How do you handle EXTREME tailgaters?

[IsaacCarlson]

Hope all ended well for him!

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by IsaacCarlson

Hope all ended well for him!

I hope he learned not to tailgate.

If so, that would be a valuable lesson in itself, and it couldn't be better than that.

[YukonCornelius]

Here's my best tailgater experience, I'm in the Cobra and this Asian woman was within a few feet of me in a 25mph zone. Going the speed limit I gradually sped up to 45, she stayed right on me, totally oblivious to the dead on 90 degree bend in the road. She didn't notice the 15mph and sharp turn sign. I waited until the last second to whip the wheel, my friend was moving around the seat thinking we wouldn't make it through the turn, but with fat tires and IRS the Cobra went right through it. The lady lost control of her camry, she almost crashed into the gaurdrail. I felt a little bad but that was on her.

[BHarvey]

Originally Posted by SVTwithMPG

Here's my best tailgater experience, I'm in the Cobra and this Asian woman was within a few feet of me in a 25mph zone. Going the speed limit I gradually sped up to 45, she stayed right on me, totally oblivious to the dead on 90 degree bend in the road. She didn't notice the 15mph and sharp turn sign. I waited until the last second to whip the wheel, my friend was moving around the seat thinking we wouldn't make it through the turn, but with fat tires and IRS the Cobra went right through it. The lady lost control of her camry, she almost crashed into the gaurdrail. I felt a little bad but that was on her.

Love doing that same thing whenever I get the chance....
Sort of like pushing a politician down a flight of stairs, it's fun, great fun, and I don't seem to tire of it!

[KITT222]

I'll have to try that. People love to stick with me, for some reason. The other day, though, I was scared, and almost panicking at how close this Avalanche was to my rear at night. I honestly believe they were within a yard of my car. Nobody has ever been that big in my rear view mirror, not even at stoplights. It's time like that when I begin to wonder how someone can be that ignorant, and downright reckless!!

Of course, now I know how sharp and nimble my little car is, so, next time I'll have some fun!

[BHarvey]

This is precisely why tailgating should never be done. You are trusting the person in front of you with your life based on how much attention they are paying to road/traffic conditions, which is usually very little.

The other day on 285 I had my usual 1/4 mile + gap and I saw the steel lawn chair in the middle of the right lane so I checked my left side blind spot, gave a signal and then changed lanes with plenty of time to spare. The woman behind me wasn't paying attention because she was so close and all the sudden (for her) there was a lawn chair in her lane and she panicked. She slammed on the brakes and came to a complete stop in the right lane and she was trying to get in the next left lane. The shoulder was wide enough that she could have easily used it, but she focused on the chair instead of looking past it.

One thing racing taught me was that you always look where you want to go, and not to focus on what's in front of you.

[Frank Lee]

What's amazing is that there isn't even more accidents than there are. Your story reminds me of the time I came across a hit deer on the four-lanes. It was dusk; I backed up, trained my high beams on it, and put my four-way flashers on. Do you think anybody so much as let off the gas? A truck driver did, but everyone else blew through there, slamming the brakes and swerving at the very last second. Then the Civic came along... too oblivious for even braking and swerving, it hit that deer square at probably 70 mph and the brakes lights never came on. I watched in amazement as the whole car caught some major air, then crashed down in a shower of sparks and shards of plastic. I caught up to it several miles later- easy to do, since his front wheels were splayed out with more extreme caster than even the lowest V-Dub and he or she was going about 10 mph. Heh heh SCHAUDENFREUDE!!!! Pay attention in the future, Buck-O!

[roosterk0031]

1st step, wash windshield, 75% are day dreaming not realising how close they are and that seems to wake most of them up.

2nd step, if there is an safe opening to pass me and they don't (2 lane roads) I'll be giving up some momentum on the next hill, down to 45 mph or so, back to 55 after the crest.

3rd step, ride the white line/shoulder looking for rocks to kick up, place two tires on gravel shoulder if they still don't pass or back off. Tough to do on some roads with paved shoulders, but look for gravel on road at intersections to kick up or any other road debris.

[vacationtime247]

Well that would certainly suck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfWSc...eature=channel

VT247

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

What's amazing is that there isn't even more accidents than there are. Your story reminds me of the time I came across a hit deer on the four-lanes. It was dusk; I backed up, trained my high beams on it, and put my four-way flashers on. Do you think anybody so much as let off the gas? A truck driver did, but everyone else blew through there, slamming the brakes and swerving at the very last second. Then the Civic came along... too oblivious for even braking and swerving, it hit that deer square at probably 70 mph and the brakes lights never came on. I watched in amazement as the whole car caught some major air, then crashed down in a shower of sparks and shards of plastic. I caught up to it several miles later- easy to do, since his front wheels were splayed out with more extreme caster than even the lowest V-Dub and he or she was going about 10 mph. Heh heh SCHAUDENFREUDE!!!! Pay attention in the future, Buck-O!

[Tri91]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

What's amazing is that there isn't even more accidents than there are. Your story reminds me of the time I came across a hit deer on the four-lanes. It was dusk; I backed up, trained my high beams on it, and put my four-way flashers on. Do you think anybody so much as let off the gas? A truck driver did, but everyone else blew through there, slamming the brakes and swerving at the very last second. Then the Civic came along... too oblivious for even braking and swerving, it hit that deer square at probably 70 mph and the brakes lights never came on. I watched in amazement as the whole car caught some major air, then crashed down in a shower of sparks and shards of plastic. I caught up to it several miles later- easy to do, since his front wheels were splayed out with more extreme caster than even the lowest V-Dub and he or she was going about 10 mph. Heh heh SCHAUDENFREUDE!!!! Pay attention in the future, Buck-O!

Oooo, I've done that. In my defense, I did see it from as far away as my low beams would allow. It just seemed that over it was the best way out of the situation. Swerving left would have been mine and someone else's death. A serve right would have just been mine. Stopping would have put the RV towing a SUV that I'd just passed a few seconds earlier in a bad spot. It was a narrow winding mountain road at night with a speed limit of 65mph. I was going the speed limit which was slower than I had been going before the sunset. I have pictures. They're in my profile under #1 - My Baby's album. I certainly faired better than the guy you saw. Your post helps drive home just how lucky I was. Take away moral - never forget your defensive driving lessons even/especially when you are tired, cranky, and running late.

And to not risk hijacking the thread. Anyone who is following you extremely close for any length of time has by definition matched your speed. So if you slow down, say by tapping your brakes, he'll hit you and you won't feel it. It probably won't even leave a mark. You can get pushed down the road at that point and have little say in the matter, especially if it is a larger vehicle doing the pushing. And should he decide to change lanes while pushing you down the road you stand a good chance of heading for the trees. That is a dangerous game to play.