Tailgating

[Paul Norman]

ok...stand back, I am needing to rant!!

I spend hours a day on the road - covering up to 50 000 miles a year. I have just returned home after another day of having to think for other people, people who driving huge trucks and transit vans less than a car length behind me. And then become angry when I slow down, because the person in front of me has slowed! Oddly enough! And, for their information, because they dont have brains of their own, I leave more space, because I am allowing the space for both of us.

I am VERY tired of hearing about speeding as being public enemy number one, which I passionately believe is incorrect. Its bad driving that is the enemy.

Police - start with these imbeciles. Please. Before someone gets killed. Oops....too late.

[Chris Lodge]

Paul

Your comments are very apt. By far the most common accidents in the UK (and indeed cause of whiplash injury) are rear end shunts and the reason is frequently tailgating.

Maybe it is because most van drivers and many lorry drivers are not the vehicle owners and may also be in a hurry to reach their destinations (thus meet their targets).

However, tailgating is not just limited to the commercial sector. Young drivers and those with fast cars as just as bad.

[Fleet Risk Consultants]

But if these people do not understand the implications of their actions they will not change their way of driving.

We need more education.

Paul, You understand the risks but a lot of drivers don't.

[uglydoll]

I've only just got over the thread on outside lane hogging, and now this??? Tailgating is my biggest hate in terms of poor and dangerous driving.

I once got someone to stop doing it (I was his passenger, and he was driving me mad - pardon the pun - by sitting on the bumper of the car in front) by appealing not to his sense of good citenzenship or from a safety angle, but by asking him if he got through a lot of brakepads?

Turns out he did, and couldn't understand why. When I explained that by having to brake sharply every time the car in front slowed down, he was wearing out his brakes far more frequently than somone like me, who left plenty of space, and could slow down adequately just using engine compression.

So educate, yes. By appealing to their pocket!

[Dave H]

Tailgating is most definitely one of my pet hates, that alongside people that drive with their foglights on (on a clear night). WHY!? do they think it makes them look 'cool'?

Being a modified car owner (and indeed, running a car forum) I find there seems to be a generalisation of "if you own a modded car, you must drive like an asshole", but what alot of people don't realise is that 90% of the modded car owners also get fed up with the small percentage of idiots that drive like twats and give us all a bad name.

[Paul Norman]

Interesting, useful posts here. And I agree that the people who offend in this regard do not understand the risks.

However...and here I go...if a person cannot figure out that tailgating risks lives....should they be allowed out by themselves?

I am interested..no posts from anyone admitting to doing it, explaining why?

I did once hear a defence - it went like this..I have better reactions than most people!

I did laugh!

Lots of people do it...so where are you...show yourselves....

[uglydoll]

Originally Posted by Paul Norman

I did once hear a defence - it went like this..I have better reactions than most people!

Funnily enough the guy I was talking about earlier said the same thing. But what if you are distracted for a moment - changing a CD, looking at something to the side? (A rather lovely young lady walking down the road once distracted me, and caused me to run into the back of a car on my motorbike once... I wasn't on the motorway, though, and only doing about 5mph).

[TemplarMC]

Personally, I think 'cruise control' is a great leveller for tailgaters to learn the error of their ways (and other 'bad drivers' too). Too many people simply can't drive at a constant speed, or think about their own driving style, and instead seem to let the car in front/alongside them influence them.

[Angela "VirtualPA" Dawson]

Ooh don't get me started on poor driving in this country

I was driving down the A1 last week and this youngster in a Peugeot 206 came down the slip road, flew into the inside line then straight out to the outside lane, then back into the inside lane only to then go back off at the slip road further down. He was driving at a heck of a speed, and never once used his indicators. Moron

I don't do an awful lot of driving these days with working from home but recently I have done a bit of motorway driving down to Leeds and Birmingham. The driving standard in this country by a lot of drivers is disgusting. No wonder there are as many accidents as there are.

I agree it's not speeding that's the problem it's the style of driving. I do believe you can drive fast but be a safe driver. But if you crawl up the backside of the car in front you're just asking for trouble.

I told you not to get me started... now I need some chocolate to calm down

Regards
Angela

[UK Business Network]

Originally Posted by Paul Norman

ok...stand back, I am needing to rant!!

I spend hours a day on the road - covering up to 50 000 miles a year. I have just returned home after another day of having to think for other people, people who driving huge trucks and transit vans less than a car length behind me.

I must admit, my answer to this problem is simple one, I do the same as my father does, I wait til we are going along at a good speed, then i tap the break very briefly, these does not slow your car down, but the flash of break lights scares the **** out of the fools behind me! They then back off, works everytime!

[Helen]

I tend to wash my windscreen first...... sprays water all over their screen too and causes them to back off..... if that doesn't do the trick, then I too tap my brakes. If they are still stupidly unaware, I have an ashtray full of small pieces of gravel..... I secretly just flick a piece out the sunroof.......

Must admit, tailgating is one of my pet hates... it's up there with lack of lane discipline.