Woman tired of tailgaters

[Late]

aston

I like how "Secret Instructions" are labelled in huge print.

[Parkertown]

She's probably being tailgated because she's probably going slow in the fast lane.

Words to live by:

Keep Right Except To Pass

&

Slower Traffic Keep Right

If you wanna drive slow...fine. Just get the fuck out of the way.

[porcy62]

She's probably being tailgated because she's probably going slow in the fast lane.

Words to live by:

Keep Right Except To Pass

&

Slower Traffic Keep Right

If you wanna drive slow...fine. Just get the fuck out of the way.

I got you! Tailgater! but she was faster to pull gun out

Edited February 28, 2007 by porcy62

[David Ayers]

Personally I hate the people who hang back 200 yards behind you like your going to slam on the brakes suddenly like a lunatic. It's pure disrespect. Maybe I need a longer range weapon to deal with them?

I hope that's a joke and you just left off the smiley.

My humour is dry and smileyless. And unfunny. I've got it all.

[Brownian Motion]

She's probably being tailgated because she's probably going slow in the fast lane.

Words to live by:

Keep Right Except To Pass

&

Slower Traffic Keep Right

If you wanna drive slow...fine. Just get the fuck out of the way.

[chris olivarez]

I don't see how shooting at someone solves anything.

Well, it depends on your aim...

Jazzmoose,Jazzmoose.

[chris olivarez]

Tailgating is a dangerous and stupid driving activity. My guess is that those who employ it suffer from testosorone issues(too much of it)or they just have a dangerously inflated opinion of their abilities.Of course when you are in bumper to bumper situations what else can you do?Just about every drivers manual advocates keeping a reasonable distance between vehicles but some people don't think that rule applies to them. It seems the best thing to do is to let them get by as soon and as safely as possible and let them be on their way. Since most of them are on a "mission from god"far be it from me to delay them from their appointed rounds. At any rate taking a shot at one is not a preferred option as the lady driver is now finding out. Nobody wants to get hit but if one of these wonderful drivers does so it's on them if you retaliate it's on you.

Edited March 1, 2007 by chris olivarez

[Quincy]

Just about every drivers manual advocates keeping a reasonable distance between vehicles but some people don't think that rule applies to them.

But when I watch racing on tv I'm told of the advantages of drafting. I'll go faster and save fuel if I tailgate!

I hate tailgaters too, and I sometimes wonder if the populartiy of NASCAR has led to an increase in the practice. Truth be told I'm more afraid of the damn cell phone drivers who weave like drunks.

And like 7/4 I don't own a gun because while I might not shoot tailgaters, I'd be blowing holes in parked cars when their alarms go off outside my place.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

And my wife complains because I never learned to drive!

MG

[Noj]

Come drive in Los Angeles, home of the tailgating, gutterballing, roadraging, cell-phone-using, weaving-all-over-the-road hordes, each of them convinced that they are THE most important person on the road. Placing them behind the wheel of a high-performance car only increases the likelihood of assinine driving behavior.

[Dan Gould]

I hate tailgaters too, and I sometimes wonder if the populartiy of NASCAR has led to an increase in the practice.

Of this I have no doubt.

[Sundog]

I hate tailgaters too, and I sometimes wonder if the populartiy of NASCAR has led to an increase in the practice.

Of this I have no doubt.

Urban sprawl, overbuilding, congestion, longer commutes, and inadequate roads have a hell of a lot more to do with tailgating than just about anything else, including NASCAR.

[Randy Twizzle]

Truth be told I'm more afraid of the damn cell phone drivers who weave like drunks.

One of the reasons I'm philosophically opposed to shooting at tailgaters is that it's a waste of precious firepower that could be better used to pick off cell phone abusers in cars, buses, trains and in the street.

[Jim R]

Truth be told I'm more afraid of the damn cell phone drivers who weave like drunks.

One of the reasons I'm philosophically opposed to shooting at tailgaters is that it's a waste of precious firepower that could be better used to pick off cell phone abusers in cars, buses, trains and in the street.

You didn't mention bookstores, libraries, in the row behind you at movies... (shall I continue?).

[Jim R]

I liked Jim's idea of calming the fuck down, btw. To me, it's one of life's simple pleasures... a guy comes up on my ass, and I slow down to 10 or 15 mph below the speed limit for awhile (and with the traffic around here most of the time, the guy has no way to pass me) and just enjoy the hell out of it. Half the time, I end up passing these people later, after they've been forced to move into the slow lane to prepare for an exit. Always an opportunity for a friendly grin.

[chris olivarez]

Quincy: But when I watch racing on tv I'm told of the advantages of drafting. I'll go faster and save fuel if I tailgate!

I hate tailgaters too, and I sometimes wonder if the populartiy of NASCAR has led to an increase in the practice.

Chris:

Somewhat off topic but I had an encouter with a couple of yahoos like that just recently. It was at night on a state highway bordered by national forest with plenty of deer along the route. They had more than enough room to maintain a decent interval from one another but they chose the "drafting" method and chose to do so at night on a dark highway and at a fairly high rate of speed. Needless to say I let the idiots get by me asap and I got home in one piece and wondered if they did as well.

