# Tailgaters -- why do you do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069 "2006-01-15T07:07:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/41 "2006-01-16T23:18:59Z")
> [@A.R. Cane](#): > > If you frequently find yourself needing to flash your lights in an effort to get people to move aside and let you pass, then you are obviously driving too fast for conditions. Clearly, you’ve never driven in the Pacific Northwest. The “flashing lights to pass” meme is common social knowledge in Europe and Canada (and is law in some places); unfortunately, American drivers seem to take it as unbridled aggression. Heck, I’ve had drivers become aggressive and belligerent just for _using_ turn signals; I can just see them thinking, “Pass me! Fuck no you don’t!” before swerving over and attempting to block the lane. (This happens to me daily on the 210 and the 10 Interstates, and no doubt contributes to the reluctance/laziness about properly signalling lane changes evidenced in many drivers.) There’s no reason that drivers can’t be accomodating, and yet many refuse. If you’re on a winding, two-lane road with no way to pass and you find that there are four or five cars behind you, by all means pull off at the nearest turnout and let people by. If you’re in the #1 lane and going five miles under the limit, shift over, damnit. If you’re pigheadedly refusing to let other drivers by, then don’t be surprised if someone flashes their lights; take it as a request to give way rather than a battle cry. Stranger ---
**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:** [January 16, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/42 "2006-01-16T23:31:32Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well meant as your advice may be, it doesn’t really help if your main commuting route has a speed limit of 50 - 55 that people routinely ignore, often driving 10-15 mph under the limit. I don’t know how to avoid becoming angry under those conditions. We now have the root of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/43 "2006-01-16T23:48:13Z")
When someone is tailgating me in a very aggressive and dangerous manner, I often slow down. Not by stepping on the brakes, but by taking my foot off the gas, so I slooowly slow down. I like their reactions when I get to a very low speed. (I’m always hoping they’re not carrying a gun 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/44 "2006-01-16T23:58:25Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > We now have the root of the problem. Precisely! Some folks just want to live in denial, rather than admit to themselves that they may be part of the problem. Even toddlers can easily figure out, that the way to get attention is to do something that evokes anger. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/45 "2006-01-17T00:06:01Z")
> [@Ooner](#): > > I don’t do it often, but it’s the only way to say “hey shitbag, either drive more than 15 miles an hour or get the fuck out of the fast lane” without a megaphone. If you are in that big a hurry to get to whatever, where you will waste the rest of the day doing little if anything of value … GET A PLANE. I may have a sick child or whatever that cant stand the shake rattle and roll of 75 in a 30 mph zone! Learn some patience! Who’s a WHAT? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/46 "2006-01-17T00:07:53Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > When someone is tailgating me in a very aggressive and dangerous manner, I often slow down. Not by stepping on the brakes, but by taking my foot off the gas, so I slooowly slow down. > > I like their reactions when I get to a very low speed. (I’m always hoping they’re not carrying a gun 🙂 ) Quite honestly this means you enjoy making people angry and you like to contribute to Road Rage. I think this is as shitty a thing to do as tailgating. Beside I might be 4 cars behind you and I did nothing to you. A very selfish act. Just keep driving normal and safely, don’t further aggravate people. Jim ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/47 "2006-01-17T00:13:21Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > Clearly, you’ve never driven in the Pacific Northwest. > > The “flashing lights to pass” meme is common social knowledge in Europe and Canada (and is law in some places); unfortunately, American drivers seem to take it as unbridled aggression. Heck, I’ve had drivers become aggressive and belligerent just for _using_ turn signals; I can just see them thinking, “Pass me! Fuck no you don’t!” before swerving over and attempting to block the lane. (This happens to me daily on the 210 and the 10 Interstates, and no doubt contributes to the reluctance/laziness about properly signalling lane changes evidenced in many drivers.) > > There’s no reason that drivers can’t be accomodating, and yet many refuse. If you’re on a winding, two-lane road with no way to pass and you find that there are four or five cars behind you, by all means pull off at the nearest turnout and let people by. If you’re in the #1 lane and going five miles under the limit, shift over, damnit. If you’re pigheadedly refusing to let other drivers by, then don’t be surprised if someone flashes their lights; take it as a request to give way rather than a battle cry. > > Stranger As a