Glad you’re OK!
You know what? Turns out I linked the wrong article, that should’ve been this one. At least the one I did link was appropriate.
<hijack>
I’m not sure my post is relevent, but I need to post it. DWC, you wrote a very vivid post with a good writing style. Now I know this is hard, but I want you to go back and re-read every word of it (force yourself if you have to).
If that situation had escalated a little more, you might be dead. Dead, as in never having another payday, never getting lucky again, never seeing your kids graduate or win awards/trophies.
Dead.
Now, please tell me: What would you have died for? Nothing? I think that anyone who can write that well is worth one hell of a lot more than nothing. For you to die over something so trivial is stupid, its wrong, and its a waste.
Its also selfish. There are kids who you’ve never taught & books you’ve never written. If you want to die for something, why not a cause thats worth it? Like dying after 80+ years of working hard at making the world we live in a better place? Its certainly got to be better than going out as a damn highway statistic…
<hijack>
Let me try to break this down into simpler terms
1- The guy in front of you was driving bad (too slow)
2- You were driving bad (tailgating)
3 - Guy does something stupid (stops to argue)
4 - You do something stupid (curse)
5 - Guy attempts to carry on with his life (turn)
6 - You lure him back (gestures and swearing)
7- Guy does something stupid (follows you to work)
8- You attempt to caring on with life (hide in car)
Is it just me who sees the sexual tension in this little dance of a drama?
(emphasis added)
Badmana, this is a bad idea. Anybody crowding up behind me in hopes of getting me to speed up is going to be severely disappointed. The closer you get, the slower I go.
Mind you, I normally drive in the rh lane (the SLOW lane) because I don’t like to drive like a bat out of hell. But if I’ve got a turn coming up and I’m in the left lane to get ready for it, don’t expect me to move over because you think I’m going too slow.
If I stay in a lane, there’s a reason for it. I’m not just doing it to piss you off. I’m the quiet, unoffensive sort, but I do hate to be bullied.
Riding my ass is definitely not the way to get me to speed up. In fact I’m more likely to slow down if you do this; I’d rather you pass me, that way you’re in front of me where I can keep my eyes on you.
I can only be thankful both you and J String are in the minority. If tailgating didn’t work, no one would do it. I myself have seen staying close does indeed work most of the time (either makes them pull to the right or at least reach the limit).
Of course you mentioned staying in the right lane. I never bother anyone in the proper lane because I’m never in that lane 
The op doesn’t really state if it’s a 2 or 4 lane road (I suspect 2) in which case there is no way to properly pass except on the on-coming lane. And that lane may have been busy.
And I want to point out slowing traffic by doing less than the limit on a clear day is a form of bullying so all you fuckers not prepared to do the limit shouldn’t be driving! Just do the limit is all I ask damnit!
And J String I don’t mind if you want faster drivers to pass (which is the correct way to drive) but I hate it when people speed up to block. I’ve been known to punch my car hard to get in front then I make it my duty for the next 10 minutes to make the other car want to stop since I’m ready to slam on my brakes and play games (but I don’t carry a shotgun). I’m not proud of it but I have slammed on my brakes in front of fuckers (never caused an accident) and I’ve seen another incident which saw the car slam into the guard rail (and I even called the police on the mini-van that caused it and they didn’t do anything even with the plate and a discription because the mini-van wasn’t touched).
Ok, here’s the call for everyone who speeds up for a tailgater to STOP DOING THAT. You’re just reinforcing bad behavior! 
Uh, no, not unless you’re on a minimum speed highway, it’s not bullying.
Driving over the speed limit and tailgating people is a much worse form of bullying, as is getting in front of someone and slamming on brakes. :rolleyes: Jeezopete, take some anger management classes or something.
JMHO.
badmana: Print out your “justification” for your tailgating. Keep it in your vehicle every time you drive. When you get pulled over by the police, just ask the police officer to read it as that’s your position. Then do two things:
[ul][li]Pay the ticket for the moving violation.[/li][li]Quit tailgating![/ul][/li]Oh, and when you decide to slam your brakes on when there’s nothing in front of you, I certainly hope that first, nobody gets killed or injured; second, that there’s a witness to your intentional causing of an accident if one does occur.
