To slow down when tailgated

[HoneyIshrunktheBiscuit]

Nothing annoys me more than arseholes who tailgate. When I was a new driver I found it incredibly intimidating and now I refuse to be scared by these road bullies.

Just been tailgated, right up my bum, on the motorway in the left lane. Plenty of space to overtake but not the guy was right up there. So I slowed down to about 65 - I couldn't have gone much faster anyway as there was a car only a little in front doing just under 70. When I pulled off on tothe exit junction he was effing and jeffing and gesturing at me.

I live where there are lots of windy narrow country roads, and people get right up your bumper when you slow down (so you don't die!). I get slower and slower and slower until they get the message.

In that situation, I pull into the first layby and let them pass. It just isn't worth the stress. And quite often I find out that I then catch up with them at the next junction anyway, so I enjoy a bit of a snigger.

You slow down so that if they do run into the back of you they will cause less damage. I slow down for all kinds of "knobbish" drivers, if you beep me - I feel I can't trust you so it's better if we both go slower.

I slow down too, not to be an arsehole in return but so that they can overtake if they want you and zoom off into the distance and maybe wrap themselves round a tree.

This is where driving a massive 4x4 comes in handy though - they want to drive into the back of me I reckon they will come off worse every time. Especially when my tow bar ball hitch goes through their front grille. .

We live in a very rural area, and have seen some horrific accidents locally due to speed. All the local B roads have 50 limits with 30 through the villages but in spite of huge signs on the side of and the actual road itself, people can't seem to read them . I was following a tractor yesterday, going very slow on a road I knew very well so waited, as I knew it wasn't safe and would be in a particular place. I had a car sat almost in my boot, and when I indicated to overtake he blasted on the horn and went past first. The utter idiocy we see round here on a daily basis is terrifying, especially as we are near an agricultural college which means lots of heavy machinery and lots of young inexperienced drivers . I slow down and use the fogs to make them think I'm braking.

I slow down. I admit I do it to be an arsehole 😂
Getting up my arse (metaphorically) won't make me go any quicker.

I do get a kick when someone who has overtaken aggressively ends up next to me at the next lights.

That's normal, surely? Why would it be weird?

I'm in the 'don't antagonise the nutter' camp. I hate driving with people too close behind so will pull over on country lanes to let them past. In many of the more remote parts of Scotland, where the majority of the road network is single track, there are signs that tell you to do this anyway.

Pedants corner. There is no such thing as a 'fast ' lane. It is an overtaking lane. As is the middle lane. All those entitled speeding prats who think it is "their" special lane to speed in are mistaken, as I am sure St Peter will explain when they are knocking at the Pearly Gates before their time.

I scoosh them with my windscreen washers. Repeatedly. Usually makes them back off to a distance where they won't get my screen wash on their windscreen.

I slow down as well. I hate people tailgating me and find it really distracting. Much safer to go a bit slower in such a situation.

I absolutely hate it when other drivers come up close on my bumper. It really scares me, because I've been in a motorway car accident and know only too well that you have to drive at a safe distance behind the car in front. It's just so dangerous!

I do slow down and shift over when I can do it safely.

I remember once, I was driving down the M11, overtaking lorries in the inside lane, and there was a female driver who came up right behind my bumper, gesticulating at me. I was driving at 75 mph or so. But the outside lane was completely clear, so she would have had no trouble overtaking me.
She just wanted to have a go at me.

For those of you who do this, do you really want to get points on your license? Some people do it where there are speed cameras!

It's all about being reasonable and driving with care and confidence. There's a stretch of road in my area that is 60 mph and after a couple of turn is just straight all the way. Yet still you will have people doing 35 mph there, with a line of cars building up behind. Inevitably, people get frustrated and will try to pass, except that it is a busy roads, and of course, others do drive up to 60 or more, so it is very dangerous.

