Insane Tailgater - what would you have done?

[Evans, Marv]

I've wondered how it would be to rig up a tube teed into the exhaust pipe from a reservoir of brake fluid that you could actuate via a switch. The idea would be to let out a mist that would collect on the front of the car behind. I don't know if it would swirl back onto the back of the car letting it out or not. Kind of a devious thought but interesting to contemplate.

[asphaltgambler]

Here in the northern Va - metro area you do sometimes run into @sshats that are just driving at the posted speed limit............................but in any lane that is not the sloooow lane. I'm fine with anyone that wants to do that, but don't hold up the rest of America on their way to work.

THEN get pissed, because someone passed you nad now you have to tailgate. It's like - OK I'm not going over the speed limit, but neither is anyone else - if you do I'll take some aggressive action.....

[Neilk]

I like to clean my windshield REALLY well. People in nicer cars will typically back off.

[Tobra]

I generally slow down and get over to let them by, so I can get their plate number with more facility. If that does not work, I do about what you did. Maybe you ought to consider a car charger for the cell phone.

[Charles Freeborn]

You handled it well. Not worth risking being a statistic.

We have a family friend who's a bit volatile. He got into a road rage thing with another car - not really sure who started it. At some point they're both stopped with a cop. Other guy keeps his cool, our friend not. Cop tells everyone to go home. Friend accidentally nicks the bumper of the other car as he's pulling away. Cop busts friend for vehicular assault - probation- on the recored - the whole 9. That day went seriously sideways for our friend...

[1990C4S]

Flick pennies out the sunroof.

[creaturecat]

you got off easy.
In the Okanagan. B C, the big trucks try to ram you into the ditch, as you pass them.
it has happened to us 3 times in 10 months.

1. on my motorcycle. creep in a Jeep with the N (for new driver) on the back. girlfriend in the jeep with him. probably got within 6 inches of my right knee, before i accelerated out of there.
2. we were in my wife's Prius. the ape had his kids in the big F350, towing a large boat. after the initial ram attempt, he chased us for 5 km's, boat winging wildly. tried to ram us again when we tried to pull off the hwy.
3.just two weeks ago. Guy in a black Hummer. company truck. "Body and Soul". He was doing 20 in a 50, i signalled and passed courteously. right to the floor, he tried to ram me into the ditch. i looked him up on Facebook. A family type-guy had berated him for trying to ram him, while on the commute to work.

those are the ram-for-passing incidents. we have encountered many other road rage/stupid acts.

that's it. we put our dream home up for sale, we are getting the hell out of this area, back to the West Coast.

[vash]

slow down and wave him by?

people can be nuts. there is probably some thread on some truck forum with a title.."idiot in car passes me in no passing zone and drives below speed limit in front of me".

i'd LOVE to hear how he saw it

[RSBob]

I now know where the guys works. It's a local landscape maintenance company. Have thought about talking to his boss about not letting that @$$ hat drive company vehicles, but that would probably get him fired so he would have plenty of time to stake out my commute route to exact revenge. So I decided to let it go. I do like the idea of a jet that sprays old brake fluid or oil on a windshield.

[jhynesrockmtn]

[Jeff Higgins]

Unlike any of the rest of you, I have the distinct pleasure of knowing Rick and have driven with him more times than I can recall. With that as a preface, let me tell you this:

Rick drives like an absolute ass hat. Passing on the shoulder, cutting people off, flipping people off, all the while throwing beer bottles and empty fifths out the window. He does, after all, live out in our Cascade foothills, half an hour east of Seattle. Meth cooking capital of the Pacific Northwest. His doublewide has always smelled like acetone and ammonia when I've been there. His pit bulls have chewed the rubber off my rims on several occasions. This poor old law abiding grandpa was almost certainly just trying to get out of Rick's way. The blue lights were far enough behind by then to where he probably didn't see them.

Just kidding... Hey Rick, are going to make our drive on Sunday?

[RSBob]

i met Jeff as one of my first and best meth customers 10 years ago when I only had a single-wide. He had most of his teeth, hair and brain cells back then but I helped relieve him of that burden. He is the only guy who intimidated my pits (Daisy and Sweety-Pie) by peeing wherever they peed, no matter how often they peed,but the real breakthrough was when I got him to stop squatting and just lifting his leg.