Edited March 1, 2007 by chris olivarez

[GA Russell]

Usually if you just put your signal on and slow down or slightly speed up to get into the right lane (because most tailgaters are in the fast lane), then the person will just drive by in the fast lane and give you the finger. Big whoop.

That's not the case in North Carolina. I'm talking about going on a two lane winding country road. And when they have the opportunity to pass, they often don't.

She's probably being tailgated because she's probably going slow in the fast lane.

If you wanna drive slow...fine. Just get the fuck out of the way.

Most tailgaters here in NC want to drive 20 miles over the speed limit. When I drive five miles over it, I don't consider myself driving slow.

I hate tailgaters too, and I sometimes wonder if the populartiy of NASCAR has led to an increase in the practice.

That has occurred to me as well, because of NASCAR's popularity here in NC. I didn't realize that that might also be an issue in other parts of the country.

By the way, I've noticed that plenty (maybe 40%) of the tailgaters here are women. It's not just male NASCAR fans.

[Jim Alfredson]

I hate tailgaters too, and I sometimes wonder if the populartiy of NASCAR has led to an increase in the practice.

Of this I have no doubt.

Urban sprawl, overbuilding, congestion, longer commutes, and inadequate roads have a hell of a lot more to do with tailgating than just about anything else, including NASCAR.

Yep. We've let ourselves build the very infrastructure of our society around the automobile, so this is what we get. I would add to that list the general self-centeredness of people these days. Everybody is stuck in their own little world and do not think of others first.

Case in point: Just this morning I had to go to Home Depot to get a new water filter for my refridgerator. The weather in Lansing this morning is a mixture of rain, sleet, and snow. Not only did I had people tailgating me the entire way there because I was actually driving the speed limit due to the bad conditions, but upon arriving at Home Depot I got out of my car and started walking to the entrance at the same time that a man in a HUGE Ford truck started driving towards the exit. Instead of slowing down and letting me walk safely across the drive into the store, since afterall I'm walking in the freezing sleet that's pummeling everything outside, he speeds up and then gets mad at me because I'm in the process of crossing the drive.

Pedestrians. What a pain in that ass, eh? Especially when I'm in my comfortable truck, sheltered from the weather and they make me lose 1/10th of a second. Thanks, buddy!

[Dan Gould]

I don't know why I didn't remember this when this discussion started, but I have a story to offer regarding the recommended "slow down til the tailgaiter passes" response:

About a year and a half ago I'm driving home from my Sunday morning bagel run. The road is a six lane, main East-West artery that has a 45 MPH speed limit. I'm in the far left lane, driving appoximately 50 MPH (keep in mind, there are plenty of traffic lights on this stretch of road). An SUV roars up behind me, at most 6 inches off my bumper. I do what I usually do in these situations - I introduce the a-hole to the speed limit. I back off to about 42 MPH and watched while he stewed behind me. Finally there is a gap and this idiot shot across to the far right lane, passed me, and shot back across into my lane, cutting me off and then slowing to a 20 MPH crawl (I could see what he was going to do so I was ready when it happened).

I now shoot the a-hole the bird. He stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the travel lane!.

I slam on my brakes, and barely miss him, and now it is time to get the hell out of Dodge. He is coming around the corner of his car as I am cranking on the wheel to get around to his right (I even nudged the fucker's bumper a bit). Fortunately, the cars around us who watched this transpire had all stopped a safe distance behind and I had no problem getting around him and out of harm's way.

Now, I do not know what that asshole was going to do, but I'll tell you this much:

It started with his aggressive driving.

It escalated with his tit-for-tat slow down.

If I had been armed, he'd be dead. I would have shot first and asked questions later, because after all, he has stopped in the middle of the road and come towards me. For all I really know, he came out of the car with his own gun, and I am alive only because I had room to get out of there.

And I'll also tell you the great thing about living in Florida: in all likelihood, I'd be found not guilty. After all, only a few years before, a female motorist got into a road rage situation, and when she got off I-95, the man followed her, got out of his car at the traffic light and approached her. She shot him dead from her seat - and was acquitted. The jury said that she had no way of knowing what this man might do and that her actions were justified.

So I would have precedent on my side.

[RainyDay]

I haven't read the whole thread but I am deeply sympathetic with the woman who fired her gun. I've been rear-ended by people who I would have thought could surely see the red light or the pedestrian I had stopped for. In one case I had already come to a complete stop, been stopped, when the car crashed into me.

There's a phrase floating around these parts called "muder by car." Yes, I know murder is strong language since there is probably no malice involved, just gross stupidity and arrogance. It applies to the car that kills pedestrians, bicyclists, a family of four in another car, because the driver who caused the crash was behaving irresponsibly. For some reason, this irresponsibility rarely rises to the level of criminal culpability so it ends up being shrugged shoulders, a ticket for speeding, and "shit happens."

I refuse to call car collisions "accidents" that are caused by someone who was tailgating, making unsafe lane changes, or speeding, or not paying attention. I call that INEVITABLE. It's incredible that an entire family can be wiped out and unless the person who caused the wreck was drinking, s/he gets a pat on the butt and a $200 fine. So sorry your family was slaughtered by this irresponsible prick but that's all the law can do for you. Better luck next time and try to avoid those assholes on the road.

