To wonder if it's worth reporting a tailgating?

[ClaireLumia]

I was followed today by a very aggressive driver who drove dangerously close to me for more than a mile through an area which went from 30mph, then 40mph, then 50mph. So as I increased speed he did too although I stayed at 40 in the 50 part due to how close he was behind as he would have had no chance in hell of not running into me should I have needed to stop suddenly.

In the past I've probably had a bit of a moan about it when I got home and then forgot about it. However I now have a rear window dash cam that's recorded all of this so was wondering if it's worth reporting the driver to the police.

brummiesue and it is immensely annoying when someone puts your life in danger in danger by tailgating because they think they are a better driver than you are.

I am a police officer with about 12 years of emergency response driving experience, a fundamental of this type of driving (and any progressive driving) is to keep well back from the vehicle in front.

Driving up someone's rear makes it a lot harder to overtake, obstructs the view of the road ahead, gives you less time to react to danger, slows your journey, intimidates the driver in front making hem more likely to cause an accident (and if they are smart drive even slower) and shows how much of a twat and a poor driver you really are. If you tailgate me when I'm in a work vehicle you WILL get a ticket and three points on your licence. If you tailgate me when I'm in my own vehicle, I will slow to an appropriate speed to give me the time to react to he vehicle in front, and I will ensure that you are reported for the offence and get the three points you deserve.

brummiesue - He started tailgating me when I was in the 30mph part, then I went up to 40 when it changed to 40 and he was still very close. When it changed to 50 I was going up a hill so was only increasing slowly but decided not to go any higher as he was still very close behind me.

Elfieselfie - I moved the video as I'm going to report it to the police when I get back from work later.

Evergreen - the reason they are insistent on you driving to speed on national speed limit roads in the driving test is to demonstrate that you as a driver can cope with driving at higher speeds. If it is dark, foggy, lots of horses/cyclists around, wet, bendy then you obviously drive more slowly.

brummiesue - Frankly if you were going 10mph under the speed limit im not suprised you were tailgated. Its immensely annoying for those of us who want to drive sensibly at the speed limit!

Oh what an idiot you sound. I hope you read userformallys post.

You know it's really worrying
a) how many people seem to think that you are more or less entitled to drive how you like if someone else on the road is in your opinion 'being annoying'

and

b) how many people seem to think that you HAVE to drive within 5 miles an hour of the speed limit come what may.

I really don't get this. Do these people try to take all the corners at 50 60 or 70 miles an hour as well because
That Is The Speeeeeeeeed Limit?
No! Or course not! Because that's not how speed limits work. And if you can grasp this then you can grasp the reason another person might not be breaking their balls trying to get within 10 miles an hour of the MAXIMUM speed limit. It's not a fucking game.

The Speed Limit is NOT a mandate to drive like a prat up someone's arse either.

The Highway Code

For those of you that think driving under the speed limit is some kind of offense.

Not increasing your speed when you're being tailgated is sensible advice. 40mph in a 50mph limit is entirely appropriate in these circumstances. The best thing to do when being tailgated is to pull over and let the fuckwit past, but if you can't do that then increase the distance between you and the car in front, in case they have to stop suddenly. It'll let you slow down more gradually and help prevent the tailgater going into the back of you.

'What an idiot I sound' hmmm lovely....
At no point did I say that I myself was a 'tailgater' or that I drive aggressively. I also am aware of the highway code and do not need a lesson in how to drive safely thank you.
I do however live in a rural location and often see drivers become so frustrated with people driving under the speed limit that they do dangerous things like tailgating, reckless overtaking etc. Clearly they are in the wrong but sometimes it does seem that slow driving can almost be as dangerous as speeding due to the reaction of other frustrated road users.
Shame im just an 'idiot' though