Toggle switch reverse lights and an airhorn - I am going to have one tricked out Corolla soon.
When people tailgate me (in Calgary, that means whenever my car is turned on), I often say to myself, “I’m not going any faster, but I CAN go SLOWER.” I’m still working on my driving zen (no, really, I am. I don’t want to let all the obliviots and aggressoids ruin my drive.)
I have figured one thing out, though; you’re right about the obliviots, Ludovic. They don’t even know they’re doing anything wrong by tailgating. They were probably taught to drive that way.
They can make my car beep at me any time the door is open, or key in the ignition, or lights are turned on - how about making one that tells you, “You are following too closely. Reduce speed and increase your safe stopping distance.” People would get sick of hearing that all the time, I betcha.
But - but - but - but - but - tailgating is a right!
Seriously, I doubt that it would fly.
It’s not that I don’t think it would have as much of a benefit as the other automatic warnings that cars have been growing these days. (i.e. slim, to none, IMNSHO) But that anyone living in a major metropolitan area, e.g. NYC, LA, DC, Boston, or a few other large cities, would find the alarm infuriating. I’ve had to drive about two hundred miles one fine week when my car’s seatbelt alarm malfunctioned. This was for a period of two days before I could get the time, on the road, to get someone to help me fix the stupid thing. Two hundred miles (about 6 hours of BONGing) was enough to have me bringing out Poe’s “The Bells” from memory. And shouting it out the window. If I were inclined towards road rage, I shudder to think what might have happened. As I said in my OP, there are places and times on the roads, no matter what the safe driving manual might say, where there is little choice but to accept that tailgating happens. Now, part of this may be more proof of how learning to drive in and around Boston warps a young man’s mind, but it doesn’t change the reality on the roads. I just don’t see that the NTSB has the pull to make the automobile commuters of the cities I mentioned (about 10% of the US population, IIRC) suffer through an alarm that’s going to be going off continually during the rush hours. Alas.
The warning would be fairly smart - taking into account how fast your vehicle is going, so that if you are basically stopped, your safe stopping distance goes down to virtually zero. Now you’ve got me wondering if it is indeed possible to drive in large cities without ever driving too closely to some other car. I think it is; when cars are not standing still, there is no limit to how many cars you can fit on a road (think conveyor belt).
Maybe instead of a voiced warning, you could have beeps that don’t start until you get too close, then they get faster and louder the closer you get, and stop as you back off. You would learn to back off right quick as soon as you get a warning ping.
Around here, it is the 18 wheelers tailgating that gets me. I cannot count the number of times I have seen them leave less than a 2 car distance when they are going 75 mph. I may drive a VW Bug, but I don’t want to be squashed like one.
I question whether a rig-up to flash taillights at tailgaters without actually braking would work consistently.
There’s a scene in a Clint Eastwood movie (The Eiger Sanction) where he supposedly fools a following vehicle into braking by turning on his headlights (activating rear red lights simultaneously). I’ve tried this before and Mr. or Ms. Clueless Tailgater is blithely oblivious.
The worst tailgaters IMO are the ones who follow too closely during bad weather. When visibility is shit, snow is blowing right in my windshield, and the roads haven’t been plowed, that is not the time to pressure me into driving faster by riding my ass. In fact, it’s begging for a collision… yet people still do it, even here in the snow belt when they should know better. Jerks.
There is justice in the world, though. We were coming bac from a trip to nearby city, and a Dale Earnhart wannabe was tailgating us. He finally got a chance to pass, and went on his merry way. (by the way, we were going 5 m.p.h. over the speed limit, so he was going quite a bit over the speed limit when he zoomed past.)
A few miles down the road, we saw flashing red and blue lights, and Dale wannabe was out of his vehicle chatting with an officer o’de law!
When I go from college to home, and vice versa, it’s a straight 2 hour shot on highway 70. Highway 70 is a two lane, divided highway for about 1.5 hours of my drive. The speed limit is 70. I usually stay in the left lane and go around 80 the whole way home - I drive home in afternoons so there is never much traffic.
There are a LOT of semis on highway 70. I always seem to get stuck behind them because they all seem to play this game of “which semi can pass the most other semis?” They are supposed to stay in the right lane except when there are cars merging onto the highway, I believe.
