What to do about tailgaters?

[El Dopa]

As for hangings and shootings and the like. (Kickaha and el dopa the lawnmaster rider!)..have you ever actually done this or are you two full of bs?
I recall the origin of this thread being a New rider asking for some thoughtfull replies and advice from some more experienced riders regarding tailgaters.

Just blowing off steam. I hate tailgaters cos aside from actively driving dangerously (e.g weaving in and out of heavy traffic at speed without looking or indicating) I think it's the single most dangerous thing a driver (as opposed to a rider) can do. I've had enough technical training to realise how much energy a heavy object such as a car gains when moving even at a slow speed, let alone fast, and enough life experince to contrast that with how frail the human body is.

The UK highway code has a table on the back showing average stopping distances for cars at certain speeds. The first 1/3 to 1/2 of the distance is shown as 'reaction time'. That is, how long it takes for you to recognise there is a problem ahead of you and for your foot or hand to reach the brake before you even start to slow down. Someone driving too close behind won't even reach the brake by the time they're smearing you all over the road. For inexperienced/uneducated/shouldbloodywellknowbetter drivers, it's far too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security and travel too close. One little thing going wrong on the road causing the front vehicle to brake heavily, and the rear vehicle is all over it like a bad rash. What should have been at worst an exchange of bad language is now a trip to the hospital.

And that is why I hate tailgaters. I'll shed no tears for idiot drivers killing themselves, I'll save my sympathy for the poor bastard they just ran over, 'oops sorry didn't see you there mate'.

For the record, any of the posts on this thread that suggest pulling over, stopping, walking away from the situation etc etc etc are my responses of choice. Any sort of confrontational behaviour has the potential to escalate to tears before bedtime before either party realises quite whats going on. And that doesn't mean I haven't been tempted.

[James Deuce]

I have a mate who doesn't ride bikes, but is a good driver and general motorsport fan.

However. He has monocular vision. Both eyes work, but only one at a time, so he has no depth perception. I gave up getting rides home from work with him, because he can't judge the distance to a bike very well if he is following one and invariably ends up terrifyingly close.

It used to make me feel ill when I thought about how close he got. And yet he'd keep a perfectly measured gap to anything car sized or bigger.

[Deano]

I have a mate who doesn't ride bikes, but is a good driver and general motorsport fan.

However. He has monocular vision. Both eyes work, but only one at a time, so he has no depth perception. I gave up getting rides home from work with him, because he can't judge the distance to a bike very well if he is following one and invariably ends up terrifyingly close.

It used to make me feel ill when I thought about how close he got. And yet he'd keep a perfectly measured gap to anything car sized or bigger.

Thats really comforting to know.....NOT. Still, he is probably a safer driver than most. Maybe if he had a few drinks so he could see double again ??

[FROSTY:Me]

Old bikers addage--The biker that turns and runs away lives to ride another day --NUFF said??

[Two Smoker]

Well i absolutely hate tailgaters...... the only time i was guilty of tailgating was when following Milky, and we all know what happened there......

With tailgaters the best thing to do is to just pull over and let them go, but in saying that, i have never really done that, have you ever dropped it into 2nd gear on the RG at 60kmh, just wait and see how fast you hit 80kmh....

Generally (although this is not the best approach, and generally stupid) i flash my brake lights (perfectly sensible and recommend doing this) failing that i look behind me at them, failing that i wave them back, failing that, i slow down and drop it into 2nd and nail it....

I have done the stupid thing of being passed dangerously and cut off by a wanker of a cage that had been tailgating me, so i passed him ont the outside of an open corner whilst giving him the bird.... definately not the smartest thing to do, but sometimes my temper gets the better of me......

[scumdog]

1. I turn and look at them first
2. If no response then I wave them back
3. If they don't get the message by then they obviously don't care about the road rules or biker's safety, so F@#k em, out comes the bird, then I accelerate away.
4. If they want to follow me till I stop, so be it, I will certainly give them an earful, but that's often how fights start, and we wouldn't want that.

How come the cops are so hot on speeding, but you never see one pull someone over for tailgating, even when it is right under there nose.

