How do you handle EXTREME tailgaters?

[MazdaMatt]

Truckers drive as professionals on the road. A tailgating trucker is usually subdued by a simple 3-blinks of the 4-ways. He will back off, do the "sorry" blink with his lights (turn off and back on, not highbeams) and he will either pass or chill out.

People in pickup trucks and SUV's receive no respect from me when tailgating. I simply pop it in neutral and wait. If my speed gets too low, then i'll leave my 4-ways on till they are gone. Most aggressive drivers drive these vehicles, and these are the vehicles least suitable to drive aggressively in. F em.

In city traffic i will stare directly into my rearview at them. They usually freak out and start yelling for some reason then they blast around me and tailgate the guy in front of me for the next 5 minutes while i smile and wave mockingly at them... hello, we're all in this traffic together, chill out.

All other cases I just stay right and put on my 4-ways till they pass. no biggie.

[TKWPrime]

The best feeling is to have a tailgater blast around me only to be caught at the next redlight, then as they struggle from a dead stop, I go cruising past them because I am matching speed with the traffic signal timing.

[MazdaMatt]

hehe... that IS fun... especially the angry look when I smile at them on my way by. Then the angry look as i smile at them in my rearview when they come back behind me.

[tasdrouille]

So my gas mileage will go UP if I am tailgated by an semi or SUV?
I always thought it was the opposite. The car in front has the added load of the drag on the vehicle in its wake...right ?

Most of the drag when you ride down the highway comes from the pressure differential between the front of the car (high pressure area) and the back (low pressure wake). If you reduce the pressure in the front, or rise the pressure in the back, you reduce drag.

So when two vehicles travel together in a convoy, the front one gets its low pressure wake filled a bit the the high frontal pressure of the trailing vehicle. While the drafting vehicle gets some front pressure alleviated from the low pressure wake of the front vehicle.

Typically, the drafting vehicle profits more, though you'd be surprised how the leading vehicle profits not much less (given both vehicles are the same). If you are being tailgated by a big rig, you will definitely see it on your instrumentation. I once had a big rig so close to me I could only see his grill in my rear view mirror. I was doing 50 mph and 70-75 mpg on the Scangauge and when that semi pushed in close, the numbers went up to 95-105 mpg.

[groar]

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[MechEngVT]

I can't believe in 3 pages nobody offered up my favorite trick. I typically do the speed limit on the 60-65mph roads around here but everyone else does 5-10 over regardless of speed limit (as do I on <55 mph roads). Since I drive a pickup I tend to get small-medium sized cars sneak up behind me or stay on me after I force my way into traffic against their will.

My favorite trick is to straddle a box or dead animal on the road or to rapidly swerve around it at the last minute and leave the tailgater hanging out to dry hopelessly unable to avoid hitting the obstacle. This works really well when it's a shredded carcass of semi-truck tire that's bound to cause front-end damage or a blowout to a car unable to clear it, and it'll be their own fault.

[trikkonceptz]

I honestly believe Karma is my friend ... just yesterday I was in the right lane doing 55mph on the Turnpike when I had a trucker ride up my ass while emptying his airhorn. Despite having three lanes to pass, no traffic and no truck lane restrictions he decided to harrass me. Well after getting discouraged at my lack of engagement he tried to pass me, (on an uphill), got in front of me and slowed down to 45mph.

Well since I was in cruise control and therewas no traffic, I signaled, passed him because he could not accelerate that fast, and got right back in front of him doing 55mph. BOY WAS HE PISSED !! He laid on the horn again and went to pass me, this time he tried intimidating me by cutting me off, however what he didn't see was the DOT coming up behind me and the minute he swerved his truck, the DOT lights came on and he got pulled over.

Of course I honked as I cruised past @ 55mph.

But story aside, I say relax, a rear end "bump" or rub is always the fault of the driver behind you. So basically I always anticipate the problems by planning an out in case of emergency. It sounds like a lot to do, but if practiced regularly you beging to think that way automatically and then their are no real surprises on the road. Six months of driving this way and I have experienced an angry driver once, that was him.

Not bad considering I drive through three counties every day on the most conjested highways (Race tracks) in Florida.

[greenitup]

I just keep driving as i normally would, there is always somebody behind me getting po. I figure it like this, if they hit me because they are tailgating then it is their fault, that means that it wouldn't really damage me financially , my truck isn't that valuable anyways.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by greenitup

I just keep driving as i normally would, there is always somebody behind me getting po. I figure it like this, if they hit me because they are tailgating then it is their fault, that means that it wouldn't really damage me financially , my truck isn't that valuable anyways.

I'm with you man. Well put.

RH77

[rmay635703]

At night I have found I can accurately aim my rearview mirror so it shines their headlights back in their eyes, flash it around a bit and they always seem to pass.

Originally Posted by tjts1

Simple. Speed up and stop blocking traffic. If you can't handle driving with the flow of traffic, get off the road. Take the bus. Carpool. What you describe is reckless driving. You should be ashamed of yourself.

The next time I find you tailgaiting me hopefully I will be driving a diesel so I can leave a non-removable greasy black layer of soot on your windshield and car.

I find that effectively removes the problem.