# A question for tailgaters... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 29, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937 "2014-06-29T14:48:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DingoelGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DingoelGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DingoelGringo)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/21 "2014-06-29T23:37:19Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > No, not the fun kind of tailgaters who party before football games in the parking lot. I’m talking about the a-holes who follow you so close you can’t see their headlights in your rear view. Yeah, I know this has been done before, but it’s fresh on my mind… > > This morning, I had another one of those idiots follow me on a one-lane (in each direction) road, then another, for about 16 miles total. A double yellow line in the center. I had no way to speed up (not that I do for tailgaters) since there were cars in front of me, but we were going 5 - 10 miles over the speed limit the whole way. He finally passed me when we got on the turnpike, glowering at me (as I yelled bad words at him). > > My question to those of you who tailgate in such a situation (you know who you are): Why don’t you just pass? Yes, it’s against the law to cross a double yellow line to pass. But it’s also against the law to tailgate. So why not just pass, and it’s a win all around? You get ahead of a slower car, and I’m not getting tailgated, plus there’s at least the slim chance I’ll pass you later as you’re wrapped around a tree or getting ticket so I can flip you the bird and laugh at you. > > Any speculation from those who don’t tailgate? Feel free to add your own traffic peeves. I just take my foot off the gas and drift slower and slower until they are forced to pass. Works 100% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/22 "2014-06-30T01:49:33Z")
16 miles of tailgater… That would be frustrating. I don’t exactly have a direct answer to your Q, but… Did you consider pulling over and letting them go past? Seems that would have solved both driver’s needs. The tailgater would have been free to travel at his own pace, and you wouldn’t have continued to worry about some guy riding your bumper for at least 20 minutes. BTW, I do this all.the.time. If someone wants to drive at a different speed than I do, I try to accommodate them. Life’s tough enough as it is… let’s just all try to get along and help each other make it through our day. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/23 "2014-06-30T02:04:42Z")
My husband occasionally tailgates and I call him out on it. It’s usually someone going below the speed limit and in a spot where it’s not safe to pass. He does it because slow people annoy him and I suppose it’s some macho thing where he thinks he’s teaching them a lesson (life doesn’t work that way, ya know). He’ll pass when it’s safe however. I don’t tailgate, and if I get a tailgater, I will speed up slightly as long as I don’t feel unsafe or like I might get a ticket would a police office be nearby. If they refuse to pass me, I’ll pull over. I’ll occasionally grumble about it, but in the big picture, who the hell cares? Let them get on with their life and I’ll get on with mine. No skin off my back and safer over all. I quit trying to ‘win’ everything years ago and am much happier for it. (That’s not to say I never lose my temper, I still do. But it’s once in a blue moon and usually something else is going on in my life that has me on edge.) ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/24 "2014-06-30T03:04:25Z")
I’ve become much more aware of, and nervous about, tailgaters since I was rear-ended a few weeks ago. The woman behind me rammed into the back of my car hard enough to push me into the back of the car in front. Shook me up a **lot** , since I’ve had a driver’s licence since 1970 without an accident. I hate that I’ve become a nervous nellie since the prang but I am definitely much more aware of tailgaters now than I was before. And I have no solution on how to deal with them, other than slowing down in the hope that they’ll decide to overtake. ---
**Author:** ![kwc27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ccd318/32.png) [@kwc27](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwc27)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/25 "2014-06-30T03:40:28Z")
Tail-gaters don’t bother me one bit. My logic is, if they rear-end me, they’ll be paying for everything anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/26 "2014-06-30T03:54:35Z")
> [@kwc27](#): > > Tail-gaters don’t bother me one bit. My logic is, if they rear-end me, they’ll be paying for everything anyway. You’d think so, wouldn’t you? I had to rent a car for a week (at my expense). I needed two days off work, which was covered by my more than adequate sick leave entitlement but which I wouldn’t have taken off if the idiot woman had watched where she was going. I had a massive headache for three days and bruising from the seat belt. Furthermore, I had to replace my vehicle which had been written off because of someone else’s error. I could _maybe_ have got a similar car for the value my previous car had been insured for but it would’ve been second hand and I’ve never been keen on buying someone else’s problem. So yeah, I was out of pocket quite a bit of money. The at-fault driver doesn’t pay for everything, not by a long shot. As mentioned, I’ve become a bit of a nervous nellie since the prang, especially with regard to tailgaters. I bought a new car and insured it for its full value. As we all know, new cars lose value the minute you drive out of the showroom so if someone rear-ended me today I’d be out of pocket again. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/27 "2014-06-30T03:57:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You are coming across as a passive aggressive jerk. Maybe you don’t mean to. Depends what you mean by slower. > > If you go 25 in a 65, “for safety”, then you are as much of a jerk as the tailgater. If you mean you increase spacing with the car in front, but maintain the flow of traffic, then you are OK. > > And Frank Bullitt tailgated, too. Look how THAT turned out. Two men dead, bodies burned beyond recognition. Waste of a perfectly good Charger.🙂 No way I drive that slow in a 65. Don’t be a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/28 "2014-06-30T04:00:40Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > You are me. To the letter. > mmm Great minds… ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/29 "2014-06-30T04:42:17Z")
To answer the OP’s question: tailgaters aren’t very bright. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/30 "2014-06-30T05:07:54Z")
