NSC
See my post above.
Did you miss the “CR 49 in eastern Alabama” or the “where each side drops off into a ditch, there AREN’T any driveways because there are no houses and hence no streetlights, the numerous curves are almost 90 degrees”? I’m bloody well not giving out exact directions to my house on the internet. Perhaps you can go tour any of the SEVERAL other roads people have mentioned in this thread- Troy’s “CA 58 between I 5 and US 101” seems pretty specific.
So because you’ve never seen it, it doesn’t exist? Fabulous argument, that. Aren’t you a lawyer?
The tailgater always has the choice of swinging into the other lane. He chose not to take the opportunity to pass the OP when the OP slowed to a crawl. Did the tailgater expect an engraved invitation? Or perhaps a flashing light saying “PASS ME!!!”?
See my above comment, and my last post. Let’s say I pull over on my particular road as far as possible, running the risk that I may overcorrect and slip into a ditch, adding the fact that BECAUSE OF THE GUY BEHIND ME I’M PARTIALLY BLIND. How long do I continue tooling along on the very side of the road, going as slowly as possible and hoping the guy either gets a fucking clue or gets off my ass? Remember that I’m a young, smallish, unarmed female, usually driving alone (though I’ll concede martial arts experience), and this area is populated with people who are regularly armed to the teeth. I am NOT coming to a stop. How long, then? Ten, fifteen minutes? Half an hour? Or do I risk my life and attempt to speed up to something that would please Mr. Tailgater? How fast is that going to be? Five miles over the speed limit? Ten? Keep in mind that I’m partially blind. Should I keep speeding up if he stays on my bumper? The OP didn’t necessarily have a choice in slowing down- it’s an automatic response when you’re driving several tons of metal that can get you killed- but the tailgater had several choices, none of which he took advantage of. THAT is why the tailgater was the fuckwad.
I have a 20 minute commute on a three lane highway, and one afternoon I found myself behind two slow driving idiots both going 50 in the far right and middle lanes respectively. So I pull into the left lane to pass and what happens…damn them both, they speed up, they slow down, they speed up, they slow down and I’m trapped in that passing lane. I just did not want to go 85 MPH on slippery roads to pass nor slow down to 50 MPH to get behind either of them again. They were the first two cars of that annoying drive home to mess with me.
So I figure I’ll stay there a bit until they are done playing Rolling Roadblock, until I notice coming from the distance, a penis-truck full of guys in baseball caps and almost popping out the sides, the truck was so full. I think…uh oh…and sure enough, I get flashing lights, on my ass, and I could see in my rearview mirror a lot of gesturing and yelling, and I could feel the beer-breath infused vulgarities hitting me in the back of the head.
After a couple of minutes I decide, maybe I can cause a mass stroke/coronary in the truck behind me…I could see bright red faces and snarling and cursing of increased fervor… my exit is coming up and I need over in the right lane, so I take my foot off the gas and start decelerating… when I hit the 50MPH mark, there is an expected opening on my right, and the truck chucked full of testosterone swerves out to pass. Expecting a 6 finger flip off, I poised myself for the proper timing, and chewed my gum obnoxiously at them and flipped them off simultaneously. I could see the writhing mass going crazy.
I am sure they wanted to kill me. Or at least beat me up a lil. Sure felt good to piss off their bad-mannered, road-hogging, pea brains. I noticed they were going to be caught in the same trap I was from the looks of it. The two slow movers on my right had caught up another slow driver in the far left lane. I HATE those light flashers and tailgaters. Sometimes you get stuck in a lane and have no option but to deal with it for a little bit, so CALM DOWN and stop getting so worked up about it and quit tailgating and flashing those lights!
Sorry, but THAT’S BS. Come visit me in Wild Wonderful WV and I’ll show you 10 mile stretches where you can’t pull over.
I am in awe of bobkitty.
Me too. Well said, bobkitty.
I really liked krebnuts penis-truck too, even though I’m not sure what it is.
I’m sure there are 10 miles of road in this country without a place to pull over, but unless the OP states clearly that there were no driveways for the entire trip I would find it hard to believe they were on one…
Krebnut- do you think you can work in another example of your bad driving into your story? Are your mistakes completely lost on you?
Maybe you missed something.
Looks to me, Windwalker, gave the tailgater had ample opportunity to pass, but instead chose to stay behind.
If I came across a vehicle that was going 20 mph below the speed limit, I would pass it the first safe chance I had.
To follow a vehicle going that slow, is just plain stupid.
And BTW, central Minnesota, especially in winter, has plenty of roads with narrow or no shoulders.
From your post above, I gather that you concede that it is generally possible to allow a car behind you to pass. Yes or no?
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All I want is a specific description of the stretch of highway in question: e.g. Highway number 37 in Eastern Alabama, between 10 miles and 16 miles east of Smallville. Obviously that won’t let me find your house.
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It’s your claim that I’m testing here. But let’s clarify things a little: Troy, is it your position that on CA 58 between I 5 and US 101, it’s impossible to allow a car behind you to pass?
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You seemed to be trying to argue that my experience is limited. Or did I misunderstand you?
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Yep. And by the way, it’s hardly a frivolous argument. But look, there’s no need to quibble about my experience, since you seem to have a counter-example in mind.
