was on a semi straight stretch of windy curvy road heading to work.

First time I looked in my rear view to the left and saw a tailgater. They were close, but only annoyingly so. I looked again, this time to the right, and saw someone between us tailgating about 2 feet from my bumper....er, back tire, and I was going 60 in a 55! I proceeded to sit on the yellow line, slow down so I was next to her, and stared at her from my higher perch for a few seconds. Stupid and dangerous, sure, but she backed off.

The worst time, someone tailgated me hardcore for a while. I'd slow down to 45 in a 55, roar off to 65, and coast back down to 60, and she'd get right back on me. I got so pissed I slowed down, parked my bike in the lane, and walked up to the now stopped taligater and told her (rather yelled at her) to back off. Severe, sure, but a rear end collision with a motorcycle will likely kill the m/c rider. So I do severe on a bike.

But most generally, slowing down 5-10 under the speed limit, then blasting off at full throttle to open the distance gets most people to chill the heck out. Nearly all roads here are 2 lane country roads with little chance to pass and no hard shoulder to speak of unless you have 4wd, so what can you do?

[Domman56]

Quick light brake check. or in tank hit the ebrake for a sec smoke the rear tires and not drop speed at all. had a few people almost run off the road doin that haha

[bestclimb]

It's funny when people almost have mishaps with multi thousand pound equipment that can kill and maim faster than a human can react. You already know the driver close behind you is lacking judgment and then you want to test them for lack of skills?

[miket]

let off the gas and downshift, j/k

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by VegasDude

I've also considered a sign that reads: "Slow Moving Vehicle" or similar, but my aim is only to encourage them to pass asap. A sign would only be distracting.

I have this on the back and and also on both quarterpanels. It's probably more distracting than helping in this situation, but I guess that was the goal

[Jyden]

I just hit the brakes for a moment. In my country the law says that the one hitting an other car from behind has all the blame, so I'm looking for a new "free" rear end