Hassled for riding at the speed limit...

[Gizzit]

Your laid back philosophy is getting you pretty wound up mate.

No ... not at all. Just making a point, and was wondering what experiences others have had regarding tailgaiting when riding at the speed limit.

It seems like others are interested in the subject.

When I wrote the first post, yeah.... I was in a pissed off mood though ..... rightly or wrongly !!

[Duc]

I dont ride AT the speed limit. (and yes...my speedo has a known error)

I ride to the conditions. (weather, traffic, flow)

If I get tail-gated (ie. my space is infringed) I fix it.

Get out of the kitchen if it gets too hot.

Its an amazing thing that on a given day, the Auckland Southern Motorway can flow smoothly, easily and safely at 105- 115 kph. On another day it can be intermittent, dangerous and difficult at 100kph and less.

Recognising whats happening around you on the day you are riding it is the key. Deal with it by creating "your" space.

(ALERT ANTENNA on full at all times)

[retro asian]

While riding I'll turn around and stare at the tail gater for half a second...

(at the same time slowing down until they get the message)

-maybe not the safest thing to do, but seems to work on most occasions.

[varminter]

Looking at the original post the offending vehicle was a Beaurepairs truck (phone and complain, they represent the company) Driving for a living I often wonder why other (professional) drivers drive so fast. The boss won't pay speeding fines, he won't pat you on the head for getting there quicker, and in my case the quicker I get back,the sooner I finish, and the less I get paid.

There is a firm case for rear mounted cannon.

[Big Dave]

Re the OP - Depends on the circumstances - but being tailgated is a pain - Generally I don't mind pulling over to the left to let someone who wants to go faster than me past.

Heaps of motorists do it for me every ride.

Sometimes it's safer to just pin it and split and put someone/thing between you.

Depends on the circumstances/bike/road.

[madbikeboy]

YEAH ..... I can see where you are coming from, and that's one approach. I'm sure it works for you on a couple of levels ....

but I'm now riding a cruiser ... as a change in philosophy and attitude to my riding .... (and that attitude or philosophy may not be shared by other cruiser riders ..... I don't know - or care, really ... ).

I'm choosing to be more laid back in my approach .... i.e. not being aggressive in my approach to riding. It's not about being passive or unaware ... or slack in any way ..... just enjoying the pleasure of riding in a more relaxed way. I have done the quick stuff too, but guess maybe it's an age thing .... and I don't need/want to travel really quick .... especially in town!!

It's not a prefect world .... no one in their right mind believes it is. However .... I would like to think ..... I can travel at/or very close to the speed limit, and not get hassled for doing so ... ???!!!

I've always wondered if patch wearing riders have some much aggression towards them on the road - I'm guessing not. If that's the case, we need to invent a "patch" and wear it on our sportsbikes and cruisers. Wonder if Joe Public would notice the difference, or if we'd get treated with more care?

[Gizzit]

Yeah it does depend on circumstances. In this case, for most of the time I was being 'gated' .... there weren't any options for me to move over and let him go.

There were cars parked all the way along on my left, and oncoming traffic preventing him from overtaking me.

It pissed me off that he continued to live a couple of meters off my back wheel, when it was obvious that I couldn't do anything about it, but gap it! But as mentioned, there are often speed cameras and/or patrol cars on this road, and I wasn't going to please this guy, by being bullied into anything.

Nothing new in this situation ..... just purely a comment on being tailgated on a bike, when trying to ride at the speed limit.

If I had been driving a heavy truck and trailer unit, .... would he still be tailgatting me ?? (not that I'd see the prat, being that close ... if I was in that vehicle !! lol) ... or was it more a point of "size matters" , i.e. he was in a truck .... I was on a bike ..... the stock standard intimidation situation, that you can sometimes see, with a large truck up the arse of some car, on the open road. Just bullying ..... plain and simple!

And yeah .... when someone wants to overtake me .... pretty much where ever it is .... I move over and give opportunity to let them go past me, if I'm driving a car, or on my bike/scooter. No big deal at all, especially when they are reasonable about it ......

Thanks for the comments / ideas. I was keen to hear what others thought and how they reacted, or managed the situation ..... and how they felt about the intimidation thing when riding a bike.

[Big Dave]

I've always wondered if patch wearing riders have some much aggression towards them on the road - I'm guessing not.

'Road presence' makes a huge difference to the amount of people who pull out in front or change lanes on you.

[Gizzit]

I've always wondered if patch wearing riders have some much aggression towards them on the road - I'm guessing not. If that's the case, we need to invent a "patch" and wear it on our sportsbikes and cruisers. Wonder if Joe Public would notice the difference, or if we'd get treated with more care?

Yeah ... well some people may give the patched bikers more room ... out of fear of them, and how they might react ... ???

Not the kind of response I'm looking for !!! lol

It would be nice to have all motorists respect your right to be on the road with them, and for some of them not to have an attitude about you .... because you ride a bike ??? Generally I don't notice any negative attitude towards me as a 'bike rider' ... from most people.

But for the people that do the intimidation/tailgatting thing .... it probably doesn't matter too much what they are driving or who they are following (except maybe gang members ...?) ... it's probably just more about their attitude, and how they are ....

[awayatc]

'Road presence' makes a huge difference to the amount of people who pull out in front or change lanes on you.

very true....
an unimagined difference between riding the Aprilia and riding the Harley....
(3 headlights always on, and a big windscreen etc make up for a bigger presence and thus more "space"given)

[SPman]

Wot the big man says..

plus adopt an "assertive" posture and attitude - that's as much, or more of a component of road presence, as your machine.

[davebullet]

Re the OP - Depends on the circumstances - but being tailgated is a pain - Generally I don't mind pulling over to the left to let someone who wants to go faster than me past.

Heaps of motorists do it for me every ride.

Sometimes it's safer to just pin it and split and put someone/thing between you.

Depends on the circumstances/bike/road.

+1. Goal is safety - creating a buffer and regaining your cruisy ride as soon as possible. So pull over if safe to do so and let him past, or pin it and create the space.

Don't let his aggravation drag you out of your enjoyable ride for any longer than necessary.

[AD345]

I've always wondered if patch wearing riders have some much aggression towards them on the road - I'm guessing not. If that's the case, we need to invent a "patch" and wear it on our sportsbikes and cruisers. Wonder if Joe Public would notice the difference, or if we'd get treated with more care?

Road presence, as BD said, does play a big part. On the Kingpin I seem to get noticed fairly well.

When I took the 8-ball out the other day....

Big black bike, big round headlight, big noisy exhaust, big (boned) rider wearing vest and black thermal top, big black helmet.......cars were moving over for me as soon as I could see them. It was quite uncanny.

[quickbuck]

I agree with Duc.....I overtake regularly to get rid of a tailgaiter..regardless of speedlimit.
Quite prepared to defend it if i would get ticketed for that.....
Just preserving my life your honour....

Yup,
The best defence, is a good offence.

Never get caught flat footed.... and all that.