Is there, or is there not, a 6 mile stretch of road in Eastern Alabama where it’s impossible to allow a car following you to pass?
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Gimme a break. The OP was deliberately impeding the tailgater. If he’d wanted to allow the guy by easily he could have. He didn’t.
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A minute or two. After that, if the tailgater doesn’t pass you, you should call the police on a mobile phone if you have one. Otherwise drive at the fastest safe speed you can to the nearest populated area and get help. Because you’re being stalked.
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Absolutely. And the OP was a “fuckwad” too.
bsane posted: “Krebnut- do you think you can work in another example of your bad driving into your story? Are your mistakes completely lost on you?”
Nope. That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it. And I’m a fine driver, thank you very much.
Wakimika:
Penis truck: Extension of manhood, to make up for life’s deficiencies.
It’s hard to tell for sure by reading the story, but I gathered the OP was deliberately trying to hold up the other driver.
Certainly if he gave the other driver a reasonable opportunity to pass, that changes things.
Isn’t that what the OP was doing, due to being blinded by the tailgater’s hi-beams?
Well, maybe I will – but let me make sure I understand what you’re saying. Is it your position that the conduct engaged in by the OP is consistent with what you were taught in a defensive driving course?
I don’t think so. It sounded to me like he was intentionally trying to impede the tailgater in order to punish him and retaliate against him.
Could be six of one, half dozen of the other. I’ve also been on country roads like what the OP describes, most recently in WV (hi, Balle_M!), and certainly wouldn’t want to try pulling off the road with someone’s hi-beams in my eyes. Lots of roads there are built onto the side of a mountain, go too far and you’ll fall of a cliff or drive into a wall of rock.
Yes. The curriculum stated that one should “slow down and continue driving until the problem is resolved.” In the one on one with the state patrol officers in between lessons, we were told to slow down as much as was necessary to get him off your back. Obviously not on the highway, but otherwise, go 15mph if you think you need to.
Yay, I’m being flamed 
Let me set a few things straight:
The road in question didn’t really have a shoulder to speak of. It had a white line on either side of the road, and about 1-2 feet more to the edge (usually a drop-off or vegetation or a railing). I considered pulling over as far as I could and coming to a dead stop, but, I am usually afraid of doing so, as the person behind me might have taken it as a cue that I wanted to start something. I envisioned him pulling up beside me breaking my window with a nightclub or something (yes I probably watch too many movies).
There were a couple of driving paths that opened up occasionally off the road on either side (perhaps long driveways), but these were all pretty narrow and were tough to spot from a distance, especially with the glare that was coming from behind me. I could have taken one of them, but I was a bit afraid that the guy behind me would follow me and trap me in a dead end somewhere. Again, I’m probably being paranoid, but I’d rather take my chances on the main road with cars passing by, than on some random isolated path.
My main reason for slowing down was because my nightvision was being shot to hell. It was genuinely harder for me to see with Mr. Highbeam in back of me. But I also did take a petty vindictive joy in making him slow down. I’m not a saint, and if this makes me a fuckwad, so be it; misery loves company. If this was an emergency of some sort for Mr. Highbeam, there were definitely a few stretches that were safe to pass, though he would have had to do it through a double-yellow. But that wouldn’t matter in an emergency, would it? Again, I could have facilitated this by slowing to a dead stop, but that seems almost an invitation to a direct confrontation. I felt much safer going slow, but obviously I was still risking some sort of road rage from Mr. Highbeam. Still, I did not feel that much danger scooting along on the main road. And certainly not as much as driving fast with half-blinded vision, squinting and closing my eyes frequently. I considered taking off my glasses, actually, as they were really doing a number on me, but that just didn’t seem like such a bright idea. Instead, I kept moving my head around, to find a good spot to avoid that ubiquitous glare while still surveying the road ahead, but it was maddeningly impossible, as all the random reflectors (sideview, rearview, glasses, windshield) seemed to cover all the positions.
As for the illegality of driving slow, perhaps I was being illegal, who knows. But oh well, my ability to drive was being disrupted, and it was as uncomfortable as all hell, so it seemed like the safest thing to do. And I also delighted in Mr. Highbeam sharing my misery, which makes me a bit of a jerk, at least, I agree.
Next time, should I stop completely? Is that a wiser choice? Seems like I’ve been seeing conflicting thoughts on this. My own paranoia says no, but I may change my mind.
By the way, I forgot to mention. At the end, Mr. Highbeam finally did pass me, when the road reached a spot that had the dotted yellow line (instead of double yellow). It’s bizarre that he didn’t seem to mind zooming in at about 50mph (when he was catching up to me), and having his highbeams on within feet from another car, but he totally respected the double-yellow.
Go figure.
I don’t think the OP was being a jerk, even if he did enjoy slowing down the other vehicle.
Tell me, if I’m walking down a dark sidewalk and some guy follows me shining a powerful flashlight at my head, block after block, am I supposed to meekly step into a vestibule and hope he goes away?
Despite Ilsa’s “I know the law in every state”, there are several states that recommend pulling over. And even a few that have a law on the books in re slow driving.
But as for the OP, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have done the same thing. If his lights were really making it difficult to drive safely, then slowing down may have been the best choice.
At least you and Mom made it home safely, and hopefully had a nice Thanksgiving day despite the stress.