I just pull over to the shoulder and let them pass. If they’re reluctant to pass, I make a complete stop on the shoulder. This has worked every time I’ve had to do it. Why let them aggravate you to the point that you have to start a thread on a message board? You can have them out of your life in 20 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/31 "2014-06-30T05:36:24Z")
Since I am old and don’t work anymore & drive the same crooked roads all the time, in the little 4 Wheel Subaru Legacy, I know all the corners & how fast I can take them, were the blind driveways are, where the cops sit, etc., I just speed up a bit from my nice cruise through the country. If that is not good enough & they get back on my back, I go a bit over the speed limit. Usually gets rid of them because they don’t seem to understand decreasing radius turns, etc., where to look to see ahead so you can use the full road width for making a corner faster, clear of an approaching vehicle. If I get a local who knows what I do, then it is on. Hare & Hound. OK, let’s play. So far, I win. Those with sport cars at home who could stay with me seldom take them to work. If I am on one of the bikes, they would have to have a very good car & know how to get a lot out of it. When there is other traffic, I shut it down & if they act like they are not going to, I hit the flashers and do middle of the road on them. Most know the rules of this game & nobody gets mad. I think they are mostly pissed because Santa Claus in a old Subie can run off from them. When I get to be the one holding up even one car that was running faster than I am & is not tailgatting, I pull over. I do that when pulling a trailer or have passengers, cause I don’t ever have to hurry anymore. Makes them think about it when they are in front and do the same, I like to think that anyway. Last time I had someone get stupid & stop and come at me because I was not doing what he wanted, there was a city cop who saw the whole thing, knew I was stopped at the AA meeting and sorta read the riot act to the guy. Prolly cost him some $$$ & aggravation. Bawahahaha ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/32 "2014-06-30T10:10:19Z")
I (mostly) drive a big pickup. Contrary to appearances, I think this makes me \*more _not less, vulnerable to losing control_ should I be rear-ended. Therefore I’m pretty sensitive to tailgating, and attempt to either get out of their way, or actually speed up if conditions allow. I’d rather have a ticket than an accident. If the OP will forgive, I’d like to ask how others are handling the problem when tailgaters also have insanely bright headlights blinding you at night? In this case I think slowing down is necessary, even if it infuriates them. On non-highways I’ve occasionally just turned on the hazard flashers and slowed gradually as though the car was failing. Normally Tommy the Tailgater will hurtle past as soon as possible, and I return to traffic when it’s safe. Maybe this is unique to my little corner of driver-hell here, but there seem to be an increasing number of the Emasculated-Man-Child (our name for them) who raise their trucks to an insane height, and add blinding-bright halogen headlights. Just curious how others are handling this. \*If you think your big tall pickup truck is more stable/capable than the low sedan behind you, you’re a fool (imo). ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/33 "2014-06-30T10:37:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > His “communication” was that you should pass the cars in front. As the last car in line, one can’t safely pass five cars, but if each person passes in turn, all could eventually get around the slow car. If I’m third or fourth in a line of cars, and we’re all tootling along at 5 or 10 over the speed limit, I’m not all that worried about passing them. If someone comes along that wants to go 20 over, he can pass us all one at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/34 "2014-06-30T11:08:53Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > You’d think so, wouldn’t you? I had to rent a car for a week (at my expense). I needed two days off work, which was covered by my more than adequate sick leave entitlement but which I wouldn’t have taken off if the idiot woman had watched where she was going. I had a massive headache for three days and bruising from the seat belt. I got rear ended once by a mom with two young kids in the car. She didn’t notice the red light. It was very low speed and minimal damage so we didn’t call the police. Turned out all the information she gave me was fake and I had to pay for the damage myself. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/35 "2014-06-30T12:07:17Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I got rear ended once by a mom with two young kids in the car. She didn’t notice the red light. It was very low speed and minimal damage so we didn’t call the police. Turned out all the information she gave me was fake and I had to pay for the damage myself. Yep. That happens as well, unfortunately. So the notion of not worrying about tailgaters can certainly be a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/36 "2014-06-30T13:11:49Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > Yep. That happens as well, unfortunately. So the notion of not worrying about tailgaters can certainly be a mistake. Not if you actually get the necessary information and call the police like you’re supposed to. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/37 "2014-06-30T13:18:06Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not if you actually get the necessary information and call the police like you’re supposed to. In a lot of places, the police will no longer come out if there were no injuries. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/38 "2014-06-30T13:20:17Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Not if you actually get the necessary information and call the police like you’re supposed to. Depending on the jurisdiction, the 911 operator may advise you to simply exchange information, if nobody is hurt and there’s little or minor damage. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/39 "2014-06-30T13:38:58Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > No way I drive that slow in a 65. Don’t be a jerk. That’s why I asked. Good to hear. But, there are people that do that, you know. Your comment “don’t be a jerk.” Was that a statement of your guiding principle in life, or a comment directed at me? Because I was just asking questions.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937/40 "2014-06-30T13:39:55Z")
> [@kwc27](#): > > Tail-gaters don’t bother me one bit. My logic is, if they rear-end me, they’ll be paying for everything anyway. Including the funeral? I think I have every right to get angry at these bungholes. They are, premeditatively or not, putting my life in danger. :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-tailgaters/691937.md?page=3)