Driving Alone At Night - Harassment - Anyone Else?

[LessMissAbs]

Tonight, while driving through roadworks on a motorway with a speed limit of 50mph, I was tailgated by a car with its full beam on. Really close tailgating. Smaller, less powerful car than mine so when I accelerated back up to national speed limit, it got left behind. It then caught up and tailgated again. Went on for miles. Eventually I slowed down to about 40mph, they were forced to overtake, and I continued to drive slowly so they didn't follow me home or find out where I lived. I'm pretty sure I was targeted because even in the dark, they noticed I was a lone woman driver (there were 3 young males in the car).

This has happened to me a few times. Has anyone else experienced it? I once had a much worse incident but want to see if other people have had similar experiences before going into that.

[flowery]

I've had this. When I was a student driving an ancient Renault 5. Van driver came up close behind me, really close. I couldn't speed up to lose him (because my car was the type that took 10 minutes to get from 0 - 60 and it started shaking if I got above 80). If I slowed right down to try and force him to overtake and leave me alone, he'd overtake, then sit right in front of me, slowing down himself. Eventually I'd overtake and the whole thing would start again.

It was on the A14 and I was going from Cambridge to Ipswich then to Colchester so could have gone on for a while.

I pulled off at the next turning, he didn't follow me, so I went round the roundabout and then straight back on again. I think if he'd have followed me I've have driven to a garage.

[flowery]

Oh, and this was in broad daylight btw.

[fluffyraggies]

Yes, lots of times in lots of different cars. On the motorway and in town at night. As a teen i did the driving to a police station after i'd been followed out of a car park and through west london, late at night, for miles by a bunch of blokes in a car. When they realised what i was doing they buggered off.

In more recent years i've done allot of very late night/early hours of morning motorway driving (M40) and it was a common occurrence to be ''played with'', ie: tail-gated, then driven alongside, then blocked by slow driving by a male or group of males in another vehicle when the motorway was practically empty.

Annoying, and often frightening.

[fluffyraggies]

I wish it was legal to have a sign you could light up in your car window which says ''i've got your number and i'm reporting you!''

[ViviPru]

I've never experienced this. When I'm driving I am usually lone and my car is usually the most powerful on any stretch of road I'm ever on, it's also a rare model known for being nicked to order, so I suppose given the above I'd be a prime target? (Although if anyone ever did try and tailgate me and keep up... well basically, they couldn't keep up)

I do however get motorway "friends" - I heart them. People who are going the exact same speed as I am, we let each-other out to overtake, keep respectable stopping distances from each-other, never race but just keep a steady pace together. I get sad when they exit.

[maddening]

If I have this happen I put on fog and hazard lights - fog to tell them to back off and hazard to draw attention to my car - eg on a motorway there are camera all the way or a passing police car.

[tolittletoolate]

I used to have a Jeep Grand Cherokee with a tow bar, the last time someone tailgated me I slammed the brakes on, that made him back off a bit!

[IceBeing]

Maybe an obvious on board video camera? It seems to work for cyclists....the mere threat of having their bad driving recorded stops some car drivers....

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

This happened to me several years ago. I was an Ann Summers rep and was on my way home from a rural party around midnight.
A car came up behind me and stuck so close that I couldn't see its lights! I was dazzled so I tipped my mirror. It was pitch black and I could make out nothing. It stayed there for several miles. As I came up a long straight bit of dual carriageway I pulled over so they could overtake. They didn't. As we came into the street lit area where I lived, blue flashing lights appeared. My tail gater was a police car!
They made me get out, breathalysed me, asked where I was going, had a good look in the boot and a good root around, and a good snigger at the contents, made me feel thoroughly intimidated and let me leave.

