# BWAHA: Driver's cooperate against tailgater! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750 "2005-05-20T15:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/141 "2005-05-24T13:35:25Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > I wasn’t dragging anyone into the Pit, actually. That post was directed to you and/or Gabe. (Was that Semi on auto pilot?) > [@](#): > > And all my latest responses have been directed at your bold, incorrect assertion that “if you’re being tailgated in the left lane, you’re doing something wrong” Actually, the quote was, “There is no such thing as tailgating in the left lane. If someone is ‘tailgating’ you in the left lane then you’re driving too slow. Get over.” The first part of that statement I’ll admit I could have left out, but the rest is just the truth. Time to move over if someone is on or approaching your tail in the left lane. > [@](#): > > - which, by my count, isn’t benefiting from a 7 to 1 ratio, more like 2 vs. 2. Maybe I missed somebody. I was referring to the entirety of the thread. > [@](#): > > As for the opinions-at-large regarding passive blocking of aggressive drivers - I’ve got my opinion, which support’s Gabe’s action, and only came here to give him a thumbs-up. I really don’t give a rat’s ass what the rest of you think on the subject. I’m sure Gabe appreciates your support. But, come on, you _kind_ of give a rat’s ass about what we think. Admit it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/142 "2005-05-24T13:36:29Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Since when did this become a for concern you? I always drive in the manner I consider safest for the greatest number of people, especially if one of those people is me. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/143 "2005-05-24T13:36:31Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Are you saying that you are smarter than those stupid putzes who insist that, according to so-called scientific laws, that amazingly: > > – There is a physiological delay of up to half a second between a situation and reacting to it. Let’s call this variable “U”, for “U R A dumbass”. > – Objects in motion relative to each other, in which the differential velocity between the two is parallel to the unit vector of the displacement between one object and the other, tend to approach each other at a definite speed. Let’s call the magnitude of this velocity S, for “Suck my cock”. > – One can therefore calculate, the distance at which a collision is unavoidable, given by S \* U. > – If we assume the deceleration, S, to be instantaneous (as well as the braking,) at 1 MPH and U to be .5 seconds, we get an unavoidable collision distance of approximately 8 inches. > > Okay, you win. I am not a good enough driver to tell the difference between a car tailing me at a foot versus at 8 inches. Sure, I can drive so that only the edge seam of my right tire goes over a gutter but apparently, when my life is at stake, I have a crazy desire to not assume I can measure distances 100% accurately 100% of the time. > > High school. Apparently it’s so unimportant that you forgot to take physics. Hard to wade through the vitriol but… are you trying to say that if someone is tailgating you, you are prvented by the laws of physics from slowing down? ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/144 "2005-05-24T13:40:26Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > That post was directed to you and/or Gabe. (Was that Semi on auto pilot?) Not at all. But I wasn’t pitting the guy, I was using him as a point of illustration. > [@](#): > > Actually, the quote was, “There is no such thing as tailgating in the left lane. If someone is ‘tailgating’ you in the left lane then you’re driving too slow. Get over.” > The first part of that statement I’ll admit I could have left out, but the rest is just the truth. Time to move over if someone is on or approaching your tail in the left lane. I guess I quoted Debaser rather than you. It doesn’t matter, you’re both saying the same thing in essence, he’s just doing so more directly. And you’re both wrong. Sometimes you cannot get over into the right lane before a faster-moving vehicle gets on your bumper in the left lane. Period. > [@](#): > > I’m sure Gabe appreciates your support. But, come on, you _kind_ of give a rat’s ass about what we think. Admit it. 😉 I do have a pet peeve when people make mistaken assumptions. As long as you’ve got your facts right, derive whatever opinion you like. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/145 "2005-05-24T13:40:45Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > That’s tragic, Scumpup, but I still believe the passive blocking of an aggressive driver provides the greatest safety in the long run for all involved. It’s not the sort of statistic we can objectively collect, unfortunately, but it’s my honest gut feeling, and I’ll continue to go with it. That’s not passive! ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/146 "2005-05-24T13:43:26Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > That’s not passive! And the award for non-sequitur of the thread goes to… Gabe’s attempt to catch back up to the SUV Lady was not passive. I personally wouldn’t do that. But I applaud him for doing so in this situation. My tactics as previously discussed are most definitely passive. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/147 "2005-05-24T13:49:11Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Then post some facts. Start with number of accidents caused by failure to yield to a tailgater. Then number of accidents prevented by refusal to yield to a tailgater. Then psychological profiles that show trends indicating whether or not being blocked increases, decreases, or has no effect on an aggressive driver’s tendency to tailgate. > > What’s that you say? You don’t have those facts? No one does? > > That’s what I thought. Um, hello! If no one has those facts then why are you holding onto the passive blocking of an aggressive passer mentality - what facts do you have?. Why not just conform. It sounds like the bulk of the posters here would scootch over and let the guy pass. The only ones that don’t are the ones that ‘get pissed’ off when someone tailgates them. Sounds like they have the problem, not the rest of us. > [@](#): > > Sometimes you cannot get over into the right lane before a faster-moving vehicle gets on your bumper in the left lane. Period. I said that too and that’s fine, just get over when you can and let the guy pass. > [@](#): > > That’s not passive! True, technically that’s passive-aggressive behavior. > [@](#): > > My tactics as previously discussed are most definitely passive. Not when you _know_ they’re deliberate attempts to thwart a passer. