riding my bumper....

[T77911S]

so I bought 4 74x22 window panels for my bow window, $755. picked them up yesterday in the Mercedes wagon. just a tad long.
so I put on my flashers and start the drive home, VERY slowly and carefully. bumps were the big thing.
everyone behind being patient so I pull over and let the (short) line pass.
then I get a major Ahole in a jacked up pickup (at least the rear was not squatted) riding my ass like 4 or 5 ft behind me. then when I almost come to a stop for a major bump I get about 30sec+ of his horn. not fazing me a bit. so its time to go a little slower just for him.
hated it for the others behind, but.
when will people learn that if you piss off the guy in front of you he is not going to do you any favors.

I would have pulled over again and let every one pass, not a big deal because I am not going anywhere in a hurry.
I also don't get the ones that ride the bumper of a car that is 10 deep behind a line of cars. that guy cant make the others go any faster.

[kach22i]

It's a crazy world, and some of them crazy people still have a drivers license.

[scottmandue]

Just this morning I couldn't help but notice the occasion tailgater on my bumper to bumper commute into downtown. Worst part is I drive a minuscule Nissan Versa square back so people like to get right up a few inches behind me. This morning it was a jacked up truck (no disrespect to the trunk guys out there) however I noticed he went from right up on my a$$ to a few car lengths back so I don't think he was doing it on purpose.

More annoying is trying to merge onto the freeway on the way home during rush hour, everyone is going 15 MPH on a 70MPH four lane freeway and I have to merge into that mess... about once a month some dork flashes his brights at me when my on-ramp disappears and I have to elbow my way onto the freeway.

[Crowbob]

Can anybody out there who admits to tailgating please explain why you do it? For the life of me I cannot come up with any reason for it.

[Geary]

There are times when tailgating is employed to discourage an endless procession of A-holes cutting in, who have used a merge lane to get ahead of as many cars as possible. Me First attitude .. But yeah, it's ridiculous riding someone's butt without any purpose other than to intimidate.

[Crowbob]

I can strain myself and come up with specific circumstances where tailgating is a legitimate strategery.

But for the life of me I simply do not understand why someone would tailgate when simply cruising or even in suburban traffic. Do they not even remotely understand physics? I tend to drive on the slow side and am aware of the annoyance it can cause but sheesh. What's the difference between going 50 and going 55 to the next stoplight? Two seconds?

I haven't experienced road rage even once in the last 20 years, either. What is it with these people?

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by Geary

There are times when tailgating is employed to discourage an endless procession of A-holes cutting in, who have used a merge lane to get ahead of as many cars as possible. Me First attitude .. But yeah, it's ridiculous riding someone's butt without any purpose other than to intimidate.

I can say I have done that only because I see some douche coming up in the other lane, there is a lot of traffic that is going nowhere in a hurry and I know he is going to cut me off by squeezing in in front of me. not that I ride the bumper in front, I just close the door a little.

yea there are those that will speed up just to not let you pass and that's not what I am doing. If there was no traffic it would be a different story.
oh, was behind someone that was "hovering" over the car next to them doing about 50. once the car in the other lane dropped back I moved over to pass. the guy in front went from doing 50 to doing 70 as I went around, no other traffic around.

I try to be open minded when I drive about what I do as far as does it or would it make me madd if someone did that to me.

[ckelly78z]

On two of my vehicles, I can manually remote my drivers side rear veiw mirror to shine their blue xenon headlights back into their eyes when adjusted properly. This will back them off a few car lengths.

I had a guy about this time last year come flying up on me from behind, and hound me, until he was able to barge around me. The snow/ice was making the road a scary 45 mph tightrope drive for me, and every one else out there, but this guy blazed around the car in front of me also. He then fishtailed, and did a complete 360 degree loop, down through the ditch, up into someone's yard, and across their driveway without hitting anything. As I slowly pass to make sure he is OK, I notice that he is moving again, and blasts up onto the road behind me. Within 2 miles, he was around me again, hounding the car in front of me !?!?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

But for the life of me I simply do not understand why someone would tailgate when simply cruising or even in suburban traffic. Do they not even remotely understand physics? I tend to drive on the slow side and am aware of the annoyance it can cause but sheesh. What's the difference between going 50 and going 55 to the next stoplight? Two seconds?

I particularly like when someone pulls up to me, tailgates, then aggressively goes around and cuts me off (I always leave two car length in front of me) then continues to tailgate and cut people off wiggling their way up the bumper to bumper freeway that is moving 15MPH

Then I pull off the freeway... and roll up behind that person...