[Cuddlydragon]

I live in a semi rural location and often drive along a long dark country road at night. It's a prime magnet for young guys speeding and racing. They tend to tailgate til you pull over as far you can to let them past. My neighbour has a genius solution though. She has a blue plastic bowl thingy, and has stuck a small torch inside which she leaves on the passenger seat. If she gets tailgated she switches the torch on and shoves it on her dashboard. The car instantly sees a big blue light go on and she swears that 99 times out of a hundred they slow down and pull back just in case. In any event whilst they're figuring it out she pulls way ahead.

[notyummy]

If be really surprised if people do it because they it's a woman in the car. They do it because they are frustrated (rightly or wrongly) at the speed you are going. I also get frustrated at the Driving Miss Daisy brigade, but I am a civilised human being so I hang well back and the overtake if and when it is safe. I have been tailgates and although I think the aggressive drivers who do it are knobs, I don't think it is a male/female thing- it's just a manners and driving style thing.

[notyummy]

Agree that BMW drivers are absolute prime offenders btw.

[ViviPru]

Oh do behave, BMW bashers. That's like me saying Micra drivers are prime Driving Miss Daisy offenders. They are.

I keep a VERY respectful stopping distance and never tailgate, if anything I get the rage that people jump out into my stopping distance.

[notyummy]

You are right Vivi- it's a sweeping generalisation. But an unnervingly high proportion of offenders do seem be to be in BMWs- honestly. I don't know what % of the population drives a BMW, but there are disproportionally represented in the arsehole driver category. It's something friends and I have discussed. But it's not exactly a scientific survey.

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

Sorry Vivi, I'm reading that in an Austin Powers voice; very funny.

You're right though, these generalisations are just stupid and have no foundation.

[BoneyBackJefferson]

I don't think this was due to the OP being female, I honestly believe that it is down to some males being dicks.

I have had this done to me when I was learning to drive, when I have had small cars, when I have had large cars and even when I have had old cars.

Some people (mainly men) just have to have a go.

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

Nah! Round here its Audio drivers!

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

AUDI! !!!

[handcream]

I have had had behaviour over the years like this. But isnt it interesting. Its ALWAYS men....

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Interesting that you mention the M9 lessMiss
I had a horrible tail experience years back.
I 'know' the M9 a bit, but there were loads of roadworks (they removed a huge roundabout that used to be near the Carlise turnoff)

So early morning, road was empty except for me and a lorry.
There were 2 lanes.
There was nothing to stop this other driver overtaking.
There was a 50 limit through the roadworks then.
They drove so close, their headlights were in my rear view mirror. I coud see the grill but not the number plate.
I put on my hazard lights
They put on Full Blast High Beam

C**t

[WilsonFrickett]

It happened to four of us in a car on the way to Glasgow last month. Total wanker being a total wanker. Grrrr.

[ComposHat]

I'm male and tend to drive within the speed limit and I have experienced near identical dickheadish behaviour, so my guess it is over aggressive knobbers rather than harassment.

[splasheeny]

I have had a car following me for 3 miles flashing its lights. It freaked me out a bit and I pulled into a petrol station and they didn't follow.

I don't think its to do with being female. More that some drivers are just arses.

[Bonzodoodah]

Seems like a lot of us have had this.

In my twenties I was driving one night and a car stopped at the lights next to me. It was a man in his 50s and he was staring straight into my car at me. He then followed me onto the motorway and off the motorway where I came off. I was getting nervous as whenever I pulled out to overtake something so did he. This went on and on and I was getting close to where I was going which was down quiet side streets and not to a house.
I was getting really panicky. Then at some traffic lights I had an idea and pulled into the outside lane, when the lights changed, right at the last minute I swung right into a side road. He was so surprised (as I hadn't indicated) that he carried on. But I could see him driving staring back at me as he went up the road. Freaked me out.

[Bonzodoodah]

Now when people act like arses on the Motorway (with no-one else about) I slow right down until they overtake then slam the brakes on as they are speeding up overtaking. This means they accelerate away from me and any silly tricks they are trying to pull - like pull in and brake - can't work.