I don't remember what Jeff was driving then except it was extremely loud, generated clouds of exhaust, was dirt colored with some streaks of blue probably from some poor bastard he sideswiped at the Walmart parking lot. Come to think of it, it was one of those foreign jobs called Craftsman with a 42 inch deck. God was he proud of those 42 inches but no one had the heart to tell him the drive belts broke years ago.

As a member of my frequent-faller club, Jeff had his own mattress right next to Daisy and Sweety-Pie on the back porch, so the neighbors wouldn't think anything unnatural was going on. He never created any problems except when he refused to stop making lawn mower sounds after he shut the dam thing off. We'd give him a couple of extra hits and that would shut him up, but I think that was just a clever ploy to score some free junk.

Now that I have a double-wide, thanks mostly to Jeff and his hot rod lawn mower club, he feels I act too good for him cause I have really made it. Trying to help the poor down his luck guy, I suggested he try getting a job at the local airplane shop fixing broken drive belts. Maybe if he can get one or two of them fixed right he can fix his mower deck and stop irritating the dogs with those gawd awful sounds.

Hope to see you Sunday on what ever you brung.

[Mark Henry]

Originally Posted by ledhedsymbols

You did the only reasonable thing I think. If I have a chance I get over and slow down. It's not worth it to be first!

I learned this in my mid 20's, I admit I was one of these buttholes.
One day I left my parents lake house for home and my mom left at the same time, to overnight at our house for an appointment next day. A 100 mile trip, 50 miles single lane and the rest multi-lane in heavy but moving traffic.
I was a butt head agressive driver passing several cars at a time, tailgating, burning gas, smoking brakes, endangering our lives, other people's lives and simply down right dangerous.
Mom was a granny driver, speed limit, never pass type that pissed me off.

I beat her to my house...ha-ha I beat the old lady...sucker!

I carried our suitcase to the front door (not even in the house) walked back to get the cooler, turn aruond and in pulls mom.
I beat her by about 3 minutes.

I still drive fast, but I don't all the stupid poop like tailgating, brake checking, etc. and if a goof is tailgating me I let him pass ASAP.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Unlike any of the rest of you, I have the distinct pleasure of knowing Rick ....

Man, if I ever get out to WA, I sure do want to hang out with them two for a bit....

Daisy and SweetiePie that is, not Mutt & Jeff

Funny stuff...not the tailgater though...you handled it well Rick!

[Tidybuoy]

Originally Posted by Neilk

I like to clean my windshield REALLY well. People in nicer cars will typically back off.

I do the same thing. Clean cars hate getting wet and dirty cars hate smearing their windshields. I love seeing cars back off and start their own wipers up. They usually don't know you did it on purpose

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by RSBob

Hope to see you Sunday on what ever you brung.

I'm fixin' to bring my pickup truck...

[ledhedsymbols]

Originally Posted by Tidybuoy

I do the same thing. Clean cars hate getting wet and dirty cars hate smearing their windshields. I love seeing cars back off and start their own wipers up. They usually don't know you did it on purpose

Not nearly so good a tactic around here. Chances are it's already raining...

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

THEN get pissed, because someone passed you nad now you have to tailgate. .

I've experienced this bizarre phenomenon. Guy is driving 20 in a 50, so you pass him, and THEN he gets pissed and starts chasing you.

[rusnak]

If circumstances won't let me pull over and let him by, I'll adjust all of my mirrors to shine his headlights back at his face.

[speeder]

I drive the Angeles Crest and Angeles Forrest highways several times a week these days, going back and forth from L.A. to Acton. It's two lane with double yellow lines most of the way but there are some passing lanes in spots where suddenly there is an extra lane on the right for slower traffic, (to let the faster people go by). There are also "turn-outs".

If you're on a sports car/MC forum like this, I probably don't have to tell you that these are popular roads for sport bikes and cars. I drive pretty briskly but I'm usually in an old Mercedes or a PU truck, so there is plenty of faster traffic on the road. It's also very remote, no cell phone service in places and no one to hear or see someone getting shot or run over. There was just a murder 2 days ago in the forest and bodies get dumped up there all the time.

The point being, it's not a good place to get in a road rage fight with someone, (as if there is a good place). I just let people go by and back off if I'm zooming up on a slowpoke, it could be some older person or other nervous driver who is freaked-out by the curvy road. I find that if I follow certain rules of etiquette, no one ever gets pissed-off whether I'm driving slower or faster than them. Let 'em go by or pass them in a non-aggressive way when it's safe.

Working well so far.