I remember when I learned to drive my instructor told me that if I drove at below 40 in a 60 zone on the day of the test, I would fail it, so why do some people think it is acceptable and that they have no responsibility when people over pass them dangerously?

PickleSarnie Great idea! I will remember that one.

what is it with these idiots who insist on overtaking in the outside line half a minute before they're due to leave the Mway on the inside

I generally want to drive at the speed limit, which means I don't want to spend the last mile before turning off stuck at 55 behind a lorry. The problem is that some people pootle along in the middle lane at a speed above 55 but well below the speed limit, making it difficult for me to get past the last lorry between me and the exit. Very occasionally I have to put my foot down to get past these people in time to take my exit. Not sure I've ever gone as far as the right-most lane though.

I got tailgated yesterday, I was on a motorway, it was pouring with rain and there was very little visability, I had slowed down to 50 in the slow lane, (speed limit at the time) and if for whatever reason I had to brake suddenly there was no way this driver would have time to reacted, they eventually overtook me.

Just to add that what really gets to me are those on the motorway who totally fail to take into consideration that it takes much longer to break when it rains than when it's dry.

Hate it how people tailgate on the fast lane but then hate even more those who pass on the left lane to then cut you in front so you have to suddenly brake.

It's a vicious circle, everyone piling on the right hand lane because they are not letting those on the right in, but those not keeping distance because of the above imbeciles prepared to do anything to gain a car's distance.

If I didn't need to also take the exit, I could overtake the pootlers normally, it's the fact they are also blocking access to the exit lane on the other side of the lorry that causes me to have to take exceptional measures.

Whilst I also find tailgaters annoying, I find people driving 35mph on a 60 road much more infuriating! Invariably a Nissan Micra with an octogenarian driver.

YABU. Ignore them completely. Do not play games like flashing your brake lights at them, or slow down to piss them off, or you'll be winding up an already wound up person thus making them more dangerous and more likely to cause an accident. Or you might become the victim of road rage. If you can't ignore them pull over as soon as you can, or at least move your rear view mirror so you can't see them. Just drive normally (unless your "normal" is to be a game-playing twat who feels the need to control the behaviours of other road users of course). If I ever get a tailgaiter I ignore them as they're distracting if you let them be and I don't want to cause an accident myself whilst distracted.

Another pet hate (all coming now!), those who get on the motorway at 40 mph or less especially when there's a queue of cars behind them. Those on the right line have to break hard to get them through, and those behind end up stuck. When you're about to engage on the motorway, you should be getting to the speed of the cars on the left end lane.

So you're saying that you were sat in the left hand lane of an empty motorway doing 65 miles an hour and a nasty driver tailgated you for no reason what so ever?

Seems totally likely.

I hate hate hate this and I ALWAYS slow down when I am tailgated so if they do end up hitting me, it will be at a lower rate of speed. They can go around me or back off.

You should do what you need to in terms of making yourself safer if you are being tailgated. I think the advice is to increase the distance between you and the car in front? That way if the idiot tailgater hits you, it won't cause you to hit the car in front.

I don't agree with trying to annoy the tailgater even though its massively tempting, or trying to make them magically see the error if their ways. They wouldn't be doing it if they didn't somehow think it was acceptable, and annoying them might just provoke a dick overtaking move which is probably more dangerous than the tailgating.

Tailgating the the left lane of a motorways is just bizarre though

I admit to becoming frustrated with people who refuse to do the speed limits when conditions are good, or who will just about muster their cars to move along at 40mph 200 yards following a roundabout, only to immediately begin to slow down again for the next roundabout which they seem to get into first gear to take.

There's 24 roundabout on my 17 mile journey to work, it's utterly tedious behind certain drivers, but I still have no interest in adding to the tedium by tailgating them and continuously breaking for the journey, just attempt to overtake at the best opportunity. It never ceases to amaze me the personal offence these drivers will take to being overtaken though and suddenly want to zoom off into 50mph.

I do too hoping they overtake