I had one the other day. I steered my car waaaay off to the right side of the road as if waiting for him to pass me, and then he backed off a little bit.

He was very aggressive, hate that.

Oh, boy, I hate tailgaters. When I had my other car, I fantasized having s sigh in my back window the would pop up when I pushed a button, and the sign would say BACK OFF BOZO When some one is following too close, I just slow down gradually so they either pass or follow me v e r y s l o w l y.

Why not just ignore them? I think taunting someone with all that breaking is not a smart idea.

I believe it is just best to pull over so they can pass. There are some really unstable people out there, and you don't want to antagonize any of that kind with brake lights, etc.

sue you're not taunting them if you're afraid and hit the break...it's called defensive driving especially if you're in the right lane, driving at posted speeds...

i wish, in one respect, we still had optional headlights...i learned along time ago to turn on your lights... mimics hitting the brake...(or used to)

i knew she was tailgating but I just got off dialysis I just wanted to get home.I kinda forgot she was tailgating for a minute when the other cars ahead of me were turning & all so I didnt see it comming.I cant drive for people behind me I drive mine.
She hit with such force all I saw was the car in front of me his backside,I already had my foot on brake she almost shoved me into car in front of me.
I told my hubby my back hurts he gets this look like he dont want to hear it.But I was up at 2:30 my back hurt,it hurts now.
I have back problems anyway.

these days tapping the break like that can get you shot. there have been more and more cases of road rage lately where the perpetrator was shot dead on the road too :-) completely legal here in FL BTW when you feel threatened, one of the nice things about FL ~ liz

That was my point, Liz. You just never know who you are dealing with.

How do you cope with a tailgater? Well, if you are a passenger in the car doing the tailgating you repeatedly hit the imaginary break on that side of the car and you brace for impact. I have a friend that tailgates when she drives, she's actually had accidents because of it and got tickets.. but she still does it sometimes. I now use my claustrophobia as an excuse for me to drive when we go out since I have a larger vehicle.

Aggressive drivers tail gate me often so I turn on my emergency flashers...they become startled and slow down then.

Try it, it really works.

I used to just slow down when tailgated. Then I had a tailgater follow me a bit, whip around and pull in fromt of me, then slow down even further. This was when I was pregnant. I was terrified I'd have an acciodent and injure or lose the baby. Since then, when followed by a tailgater, I change to the slowest lane and let them get past. I silently mouth a curse. I used to wish I had a toy gun I could shake at them, but that would be stupid. Nothing is worth my life. I only got one.

The dilemma we have in my area, is it is mostly two lane roads. one each way, narrow shoulders. If some idiot is tailgating, how can one slow down to pull over to let them by.......without them ending in your a$$ or rear of your car? Be it right or wrong, my natural inclination, if an animal ran out in the road, would be to brake suddenly....with the same results. Almost everytime a jerk rides my bumper until they can pass, I meet them at the next stopsign and I think well THAT got ya here in a hurry. LOL

You can also turn on your windshield wipers with fluid. There is usually spray over your car, and gets the tailgaters window wet.

That should distract them, for you to figure out a better solution of getting away from them.

Moni

I'm like Moni....window washer fluid... But I also find a place to pull over.. But like Dotmom-- I usually catch them at the next stop sign... I also try to figure out if they're on the cellphone or texting... frequent looking down.... What idiots!!

"...you're not taunting them if you're afraid and hit the break...it's called defensive driving..."

Someone is behind you and you deliberately hit the brakes...that is not "defensive driving". Defensive driving is driving in a way to avoid an accident or altercation. Braking when someone is close to you, not because you need to break (because someone in front of you slowed) but because you want to tell them to back off is not defensive driving. They know they are close. They think you are too slow (rightly or wrongly). Why are you "afraid"? You are afraid fo being rear-ended? So you hit the brakes? Seems like a good way to get rear-ended.

I was driving in snow yesterday, going about 20. At some points the car behind me was too close. So what. Let them. Anything happens the accident is their fault. You can't go through life terrified of everything that might happen. IME an accident is more likely to happen from the side (someone pulls out too close) that from the rear. Are you going to brake everytime you approach a side street with a waiting car just in case someone pulls out?

Never thought of the windshield washer. Good idea!

I have pulled over to the side of the road, when I had room to, to let that person pass me.

Joyful, how close in city driving is tail gating. When I stop at a light or stop sign I pull up pretty close to the car in front of me. When I drive I do not tail gate but my friend said I did. I think she is thinking I should be 3 car lengths behind. I don't stay that far behind.

I still remember being told in driver's education, 35 years ago: To get rid of a tailgater you SLOW down and let him pass you.

I can't honestly say I know anybody who enjoys being tailgated in the vehicular sense of the word!

And I keep my washers adjusted. I want them to clean my windows. Anytime they've been off, they get adjusted, same with headlights.

On my old truck I had a fog/driving light mounted on the back of the topper to light up in the back for backing in someplace and to light up a campsite for setting up and things like that. A shot of the light usually startled people enough to get their attention. I also would occasionally turn on the flashers or the lights to simulate the brakelights. Now I'm more apt to turn on the turn signal. If they really bother me, I'll simulate a turn or pull over, even on a 2 lane, and with slowing down they usually will pass. Yes they usually will be just ahead of you again, but they gained their car length so they must be happy. And of course at night the high beams might be left on accidentally too.