2 second rule ? Try it and see how many wankers jump into your buffer.

Hey I know a cop that does pull up tailgaters, reckons a lot are women (watch the sparks now!!!!) and a lot have kids in the car - he always tells the kids to remind mum to drop back when she breaks the 2 second rule, heard later from one that she was cured of tailgating after on long trip with the kids

[Posh Tourer :P]

Often putting the rear brake on a little and speeding up a little makes people think. Either they drop back cos you are crazy, or they go hey wait he's not happy about this situation. Done it a few times and it works as a first or second resort. Apart from that, let em go. I know I'd catch them if I wanted to, but whats the point? I especially like the people who tailgate thru titirangi and the start of scenic drive in the 50 zone and then watch me continue to do 45-60 ie under the tolerance thru the first few tight corners. I know it goes against the grain to let ppl past, but if you know you can beat them easily, why bother doing it?

[Lou Girardin]

If the tailgater is doing it deliberately, let him past. Then follow until he's held up in traffic and take out his mirror.
Or call *555 (snigger)

[Firefight]

If you can't out ride em, ie, smaller bike, less confidence, road condtions, soon as, let them pass. Given some of the extreme acts of road rage see in the past, do not try to extract revenge., If you see the same vehicle do this on a regular basis you could consider *555, not sure how good that works maybe some of our current or ex cops could advise., What ever you do dont be like my Fu#%wit bro in law who brakes hard in his cage when someone gets to close. Stay safe.

F/F

[White trash]

1. I turn and look at them first
2. If no response then I wave them back
3. If they don't get the message by then they obviously don't care about the road rules or biker's safety, so F@#k em, out comes the bird, then I accelerate away.
4. If they want to follow me till I stop, so be it, I will certainly give them an earful, but that's often how fights start, and we wouldn't want that.

How come the cops are so hot on speeding, but you never see one pull someone over for tailgating, even when it is right under there nose.

2 second rule ? Try it and see how many wankers jump into your buffer.

I reckon you're full of shit, mate!

I've done a few miles with you over the past couple of months and I can't seem to recall an instance where a car could even stay in sight of you for more than a few seconds. You ride far too bloody fast for tailgating to be an issue.

[Cajun]

i'm normal a real wanker i take off if they keep up i slow right down and like i am turning off, wait for them to go past, and then race past them and take there wing mirror off and then gone.

bit harder now i think with me on a bike there is none around and and easliey seen

[PuppetMaster]

Yup, Im a bit of a prick when it comes to these tailgating faggots too. They usually get the finger at least.
Mind you in retrospect, Im quite happy to tailgate them when Im riding. :sly:

[jrandom]

What ever you do dont be like my Fu#%wit bro in law who brakes hard in his cage when someone gets to close.

My mother-in-law does that in her old Range Rover. She really, really would be happy to pay an insurance excess and go through accident hassles just for the pleasure of munting some tailgater's car up and making him crap his pants.

Personally I don't see the point.

And I NEVER tailgate on the bike. After almost embedding myself in the back of a BMW 740iL one day (he was driving like a c*nt, mind) I decided that tailgating is not so smart on two wheels.

[Devil]

Bah @ tailgaters.
Ive only been riding for a month and already I can see that the L plate is like a godamn bullseye to them!

Because im in a cage going to/from work,the only chance I get to ride (apart from weekends)is after work, so im normally on the bike in the dark.

So many times now, im riding along, noticing them getting closer and closer to the point where I can look down and im right in the the spot where there headlights meet the road, casting a big shadow in front of the bike. Its ridiculous.

In the cage if I was going to turn off the road, id indicate at the normal 3 second point, but only brake at the last minute. Watch the bastards swerve (wouldnt do that to a bike though, if bike decides to tailgate me when im in the car I dont care, its his/her problem if they crash).

[Deano]

I reckon you're full of shit, mate!

I've done a few miles with you over the past couple of months and I can't seem to recall an instance where a car could even stay in sight of you for more than a few seconds. You ride far too bloody fast for tailgating to be an issue.

Only cos I was trying to keep up with you