I agree, tailagating can be just as disastrous as a stray bullet. I would never do what she did but I fantasize about it every time I get behind the wheel of my car. I wish someone would invent a device that would vaporize your car if you got to close to the car in front of you at a particular speed. Poof! Buh- bye.

[ejp626]

I have an even better story about the a**holes who are taking up valuable space on this planet. My brother and I were driving across Michigan on Christmas Day on I-94 which is mostly 2 lanes in each direction. We were not in any particular hurry and he was driving the speed limit or a bit over. And we were in the right lane. Somebody comes speeding up behind us, passes on the left, gets into our lane and slams on the brakes. Totally unjustifiable on all counts. And quite possibly he had a suicide wish or something, as it was a smallish car and we were driving a minivan. Fortunately, I had sensed something was up and told my brother to start slowing down as they guy passed, but we still had to slam on the brakes, fishtailed and went into the median. It could have been a lot worse, but we were pretty shaken up, and I drove the rest of the way home. I tell you some people do deserve to die. In a karmically just world, he would have wrapped his car around a tree the next week. I certainly hope he did. This is over 10 years later, and I'm still angry when I think about it.

[RainyDay]

Come drive in Los Angeles, home of the tailgating, gutterballing, roadraging, cell-phone-using, weaving-all-over-the-road hordes, each of them convinced that they are THE most important person on the road. Placing them behind the wheel of a high-performance car only increases the likelihood of assinine driving behavior.

I see your LA congestion and raise you to Bay Area bridges that take 30 minutes just to get through the toll plaza. Or an "incident" on the bridge that results in cars stuck in traffic for hours. If cops are involved in the "incident," you should plan to just spend the night and enjoy the view of the Bay from your car.

[Guy Berger]

I refuse to call car collisions "accidents" that are caused by someone who was tailgating, making unsafe lane changes, or speeding, or not paying attention. I call that INEVITABLE. It's incredible that an entire family can be wiped out and unless the person who caused the wreck was drinking, s/he gets a pat on the butt and a $200 fine. So sorry your family was slaughtered by this irresponsible prick but that's all the law can do for you.

Is this really true? I find it hard to believe.

Guy

[7/4]

I don't know why I didn't remember this when this discussion started, but I have a story to offer regarding the recommended "slow down til the tailgaiter passes" response:

About a year and a half ago I'm driving home from my Sunday morning bagel run. The road is a six lane, main East-West artery that has a 45 MPH speed limit. I'm in the far left lane, driving appoximately 50 MPH (keep in mind, there are plenty of traffic lights on this stretch of road). An SUV roars up behind me, at most 6 inches off my bumper. I do what I usually do in these situations - I introduce the a-hole to the speed limit. I back off to about 42 MPH and watched while he stewed behind me. Finally there is a gap and this idiot shot across to the far right lane, passed me, and shot back across into my lane, cutting me off and then slowing to a 20 MPH crawl (I could see what he was going to do so I was ready when it happened).

I now shoot the a-hole the bird. He stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the travel lane!.

I slam on my brakes, and barely miss him, and now it is time to get the hell out of Dodge. He is coming around the corner of his car as I am cranking on the wheel to get around to his right (I even nudged the fucker's bumper a bit). Fortunately, the cars around us who watched this transpire had all stopped a safe distance behind and I had no problem getting around him and out of harm's way.

Now, I do not know what that asshole was going to do, but I'll tell you this much:

It started with his aggressive driving.

It escalated with his tit-for-tat slow down.

If I had been armed, he'd be dead. I would have shot first and asked questions later, because after all, he has stopped in the middle of the road and come towards me. For all I really know, he came out of the car with his own gun, and I am alive only because I had room to get out of there.

And I'll also tell you the great thing about living in Florida: in all likelihood, I'd be found not guilty. After all, only a few years before, a female motorist got into a road rage situation, and when she got off I-95, the man followed her, got out of his car at the traffic light and approached her. She shot him dead from her seat - and was acquitted. The jury said that she had no way of knowing what this man might do and that her actions were justified.

So I would have precedent on my side.

And evidence you planned it out.

[chris olivarez]

It seems most of my unpleasant encounters are with drivers of large pickup trucks. Extra horsepower plus a larger vehicle plus extra testosorone equals somebody that I give as much space to and get out of their way asap. Yesterday as I was coming home from a road trip there was one of these individuals who luckily for me was a few miles ahead of me. By the time I got that to that spot their was an ambulance blocking the road. It appears this individual mistook a Colorado two lane for Indy,lost control of his vehicle,smashed a guardrail, left the road and stopped just short of going into the river. So everybody else including me waited over an hour while rescue crews hoisted his ass up from the crash site and onto a waiting chopper. This is not the end of the story however. Once I continued on my way there were four vehicles who made high speed passes on the Colorado two lane which is not lacking for blind spots and what kind of vehicle was it you asked? You guessed it-large pickup trucks. No state should liscense a driver for one of these things until the testosorone levels safely drop.

Edited March 4, 2007 by chris olivarez