2 SECOND DISTANCE, DAMMIT!
Where I live people will tailgate me, not matter what lane on the freeway I drive in, pretty much no matter how fast I go, no matter what time of day or night.
Mind you, I usually drive somewhat over the speed limit. That’s pretty normal for here-if you don’t you’ll cause disruption in traffic flow, because you’ll be going at least 5 mph slower than everyone else.
If I’m poking along in the fast lane-which I generally don’t do, or in a middle-left lane, well, I do see them coming up, and I move to the right, provided I can, and if I can’t I accelerate and then get out of their way…
But I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the people who, with plenty of room for them to pass on the left will come up and tailgate me.
The thing is, they will do it when they’ve got a clear shot on the left to go around. I mean really clear, like 500 feet. Still, they will come up and act like a giant magnet is pulling them into my bumper.
This is dangerous, bullying behavior. I move out of their way-because that’s the safe thing to do- but it feels like I’m rewarding them for being an asshole.
When I had my stick-shift hoopty, I used to love popping it into third for tailgaters. No brakelights, but all of a sudden I’m RIGHT THERE. And it was a piece o’ crap, so I actively wanted them to nail it, because their insurance would have bought a better car.
I love the smell of ambulance-chasing attorneys in the morning. Smells like victory.