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/148 "2005-05-24T13:51:53Z")
CandidGamera; Since you are the fellow making a claim i.e. that you are increasing the overall level of safety through your actions, I’ll leave it to you to give us something to substantiate that claim other than that it is your “gut feeling.” I will tell you this, in none of the driving courses that I have attended was there even the slightest suggestion that being obstructive was something regular motorists should do. I occasionally work for a Sheriff’s Office and being obstructive on the highway isn’t part of driving there ,either, where we are talking about people who are trained and empowered to enforce highway safety regulations on others. What’s so tough about admitting that you just enjoy being a dick on the highway? ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/149 "2005-05-24T13:54:42Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Um, hello! If no one has those facts then why are you holding onto the passive blocking of an aggressive passer mentality - what facts do you have?. Why not just conform. It sounds like the bulk of the posters here would scootch over and let the guy pass. Because in absence of the facts, all I have to go on is my intuition. Why not just conform? Conformity is not a virtue. Nor is it a vice, as some gothlings would have you believe. But to conform simply for conformity’s sake? No. > [@](#): > > The only ones that don’t are the ones that ‘get pissed’ off when someone tailgates them. Sounds like they have the problem, not the rest of us. So if 80% of the kids bullied at a school happen to hand over their lunch money to Billy No-Neck, the other 20% should just cave and go with the flow. > [@](#): > > I said that too and that’s fine, just get over when you can and let the guy pass. So you’re withdrawing the bit about tailgating being impossible in the left lane, etc.? > [@](#): > > True, technically that’s passive-aggressive behavior. > > Not when you _know_ they’re deliberate attempts to thwart a passer. Ghandi’s fasting and work stoppages were deliberate attempts to thwart the British Government in India. Because they were essentially based in inaction rather than action, they were dubbed passive. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/150 "2005-05-24T13:57:14Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > CandidGamera; > Since you are the fellow making a claim i.e. that you are increasing the overall level of safety through your actions, I’ll leave it to you to give us something to substantiate that claim other than that it is your “gut feeling.” I’m not asserting it as fact. I’m putting it forth as my gut feeling. I’m not required to substantiate a gut feeling - on the other hand, if someone expects me to modify my behavior to go along with THEIR Gut feeling, I require facts. If you want me to modify my behavior, provide facts. Otherwise, don’t waste both of our time. > [@](#): > > What’s so tough about admitting that you just enjoy being a dick on the highway? Have you stopped beating your wife yet? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/151 "2005-05-24T14:01:21Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > I’m not asserting it as fact. I’m putting it forth as my gut feeling. I’m not required to substantiate a gut feeling - on the other hand, if someone expects me to modify my behavior to go along with THEIR Gut feeling, I require facts. If you want me to modify my behavior, provide facts. Otherwise, don’t waste both of our time. > > Have you stopped beating your wife yet? As I said…Whatever. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/152 "2005-05-24T14:01:35Z")
If you were an observant driver, you would hav enoticed the ESM rapidly approaching in your rear view. You should have been finding the best and safest way to get over to the slow lane to let her pass. So that you were out of the way by the time she got up on you. If you would have been in the proper lane, she would not have to tailgate. This is your fault, and I believe people like you are the cause of the problem, not the solution. Stay the hell out of the fast lane. 70 in a 65 in the PASSING LANE _is_ mosying! Why must people take it so personally when someone else is going faster??? I think you should just get out of the way. Why be an ass. She wouldn’t have to honk or tailgate if you would just check your mirror every now and then and stay the hell out of the fast lane. If I’m in the fast lane on the interstate or a highway, I’m always looking around. Even if I’m doing 80 or so in a 70, I still happily get out of the way when cars are hauling ass behind me. That’s called “yielding to faster vehicles”… you know “slower traffice keep right”. I dont take it personally that someone is going 95… I dont find the need or urge to ‘teach him a lesson’, I just get out of the way like a courteous and responsible driver should. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/153 "2005-05-24T14:09:27Z")