If there's open road ahead, even on a 2 lane, generally if you pull as far to the right as possible, wave them around or something, they'll usually just go around. Especially when you slow down. There's also the option for some to speed up when they start to pass... but that would be wrong too, wouldn't it.

I don't really understand what difference it makes which lane you're in.

The interesting thing is one time *I* got a ticket when a guy was tailgating me! He was literally a few feet away from me, and I didn't dare slow down much because there wasn't much leeway for error. And sure enough I was watching the mirror to see if he would back off and I came into a town and a hotdog cop pulled *me* over. For speeding. He even acknowledged the guy on me and asked if we were together. I tried to explain and he figured I might have a reason so "Deputy Dawg" started, "Oh he wasn't *that* close!". Yeah, change your tune now Barney. From then on, I got annoyed enough that I'd hit the brakes. My vehicles were older so let 'em hit me. But reason prevailed. For the most part I've just learned it's better to concentrate more on your driving and worry less about the one behind you. As a friend's dad said "Drive like the other one is crazy". And being a little more patient, let 'em go around, it lowers my blood pressure and so what if I arrive a couple minutes later. Better than not arriving at all or getting delayed with an accident, an "on purpose" (whether rationalized as defensive driving or not) or being hospitalized.

Confession time -while going into a city a couple of months ago, I was following another car a bit too closely when the signal light changed, and hit the brakes harder than usual.

The brakes held for two or three seconds ... then the line blew, losing about half of my braking capacity.

I hit the car ahead, lightly, putting a couple of dimples into the back bumper of the less-than-a-year-old Lexus van ahead of me.

Cost me over $800.00 to fix his car ... over $600.00 to fix mine.

By the way - the driving instructor that worked with me before my driving exam a couple of years ago said that when stopped at a traffic light, be able to see some tarmack between your hood and the wheels of the vehicle ahead.

I didn't say that I "hit" the brakes ... just a very gentle, quick nudge ... enough to make the brake lights go on ... for maybe less than a second ... and scarcely slowing my speed at all.

Here's an idea: I'll ask the driving instructor what to do about a tailgater ... I see him in church most every Sunday.

(Don't hold your breath waiting for the answer: wouldn't want you getting blue in the face. Maybe I'll forget, this week.)

ole joyful

VALA: regarding tailgating in city traffic:

I drive in D.C.
When I pull up behind a car waiting for a light to turn, I leave enough space to move out and around him should his car stall -- you always want an "out." But that doesn't mean 3 car lengths. In D.C., you leave that much space and another car OR TWO --usually a taxi!-- will swoop into that space.

In addition, leaving 3 car lengths' space means that the line of cars behind you is likely backed up into the "box" -- the intersection.

Leaving 3 car lengths sounds like someone is mixing it up with the 3-second rule, which my dad always told me equates to the minimum space between cars on a highway. You look ahead and note a stationary object by the side of the road -- a light pole, for example. Start saying "One second," when the driver ahead of you reaches it. Then "two seconds, three seconds." At the three-second point, you should be at that light pole.

I'm more likely to push that to a 4-second rule.

********
Now here's my story about a tailgater just yesterday. I got onto the highway and wanted to merge quickly from the right lane to the middle lane because the car in front of me had barely begun to accelerate. I look over my left shoulder and see the middle lane is sufficiently clear for me to get there safely, altho there was traffic coming up.

I'm riding safely in the middle lane and I see a big truck roaring up behind me. The left lane, meanwhile, is clear. He stayed on my bumper--so close I couldn't even see his entire headlights in my rear-view mirror.

I didn't tap on the brakes. At that point, the driver would certainly have smashed into me. I just eased up on the gas a tad -- I didn't drop my speed dramatically, only slightly, (and not under 55 anyway), so he HAD to back off. But he didn't leave even a car length between us. I stayed at my slower pace and eventually he slowed down enough to be a safe driver.

There was no reason for me to move into the fast lane to get away from him -- a minute later, cars in back of me would've forced me to get back in the middle lane (I say "forced" because that's Virginia law--you must move over if someone flashes the headlights for you to do so; dunno why, but that's the law).

This guy was an absolute jerk. But highways in the D.C. suburbs are filled with road rage and stupid driving. 5-10 minutes after this happened, I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw this dude way, way back. I'm hoping it was because he'd come to his senses and NOT that he slowed because he wanted to concentrate instead on his texting! (Dude, dudette--I dunno if it was a man or woman)

Leaning toward OT but somewhat related, at a stop light/sign, I use the rule of being able to see the bottom of the rear tires on the vehicle in front of me to allow space to get around if necessary. First, there's been so many times a vehicle would stall and I learned from that but also applied it in areas I'm not comfortable with safety. That way I can cut the wheels and take off. There was a lot of incidents for a while where cars would work together to pin a car in between and rob, rape or otherwise. Just gives me a little more of a comfort factor.

One of my salesmen and I were talking one day on this and he said he always used the guideline to be able to see the license plate and that way could record it if needed and would give the room. I was skeptical given the differing locations of license plates on vehicles. I preferred see the bottom of the tires. That usually worked a bit better for me but whatever works is the key item. ("car key"? OK, never mind.)

Ah, then I can't be accused of tailgating. There, brings it back on-topic! :)

I had someone tailgating me whenI was on the way home from visiting hubby in the hosp.. and I just finally found a place to pull over and let them by.... It was 1 am, and I didn't want to aggravate them. That worked and off I went and came home..