Several years ago I finally found the solution for tailgaters. I just slow down gradually. I don’t slam on the brakes. I just slow down gradually and if I play it just right I can end up bringing them way down in speed because they’re too stubborn to go around.
In the process of slowing down I’ve just made it safe for myself as well because I’ve increased the distance between me and the next car in front, giving me a lot of buffer space. But really, the goal is just to get them to pass and start tailgating the next guy.
Yeah. The maneuver I typically use for tailgaters when I notice they’ve been trying to push me is to just take my foot off the gas till I hit the speed limit again, then snap on cruise control and wait for them to either pass me, or pull the pistol out of their glove compartment and shoot me. Because I don’t travel in the fast lane anyway. If they wanna tailgate people, they can do it over there. I don’t brake check, I don’t slow down to under the speed limit, and if the rest of traffic is going faster, I’ll just match it, but I’m not getting out of a tailgater’s way just because their lizard brain wants to force me to go faster.
It’s reasonable to go the pace of traffic. It’s reasonable to go the speed limit if there is no traffic. If someone wants to try to force me into an unreasonable situation, then they’re not going to go anywhere without smashing into my car.
This is what I do too, generally. Cruise control is your friend. If, however, after getting said tailgater to back off, they creep up again, it’s brake-check time.
Back OT, I’m a bit surprised we’re twenty-some comments in and no obvious new-account copologists have shown up to defend their precious law enforcement fetish.
English Bob: [discussing the assassination of President Garfield]
Well there’s a dignity royalty. A majesty that precludes the likelihood of assassination. If you were to point a pistol at a king or a queen your hands would shakes as though palsied.
Barber: Oh I wouldn’t point no pistol at nobody sir.
English Bob: Well that’s a wise policy, a wise policy. But if you did. I can assure you, if you did, that the sight of royalty would cause you to dismiss all thoughts of bloodshed and you would stand… how shall I put it? In awe. Now, a president… well I mean… [chuckles] why not shoot a president?
Now I’m wondering about British prime ministers. I know about Spencer Perceval, the only prime minister to be assassinated, and the attempts on Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Are there any other attempts? Any who weren’t Conservatives? Any more attempts on Maggie?
My favorite failed presidential assassination story is Andrew Jackson’s.
The assassin had two pistols randomly misfire at point blank, and Andrew Jackson chased the guy down and beat him badly with his walking stick. This is the same Andrew Jackson who while he was in office was challenged to a duel, accepted, was shot in the chest, didn’t let on that he’d been hit, and shot and killed his opponent.
Well, you’d then have to compile statistics for all those other jobs since the founding of the country by capita to compare it properly. There used to be some extremely dangerous jobs in this country that no longer exist that would beat even President.
For instance, powder monkeys carried casks of gunpowder across ships as cannons and muskets were being fired died at a ridiculously high rate (they were almost always kidnapped children).