Post 133: > [@CandidGamera](#): > > Your opinion not withstanding, the fact remains I was being tailgated in the left lane without having done anything wrong, contrary to Uncommon Sense and Debaser’s assertions that that is impossible. Post 135: > [@CandidGamera](#): > > That’s tragic, Scumpup, but I still believe the passive blocking of an aggressive driver provides the greatest safety in the long run for all involved. It’s not the sort of statistic we can objectively collect, unfortunately, but it’s my honest gut feeling, and I’ll continue to go with it. Which is it? Are you just an overly cautious driver who can’t manage to get out of the way, or are you self policing the highways by blocking aggressive drivers? You should really pick a story and stick with it. You’d be wrong either way, but at least you’d be consistent. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/154 "2005-05-24T14:24:34Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Which is it? Are you just an overly cautious driver who can’t manage to get out of the way, or are you self policing the highways by blocking aggressive drivers? > > You should really pick a story and stick with it. You’d be wrong either way, but at least you’d be consistent. I knew one of you would come along eventually who’d fail a remedial reading test. You and U.S. made blatantly incorrect statements. I objected, providing an example. My discussion with Scumpup was regarding a different topic altogether. The statements are not at odds with each other; I had done nothing to police the semi’s reckless driving when he came upon my bumper. After he’d shown himself as a tailgater, however - well, I did the most safe and responsible thing I could do in the situation, in my opinion. I eased off the accelerator very slowly, finally diminishing my speed to 65 mph or so, and kept it there until the traffic in the right lane had sufficiently broken up and he had backed off enough to make a safe lane-change. And it was fun, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/155 "2005-05-24T14:30:27Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Your opinion not withstanding, the fact remains I was being tailgated in the left lane without having done anything wrong . . . Except blocking the lane. You should really read the signs along the highway sometime. Especially the ones that say, “Slower Traffic Keep in Right Lane,” or “Left Lane for Passing Only.” I assure you, and I drive every year more than twice as many miles as the average driver does (almost 40,000 in the last 14 months), that **you** presented the greater danger here. If you ain’t _actively_ passing someone, (and passing someone at highway speeds should not require more than a quarter-mile, so put your foot into it, and/or turn off the goddamn cruise control) stay the fuck outta the left lane. If you’d simply sped up for a couple seconds and moved outta the way, _you’d have stopped being a target_, and the ESM could have zipped right by you. Problem solved - and there’s three fewer angry drivers on the road. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/156 "2005-05-24T14:32:51Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Except blocking the lane. You should really read the signs along the highway sometime. Especially the ones that say, “Slower Traffic Keep in Right Lane,” or “Left Lane for Passing Only.” I expected better from you. I don’t know why. Let me make this 100% clear : **I Was Passing.** ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/157 "2005-05-24T14:35:35Z")
I’d also like to further note that, as far as I know, WV has no “Keep Right” law on the books; I recall some discussion of a subject in recent years, but the incident in question occurred 4 years ago. There are no signs directing the use of the left lane as passing only. All this is a moot point, as \*\*I Was Passing \*\* (You should try reading those posts you’re responding to sometimes), but I thought I’d mention it as a point of reference. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/158 "2005-05-24T14:38:14Z")
> [@](#): > > 70 in a 65 in the PASSING LANE is mosying! Exactly. How slow do you folks in WV drive anyway? Christ, on the Interstates in the Chicago area, where the posted speed limit is 55mph, if you ain’t going 75mph, you have no business in the left lane where traffic will often move at speeds well over 80mph - even in the right line at 70mph you’re liable to “tailgated.” Hell, the Highway Patrol boys whne they’re just cruising, will zip by 75mph traffic at 80+. If you’re moving too slowly, you’re a hazard; get the fuck outta the way. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/159 "2005-05-24T15:05:23Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Why not just conform? Conformity is not a virtue. Nor is it a vice, as some gothlings would have you believe. But to conform simply for conformity’s sake? No. On the highway, yes. > [@](#): > > So if 80% of the kids bullied at a school happen to hand over their lunch money to Billy No-Neck, the other 20% should just cave and go with the flow. Again, this is the highway we’re talking about. You’re not being bullied on the highway when someone tries to pass you. > [@](#): > > So you’re withdrawing the bit about tailgating being impossible in the left lane, etc.? _Sigh_ Post 136; _"You may be whipping along in the right lane coming up on slower traffic when you begin to merge into the left lane to pass, but, there is a guy behind you that is doing the same thing as you but at a higher rate of speed. He’s gonna catch you in the passing lane, it happens. "_ Of course it happens, just let it happen for the shortest amount of time. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750/160 "2005-05-24T15:38:31Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Again, this is the highway we’re talking about. You’re not being bullied on the highway when someone tries to pass you. But you are being bullied when they tailgate you. > [@](#): > > _Sigh_ Post 136; > _"You may be whipping along in the right lane coming up on slower traffic when you begin to merge into the left lane to pass, but, there is a guy behind you that is doing the same thing as you but at a higher rate of speed. He’s gonna catch you in the passing lane, it happens. "_ > Of course it happens, just let it happen for the shortest amount of time. Glad you were able to withdraw the statement. Not really concerned about your recommendation for what to do in the situation, but my major point of contention with you is done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bwaha-drivers-cooperate-against-tailgater/304750.md?page=9)