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Can anybody out there who admits to tailgating please explain why you do it? For the life of me I cannot come up with any reason for it.

My guess is people do it in the hopes that the car in front of them will either speed up or move over.

It works against me. If someone pulls up behind me and tailgates, I'll always just pull over, let them go, then get back in my lane.

I don't know, or care, what their issue is. Maybe they have a woman about to give birth and they're getting to the hospital. Maybe they're a psychopath. Maybe they're just an impatient jerk. Whatever it is, I have no interest in finding out, and am happy to let them by and out of my life.

[reachme]

Coming back from the airport on the highway, 1am, dark in a rainstorm and going just about speed limit.
I notice a car suddenly right up behind me riding my bumper, in the CTT he was too close for me to see his lights in the rear view. I was only going slightly faster than my right lane so it tool about 3 minutes before I could move into the right lane. It was obvious I could not move over safely before that and I certainly was not going slow for conditions.

It crossed my mind several times to brake check the guy for being an impatient douche but I considered that everyone has hard days and I too have been that douche at times. So I didn't

When I first got the chance to move over, I noticed the state trooper insignias on the side and back. No lights on top of the car, ready to protect and serve me.

[Tidybuoy]

My solution for tailgaters works pretty well but only at speeds of 50+.

First, I generally get in the right lane if I don't want to go any faster but sometimes, you can be in the left lane and can't do anyting about the slow traffic that's in front of you. In that case, when someone is rudely on my tail, I turn on my windshield wipers/washer. If you are going fast enough, it sprays the car behind you. I get great joy seeing the car behind me turning on his wipers to get rid of the spray. The beauty: Clean cars don't want water on them, dirty cars get their own dirt smeared, nobody knows you did it on purpose.

[RKDinOKC]

Work from home. Had an 8am doc appointment this morning. 10 miles to Doc's, 8 of it 4 lane highway with a 70mph speed limit. Took 30 minutes. Made me very grateful my daily commute is only a few steps from the coffee pot in the kitchen.

Everyone that goes slower than the speed limit that everyone else is trying to pass is a moron. Everyone speeding up thru traffic changing lanes back a forth, tailgating, cutting cars off is just a different breed of moron, a maniac.

Try to travel in the right lane. Use the left lane for passing when it is obvious there is a moron, but not one of those that passes only going 1 or 2 mph faster. Go ahead and get around them then move back into the right lane. And I also watch out for maniacs when passing morons so I don't pull out in front of them and become a target for their attention. If I am stuck behind a moron, I don[t tailgate AND I ignore maniacs that come up behind me and tailgate. Usually just pick some good music and crank it up.

Have gotten tired of being the first car behind two morons going slow side by side and passed them on the right shoulder gravel and all. Amazingly they both got in the right lane and started letting the mile of traffic they had backed up pass.

[fastfredracing]

I like be as courteous as possible when driving, and try to not do anything to piss anybody off, but I will ride up on you if you are poking along in the fast lane. I like to make it known, , that I would like to pass . I never ride bumpers, and I start to get defensive when someone rides up on me.
I will always move over, to let someone pass .

[KFC911]

Years ago I doing about 15 over in the right hand lane, another car slowly creeping past me in the left lane...maybe 1 mph faster with another car right on his azz (Nascar drafting...). Car to my left gets past me, moves into my lane to let the "Nascar driver" by....then immediately moved back over to the left lane, right behind the "drafter"....

And lit his azz up

This was before unmarked cars were common....I smiled for miles and miles.

[enzo1]

[RKDinOKC]

Here in Oklahoma they will now light you up for impeding drivers in the left lane. The Hwy Patrol were even on TV saying there are people that are going to speed and it is NOT your responsibility to get in the left lane and get in their way.

[jorian]

I let everybody in who is courteous (doesn't try to force their way in, ride my azz, try to cut in at the last second etc). It's faster, safer and keeps me from losing it myself. Admittedly, I used to be the guy that would get out of the car. I actually admire a confident move by another driver that doesn't force me to brake suddenly or swerve out of the way.

[VincentVega]

Happens all the time when I'm trying my truck. That usually means I have a load of something and am slow and leave plenty off room. Sometimes that means you have to wait a few extra seconds, tough. I try to get out of the way, it would be nice if others realized the load of wood/stone/materail in my bed means cutting me off could be very bad for both of us.

[GothingNC]

Crazy drivers in NC too !

What is the point of tailgating someone in the far right lane that is already cruising 10 over in a 70 MPH zone?

And then you get shot at if you piss them off...

Road rage incidents on the rise in North Carolina :: WRAL.com