The best bet, if you truly feel that your driving behavior as outlined by you above is acceptable, is for you to surrender your driver license before you maim or kill someone. YOU are a danger on the road.
My car horn gets a lot of use. You’d be surprised how a well-deserved HOOOOONK will make you feel better. It’s a lovely lovely sound. No gestures needed, and so far, a honk from a horn never pissed anyone off enough to stop their car and get out. Gestures, sure.
And to the proponents of not driving at the posted speed limit, do you at least drive within 5 miles under the limit? 10 under is a BIT much, considering it’s optimum conditions. You better put your hazard lights on if you’re going to go that slow.
Ah yes, a tailgating thread, what any traffic related SDMB OP devolves into sooner then later.
It depends on the road. On the interstate highways, I’m most comfortable driving 60 - 65 mph (in the far RIGHT lane, unless I’m passing.) That’s within 5 - 10 miles of the POSTED speed limit, but it’s frequently 20 mph LESS than a lot of the traffic is moving. That’s why I stay in the slow lane.
On a two-lane highway, I drive at whatever speed is comfortable. I make it easy for faster drivers to pass me (waving them around, getting to the right side of the lane, etc.)
On scenic roads, I often pull over to let folks more interested in speed than scenery to pass me by.
Driving MUCH more slowly than prevailing traffic on an expressway is not a good idea, I agree.
Do you live in fantasy land or something? Tell me, how many people do you know have gotten a tailgating ticket? Then compare that number to people complaining about tailgating. Doesn’t add up does it?
And again, if tailgating didn’t get such a rise out of you people, I would probably not do it. I do it only to counter the rise you guys get out of being “right” because there is no minimum speed limit (I guess that whole “impeding traffic” rule just goes out the window huh?). Sounds very passive-agressive to me.
The point I was trying to make is impeding people (even if you didn’t mean to) can cause a much worse senario than just following the flow or keeping to the side (as Archergal correctly says she? does). If you take pleasure in impeding the left lane by boxing people in, you guys will get what you deserve (in the US that can, and does, include being shot).
I have actually tried reporting a road rager but the police weren’t interested (maybe it’s different in the US but I have never heard of a court case without a shooting first). So please stop with the “you’ll get a ticket” BS. After talking to several police officers on other boards the only time a “following too closely” ticket will come into play is if you rear end someone…which I would find hillarious if I “brake check” an impeder and he hits me.
:eek: Driving under the speed limit means you deserve to be shot?! What the fuck is wrong with you?
Originally posted by badmana:
[Italics mine]
People who box others into the left lane (intentionally, even!) deserve to be shot? Um, yeah. Gotcha.
And yes, I’m familiar with hyperbole. Just hoping that that’s what it was.
Dammit, Miller! 
Y’notice that that the tailgating advocates seems to change every time? Almost as if there were some high casualty rate…
So you engage in potentially dangerous behavior to get a rise out of people? It’s a foregone conclusion that you are an imbecile. What I can’t determine is exactly what kind and to what extent.
You remind me of the knuckle-dragger that rear-ended me a couple years back because he claimed that my red brake lights were camouflaged by my red car. I had him go sit in the mud and wait for the police to come document his horseshit story.
Oops, I need to word that a little better. I added the () after the wrote the sentence just to leave it ominous. I didn’t mean to imply people should be killed over it.
I guess it’s better to say, people who impede on purpose because of some sort of 'high and mighty" attitude can be shot over it. Whether they deserve to be shot is hardly the point since you’re already dead.
People have been killed over throwing tomatos at cars, it’s hardly a stretch to image people getting killed for being a piss poor driver or blocking all lanes of traffic by boxing traffic in next to a truck (it’s happened enough although very rare in Canada).
And Mr. Miskatonic, I would say the high attrition rate has nothing to do with my (or maybe I can say our) position. I just don’t bother to devote much time into making slow drivers speed up when I’m not on the roads. I would like to increase testing levels to weed out drivers who must proceed slowly because anyone who has to drive slow to feel safe isn’t a very good driver in my books.
Jesus, this is what I get for posting at work. I hit PREVIEW not REPLY! Sheesh, excuse the more obvious mistakes.