matter of fact I have lived in SW Washington for over 20 years. I serviced an Alaskan shuttle warehouse in north Seattle for about 7 years, picking up and delivering Alaskan freight to and from all 48 states. You name the city or state and I’ve very probably driven in it, most, numerous times. Truckers very, very rarely use there lights as a signal to “make way”, in fact the headlight signal is routinely used to indicate that it’s clear to move into the space in front of them. In the days before limited access highways, the flashing of lights was used to call attention to a driver that you intended to pass. As I said, patience and coutesy are the basic qualities of a truly good driver, all this other stuff is rationalization to justify a lack of those two virtues I’m not trying to pontificate, or sound self righteous, I’m just telling you what I learned w/ over two millions miles behind me… ---
**Author:** ![MacGyverInSeattle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@MacGyverInSeattle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacGyverInSeattle)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/48 "2006-01-17T00:46:01Z")
The only time last year I got angry was when driving to work on busy arterial in a patch of fog (There were loaded school bus stops every block) Sight distance was maybe 30 - 40 feet, I was going 10 mph under the 35 limit and an older man in an older Mercedes catches up to me doing about 50 mph, immediately starts to flash his lights and tailgates me under 2 feet away. I was following a line of cars so I couldn’t have gone faster even if I wanted to. I slowed even farther and obviously turned my mirrors away so I couldn’t see him. At the next light, He verbally threatened to “Blow me away with his 357”, I called 911, the dispatcher was very interested, got a full description and dispatched while I was still on the line. I kept him in sight, still on the call, until the police pulled him over, the officer was quite rough on him as he immediately started out cursing loudly at the officer who then yanked him out of the car and spread him on the trunk. I try to be as polite, safe and practical as possible and very rarely get mad at other drivers. I normally drive at about 8 miles per hour over the limit on the freeway (conditions permitting), follow using the 2 second rule, always use the cruse control if possible and try to get out of the way for people coming up. That said I no longer move over for people flashing their high beams as a large percentage of them immediately try to pass me, normally without signals and oblivious to mine, I have had several close calls as we both try to occupy the other lane at different speeds. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2006, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/49 "2006-01-17T06:34:41Z")
My turn signals are information, not requests. ---
**Author:** ![Amblydoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@Amblydoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amblydoper)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/50 "2006-01-17T10:30:38Z")
All that this thread has done for me is to reaffirm my belief that every one drives differently, and has their own preconcieved “rules of the road”. While nothing we can do will ever change the driving habits of others, there is one thing we can do ourselves. Drive Safely and Deffensivly and protect our own lives while on the road. On the Highway, we are surrounded by tons of steel that can turn into deadly missles at the slightest careless mistake of even a typically careful driver. I do what I can to ensure I am not in an avoidable accident when that happens. I use a safe following distance of 2-3 seconds. Yes I said two to **three** seconds. if that causes other drivers to be a few seconds late to work, then they should have left the house earlier. It is my resposibility to keep myself and my passengers alive while behind the wheel. It is not my resposibility to make sure everyone arrives at their destination on time. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/51 "2006-01-17T13:25:22Z")
> [@CoG888](#): > > \ > > I use a safe following distance of 2-3 seconds. Yes I said two to **three** seconds. if that causes other drivers to be a few seconds late to work, then they should have left the house earlier. It is my resposibility to keep myself and my passengers alive while behind the wheel. It is not my resposibility to make sure everyone arrives at their destination on time. I have a similar take on driving, including usually having a 3 second safe distance rule in place. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/52 "2006-01-17T14:45:19Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > Quite honestly this means you enjoy making people angry and you like to contribute to Road Rage. I think this is as shitty a thing to do as tailgating. > Beside I might be 4 cars behind you and I did nothing to you. I admit it might be bad for cars behind the tailgater, but quite honestly, if I’m going 75mph and someone is 2 feet\* behind me, that is very dangerous. If I have to make a sudden stop he will surely crash into me. So, I slow down to a speed where 2 feet is a safe inter-car distance. - I’m not sure how far he actually is, but it feels like 2 feet. I can no longer see the headlights of the car behind me. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/53 "2006-01-17T14:53:51Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > I admit it might be bad for cars behind the tailgater, but quite honestly, if I’m going 75mph and someone is 2 feet\* behind me, that is very dangerous. If I have to make a sudden stop he will surely crash into me. > > So, I slow down to a speed where 2 feet is a safe inter-car distance. > > - I’m not sure how far he actually is, but it feels like 2 feet. I can no longer see the headlights of the car behind me. Well whenever you are already exceeding the speed limit and the person behind you chooses to do a close in tailgate, I will gladly admit he is being the bigger asshole. Still kind of sucks for the relatively safe drivers behind the asshole however. Of course \*\*A.R. Cane \*\* will rightly tell us, we are all in the wrong. 😉 Jim ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/54 "2006-01-17T15:04:42Z")
> [@Polerius](#): > > When someone is tailgating me in a very aggressive and dangerous manner, I often slow down. Not by stepping on the brakes, but by taking my foot off the gas, so I slooowly slow down. > > I like their reactions when I get to a very low speed. (I’m always hoping they’re not carrying a gun 🙂 ) I do this to very close tailgaters. It’s not to make them angry – it’s to make things safer, because if I’m driving a bit more slowly and further away from the car in front, it’s less likely that I will have to brake suddenly. A very long time ago – perhaps 30 years ago – I was being tailgated on a quiet suburban street, so I slowed down to perhaps 10 kph. When I came to a stop sign at that speed, I jammed on the brakes at the last minute, to stop there. Obviously, the guy behind me expected me to keep on driving slowly through the stop sign, and he ran into me, wihout causing significant damage. And of course, he was furious, even though clearly I was right to stop at the stop sign and he was wrong to rear-end me. Much more recently, as I was driving near home, there was a truck behind me obviously angry that I did such wimpish things as drive to the speed limit in a 25 mph area and stop at stop signs. So, at the next corner, where there was a “yield” sign and I’d signalled that I was turning right, this idiot overtook me at the corner on the left before immediately turning right in front of me. It was about the most dangerous driving I’d ever seen, and it was fortunate that there weren’t any other cars close to us. For a fraction of a second I thought of chasing him, but then I realised that (a) I’d never catch him, and (b) I would know what to do if I did catch him. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/55 "2006-01-17T15:07:27Z")
> [@Ooner](#): > > I don’t do it often, but it’s the only way to say “hey shitbag, either drive more than 15 miles an hour or get the fuck out of the fast lane” without a megaphone. We definitely need roadhog laws. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/56 "2006-01-17T15:28:50Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > We definitely need roadhog laws. Pennsylvania has them. But just like the tailgater laws they are rarely enforced. (I have never seen either one enforced in my almost 30 years of driving.) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/57 "2006-01-17T15:43:48Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Well, we should also note that the definition of “tailgate” is a loose one. What some people consider tailgating is actually a proper following distance based on the age old 1 car length per 10 mph dictum. This “age old dictum” is wrong for several reasons. Firstly, stopping distance does not increase with speed in a linear manner - stopping distance is proportional to the square of your speed, so at higher speeds this distance will be too short. Secondly, at 65mph your _thinking_ distance is 65 feet, i.e. that’s how far the car travels before you even have time to hit the brake pedal. This also assumes that your brakes and tyres are in perfect condition, road and weather conditions are perfect, and you are not distracted, tired, on medication etc… So 84.5 feet (6.5 car lengths) is much too short to be a safe distance. This is why the two second rule is used, since the distance given by it depends upon the speed at which you are travelling. In wet conditions, stopping distance doubles, and on ice can be up to ten times greater. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/58 "2006-01-17T15:45:55Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Pennsylvania has them. But just like the tailgater laws they are rarely enforced. (I have never seen either one enforced in my almost 30 years of driving.) C’est la guerre! ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/59 "2006-01-17T19:09:42Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > My turn signals are information, not requests. Please forgive the rest of us for being on the highway your majesty, I needed to buy food, I won’t do it again. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069/60 "2006-01-17T19:13:38Z")
I apologize for the rolleyes, I meant to use … 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tailgaters-why-do-you-do-it/340069.md?page=4)