Tailgating is dumb, you shouldn’t do it, period. I’m not pro-tailgating. That being said I often see tailgaters doing that because they’re trying to make the person in front of them “go faster”. I’ve also seen people who hang out in the left lane being a speed nanny, sitting there just to force people to do the speed limit (or less). Hanging out in the passing lane is dangerous. Expressing your disapproval of someone’s driving is no excuse.
It is neither as exciting or as nerve-wracking, but giving extra space to the nannies makes them speed up a bit. It also lulls them into a less vigilant(e) state so I can pass on the right without drama.
I hate tailgating and tailgators. I hate tailgaters much more as the lazy human beings they are than I hate the occasional opportunist who takes advantage of the space I leave. I hate tailgaters almost as much as I hate the territorial suburban motherfuckers who are offended by the act of merging.
I know this is the US, but I believe in Germany the autobahns do not have a speed limit (although you are required to drive at a speed that is safe and under control for your vehicle) but if you are in the left lane, cars that want to pass flash their lights and the proper thing is to move into the right lane to let them pass or speed up. The car that crashed was definitely tailgating and is at fault, but the car in front looks like is going a bit slow for the speed of the left lane and probably should have been in the right. (Probably not legally responsible for the crash, but braking intentionally is not helpful, and neither is driving away from the scene of a crash).
Except how on earth will you get that charge to stand up in court? All the driver has to do is claim to have seen, or even just claim to have thought to have seen, an obstacle on the road, tire, animal, whatever. The whole point of keeping a safe distance is that if someone has to suddenly brake in front of you, you don’t rear-end them.
One thing I find interesting that no one seems to have brought up, or at least I couldn’t find it skimming the thread, is that the brake checker slows down, indicating having noticed the accident, and then drives off. The video is clear that the brake checker was involved in the accident, even if he or she isn’t at fault, so leaving the scene could still be a misdemeanor. At least that’s the law in Texas, and this video looks a lot like a Texas interstate.
The best way to deal with a tailgater is to slow down to whatever speed you need to so that they can stop given the distance they’ve left, then wait for them go around at the first opportunity before resuming a normal driving speed. I’m not saying this is an ideal solution. There is no ideal solution to dealing with reckless or otherwise hazardous drivers. But it’s the safest defense.
I found that odd too. Perhaps the brake checker was unaware that they were involved and just assumed the idiot behind them really could not drive - unlikely but possible.
Maybe, but as you say, unlikely. Texas police aren’t known for being generous to anyone they think caused an accident, so even if they can’t prove the brake checker was intentionally brake checking the tailgater, I wouldn’t be surprised if they put out an APB on the plates and snag them for leaving the scene. Again, a skilled attorney can probably get the brake checker off anyway (you can beat most traffic citations in Texas with the right lawyer), but I can totally see the cops going after the brake checker for bolting as retaliation for being unable to show the he or she was at fault. Of course that all assumes the cops find the video or the tailgater saw and remembered the plates.
When I took my drivers test years ago (Canada) we were taught that you should stay back the count of 5 from a point of reference on the highway. I have never been involved in an accident which was my fault.
I think that one’s a good one to teach beginner-drivers, but it’s beginner-level and as you got better at driving, you no-doubt honed and improved the rule into something more sophisticated. Obviously the time increases if conditions are poor. Perhaps it can also depend on the stopping ability of the vehicles in question, etc. I like to ensure there is enough stopping distance between the car in front of me and the car behind me for me to not get pancaked between them. If the guy in front emergency-stops and I can stop in time, that’s great, but it’s even better if I ensure there enough space to let the car behind stop without rear-ending me. Unfortunately tailgaters not leaving space behind me means more space is required in front to make sure they’ll be able to stop in time. I feel like maybe there’s a risk of that being misinterpreted as passive-aggressive, but no indications of that to date, so maybe it’s not worth worrying about.
I live in flyover country, and a rural part at that. People do this pants-on-head stupid thing on the interstates here that irks me.
Let’s say the speed limit is 70mph and I’m doing 75. There’s a person behind me that’s been following me for the past 20 miles. I come up on a semi that’s driving 65 (where I live, they’re supposed to be going 65.) I get in the left lane to pass.
Suddenly, the person who has been following me for 20 miles is in a Big Damn Hurry. Not only do they get behind me, but they’re doing their best to park their car in my backseat. If I speed up to 80, which I usually do, they keep up.
Once I’m around, I never see the other car again, apart from them zooming around me and probably giving me the finger.
I think I’m beginning to understand why people leave this forsaken place…and I’m sorry to all those places they’re moving to.
Left lane is for passing, and if someone is trying to get past you they have the right away to use the left lane and you should merge to allow them to pass. Tailgating and brake tapping are dangerous, both are acts of aggression.
I was taught in drivers ed to brake check, as a way of sending a message to tell the person behind you to back off (just by lightly tapping the brake). It seems to work just fine, and needless to say, I am skeptical of an out-of-state ambulance chaser’s online advice on the topic.
I heard it was to combat police corruption, but I’ve seen some hilarious videos of people throwing themselves in front of cars, so it’s probably a bit of both.
This video makes me happy. Fuck 'em. Then again, I’d love to see a video of somebody trying that “body in the road” carjacking trick on somebody who’s wise to it and would rather pay to wash their car than buy a new one, so my sense of proportionality about these things may not reflect prevailing community standards.
I notice a lot of things like that. I’m usually the person going faster than traffic…but if I come up on a lone person in the left lane
(and that’s fine with me, I prefer the left lane simple because it’s less things to deal with at night. Most of our interstates have either barriers or a decent amount of grass between the oncoming traffic so it’s highly unlikely anything random will appear on your left if you are in the left lane. This also places you farthest from the right where wild animals and any other unknown things are likely to appear from.)
at night, or sometimes even in the day, I’ll back off some and cruise up enough to see if they are going to move over. If not I’ll pass them on the right because there is no need of me riding someone when there is an easy enough way around them. But 9 times out of 10 when I pass them they will speed up. Maybe it’s 5mph, more it’s usually closer to 10mph. And here this person that was going 65 in a 65 is now doing 75 and until I get a quarter to half mile from them they will stay at this faster speed. As soon as I get out a certain distance they go right back to 65. It’s like I’ve personally offended them and they need to show me they can do +10 as well…
What ever. On the times when I get the tailgater behind me I usually end up playing “So how fast did you want to go?” Most people drop out around 80. I wonder if they are even trying sometimes.
Am I the only person here who notices all the innocent people who almost got killed because of Mister YYYYUGE PENIS? 23 years ago I got a severe concussion because of a road rage thing that happened between 2 other people. I was in a car that got hit by the “hero”. My life has never been the same. Fuck self righteous assholes who put the lives of the innocent at risk.
I get tailgated so often I think there might be a target on my rear bumper or something.
If this keeps up one of these days I’m going to buy one of the PAs from an old cop car, point it out the rear of my car and when people tailgate me yell at them until they back off.