One day I was driving home, and got stuck behind a semi in the left lane, and one RIGHT next to me. The one in front was taking his very sweet time passing the truck on the right, so I was stuck. Like, he wasn’t accelerating at all. A fucking huge SUV got behind me. I have an Eclipse. And old one. It’s tiny. I am stuck right behind a semi, next to a semi, and have a Navigator behind me. The fucking Navigator starts tailgating me. WTF? Can he not see the two semis? He gets in so close behind me that I can’t see anything in my rearview but his windshield. I start getting too close to the semi in front (Can’t see his mirrors anymore, so he can’t see me) so I lay off the gas for a second. The Naviagator almost hits me. I got so pissed that I lit a cigarette and just started tapping on my breaks randomly. I don’t think the guy behind me was even paying attention. I tapped on them once and he probably got within 2 feet of my car.
I flipped him off hardcore when he was finally able to pass me. I can’t go fucking faster than the car in front of me, asshole!
I can’t defend tailgaters, but is it possible these people aren’t trying to get you to speed up but are trying to stay on track by following you? I’ve had horrible road moments like that, where the only thing keeping me on the road is the string of cars ahead of me that I can barely see.
I have found that the best way to deal with traffic idiots is ti open and hold the cell hone sort up in view, very obviously punch it 3 times and look around while talking and looking in your mirror or stretching to see the license plate, which ever applies, looking real plain for mile makers or looking at street signs. Spousal unit acting frantic and helping get identifying info with pen and paper is also helpful.
A friend of mine who was an RAF officer at the time persuaded a tailgater to back off by pulling out her ID and holding it up so it could be seen through the rear window. The average Joe can’t tell RAF ID from police, or private transport from an unmarked patrol car.
I’ve noticed lately that a lot of tailgaters seem to have a cell phone jammed in one ear. I think what’s happening is that they ‘lock on’ to the car in front of them, and proceed blithely along while they yammer away. They’re not paying attention to their driving, so they ‘creep up’ on the car in front of them. Eventually, that tiny part of their brain that isn’t obsessed on the telephone conversation is matching the other driver move for move. When it speeds up, they speed up. When it slows down, they slow down.
I was being tailgated once by some dude in a full-sized Bronco. He had been riding my bumper through the last several intersections. We were stopped at a light, and in my rearview mirror, I could see him flipping me off for not pulling over.
Of course, there was no way for me to communicate to him that I needed to be in the left lane to catch the freeway onramp just a few lights up. As far as he was concerned, I was just in his way.
So, the light turned green, and I pulled away, with the Bronco on my ass. Up ahead of me, right before the freeway onramp, there was a car*–in my lane–*slowing down to make a left hand turn. Of course, Bronco-boy was so focused in on me that he wasn’t paying attention to the vehicle up ahead. I let off the gas, and tapped my brakes—which caused him to go into full panic-stop mode and lock up the brakes. I watched my review mirror in fascination/horror as smoke erupted from the Bronco’s tires, and the guy nearly flipped/rolled the thing. It was a miracle that he didn’t go end-over-end.
By now, the car in front of me had completed it’s left turn, so I took the ramp and got on the freeway. The Bronco driver, now recovered somewhat, pursued and pulled up alongside me. He rolled down his passenger side window and started screaming at me. Seeing as how we were speeding along at 65mph, there was really no way to explain that it was all his fault. I just looked at him, rolled my eyes, and shrugged. He tried to sideswipe me, then cut in front of me and stomped on his brakes. Since there was an exit handy, I just pulled off, leaving the asshole there, sitting in the middle of the freeway.
Yep. We get a lot of "cell phone tailgaters" around here. The worse thing about these ding dongs is you know that hitting the breaks, slowing down to make them pass you, or other anti tailgating tactics won't work, they are too busy talking on the phone to pay attention to unimportant things like driving.
Where I drive we have the opposite problem - cellphoners leave about 5 car lengths of space in bumper to bumper traffic moving at 5 mph. Which is fine unless you’re behind them and can’t get around. (Oh, they’re usually in the left lane.) I must say your’s are scarier, though.
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