Tailgaiters (aggressive drivers behind) - any advise please

[akirk]

Yes, that's all fine; if we can easily arrange for the tailgater to overtake us without us pulling over and stopping for a few minutes, that's the logical thing to do, but I don't think it should be necessary to do any more than that. Would any of the real experts here - e.g. vonhosen, Reg Local, Playtent etc., and a few others actually pull over and stop in order to get rid of a tiresome tailgater? That seems a rather extreme and unnecessary measure to take, though it might be the choice of those lacking experience and confidence; but I wouldn't expect established and fully competent drivers to be making that choice.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

I can think of a number of times... and I lack neither experience nor confidence...

one example, coming back from a local town along a fast A road in the Z3, I cam up behind a rover 200 which was dawdling along at 45-50, so I overtook it and carried on... a few minutes later said car comes rocketing up behind me - car full of teenagers, now driving at a silly speed coming up close behind me being silly... what did I do - I controlled the situation, I held the road for the next 400 yards or so as it would have been dangerous for them to overtake (slowing down but holding the crown to stop overtaking), then I slowed down further, they went past, I turned off and took a different route home...

could I have held them off? - easily, I could have driven that road (bright clear and dry day) at a speed faster than their car could have managed, I had oodles more power than them, lots of ways I could have held the high ground in not letting them overtake - but the only analysis I could make of their driving suggested that they were potentially an accident waiting to happen and there have been too many deaths on that road already, not only did I not want to be in any accident they had, I didn't want any responsibility for any accident they might have and while their driving was their choice, has anything happened I would undoubtedly shared some of the blame had I continued in a way which 'encouraged' their driving

part of being an advanced driver is that perhaps we need to take more responsibility for not just ourselves, but our interaction with the context in which we drive, and therefore sometimes that includes the choices made by other drivers... In that example, I don't think they really had the experience or ability to continue that scenario, so I had to make the choice... had it been an older chap in a fast porsche or something, just being a bit of an idiot I might have made a different decision...

Alasdair

[Black Cat]

Yes, that can be a useful ploy - as can carefully timing our exit from a minor road into a major road.

Can work nicely, but I find with junctions more than roundabouts it can fail - especially if you have had to come to a halt. If I wait until I have just enough space to pull our, accelerate briskly and not affect the oncomer at a junction, the tailgater often just follows me out regardless. When you still have momentum (roundabouts more commonly than junctions) you can leave it much later leaving the follower no chance (especially as they are probably stuck 1 or 2 gears higher than me).

[TripleS]

Well OK, but I don't see why you couldn't have slowed down sufficiently to let the Rover 200 go past ASAP, but you were there and I wasn't, so who is to know what was really the best thing to do?

Anyhow, I can assure you that I am fully aware of the importance of taking 'responsibility for not just ourselves, but our interaction with the context in which we drive, and therefore sometimes that includes the choices made by other drivers...'

No matter, I have other things I need to be doing now, and I expect you have too....

[TripleS]

Yes, that can be a useful ploy - as can carefully timing our exit from a minor road into a major road.

Can work nicely, but I find with junctions more than roundabouts it can fail - especially if you have had to come to a halt. If I wait until I have just enough space to pull our, accelerate briskly and not affect the oncomer at a junction, the tailgater often just follows me out regardless. When you still have momentum (roundabouts more commonly than junctions) you can leave it much later leaving the follower no chance (especially as they are probably stuck 1 or 2 gears higher than me).

Agreed: the roundabout makes it easier, but the junction ploy does work sometimes. It rather depends if you have an ordinary run-of-the-mill idiot behind, or an advanced idiot.

[titian]

I will drive up to the prevailing speed limit, road and traffic conditions permitting and I will use acceleration sense to achieve a lower speed approaching a lower restriction. If the guy behind chooses to overtake, so long as it does not impinge upon my safety, I will modify my driving position to assist. If I can see that the over taker is likely to get into trouble as a result of a misjudged overtake I'll back off, with a smile, to assist the ill though-out manoeuvre.

The persistent tailgater will be treated with respect - for my safety, by leaving a greater gap ahead when in traffic (this may create an opportunity for the tailgater to hop round, fine), which affords me space and time to react if said tailgater chooses to do something really daft. I will brake early and gently to extend the warning to the follower.

That said, I really can't remember the last time that I was troubled by an exhaust sniffer

[TripleS]

I will drive up to the prevailing speed limit, road and traffic conditions permitting and I will use acceleration sense to achieve a lower speed approaching a lower restriction. If the guy behind chooses to overtake, so long as it does not impinge upon my safety, I will modify my driving position to assist. If I can see that the over taker is likely to get into trouble as a result of a misjudged overtake I'll back off, with a smile, to assist the ill though-out manoeuvre.

The persistent tailgater will be treated with respect - for my safety, by leaving a greater gap ahead when in traffic (this may create an opportunity for the tailgater to hop round, fine), which affords me space and time to react if said tailgater chooses to do something really daft. I will brake early and gently to extend the warning to the follower.

That said, I really can't remember the last time that I was troubled by an exhaust sniffer

Nor me. Anyhow I agree with your approach.

To my mind the biggest danger that arises from being tailgated aggressively, is the tendency for us to become so distracted by them - 'Oh what on earth is the idiot doing now', etc. - to the extent that our attention to what is going on in front of us might be diminished. Apart from that, I just find them to be a pest, rather than an actual danger to me.

[Astraist]

That said, I really can't remember the last time that I was troubled by an exhaust sniffer

But, than again, does a driver need to actually sniff your tailpipe in order to count as a "tailgater" in the sense of not maintaining a full two-three seconds margin from your car?

Depending on speed, he or she may be quite far down the road (so they don't look "threatening" in the mirror and don't seem to tailgate) and still be all to close for comfort or safety.

Since we cannot accurately measure seperation distance by time to the rear, what can you do against those more "marginal" cases?

[dvenman]

Since we cannot accurately measure separation distance by time to the rear, what can you do against those more "marginal" cases?

Why not ? Pick a marker, start counting when you pass it, stop counting when the sniffer passes it.

And I don't recall if it's been mentioned in this thread, but adapting your driving to have a combined four second gap between the car in front of you and the sniffer is an option. If they won't leave 2 seconds, leave it for them...

[Astraist]

I was actually alluding to that point: Since a driver doesn't have to be right on on'es tail to tailgate, there's a good reason to increase the following distance to three seconds (many driver would require such a margin to begin with) whenever there's so much as a doubt that the driver behind is too close.

And since you mentioned counting past a marker: How many of us actually do that with the car we are following, and how frequently do we do so?

[sussex2]

My usual method is to either pull over or gently encourage the following vehicle to overtake.
Or perhaps the roundabout trick which has already been mentioned.

What the following driver may not realise is that I have taken control of their driving; in effect it is me and not them that is controlling the situation.
I wonder how many drivers who make a habit of following too closely realise this.