Bloody tailgaters...

[Jaggerdagger]

Picture the scenario:

Single carriage stretch of road, 30 minutes drive in total from one town to the next. It's a well used commuting route with a mixture of national and 40/50mph limits. Constant stream of traffic in front of me, all going at a reasonable speed.

Suddenly! A wild prick in an Alfa Romeo decides to sit so close behind me that I can't see his bumper. Even if he overtook me, there was so much traffic in front that there was nowhere to bloody go anyway. I kept a safe distance between myself and the car in front, yet because of this, it seemed to piss the tailgater off even more!?

I went into defence mode and sprayed my back window washer as a warning 😂⚠️ I felt like an angry skunk. It worked for a bit but he was sitting on my bum again within 2 minutes.

I know I'm not being unreasonable here, but I came to discuss why the fuck people do this?! I'm interested in the psychology behind it. Maybe I'm thinking too much in to it and they're all mindless pricks, but thought I'd give them the benefit of the doubt....

It's not just the type of car unfortunately, I drive an SUV and in the past week have had a woman in a Fiesta and another in a Fiat 500 driving nose to bumper with me! Luckily I had nowhere to be in a hurry so they could enjoy driving at 20mph down the 30 and 40mph roads we were on! Fiesta lady was probably one the most aggressive tailgaters I've had to be honest, if I even sped up a little she made up the gap almost instantly, although seeing them rage when they can't overtake and have to go slow does make me laugh. 🤭

It is dangerous and I'd love to know the reasoning behind it.

Same road, same times of day. I had a Nissan micra sport convertible and people left me loads of room, so much so I noticed and wondered why.

I then had a Peugeot 307 and people were so far up my arse I nearly bought that bumper sticker.

Strange.

But if your driving was good enough then you'd be able to overtake. Perhaps you're one of the 85% of drivers who think that their driving skills are above average.

I had this cause I let a bunch of school kids cross at a small roundabout. No cars at the other exits and 1 car behind me, so I let them go before any traffic came. The car behind went a bit ballistic.

To get to work I have to drive down a bendy country road. Two cars can fit past each other at a sensible speed but it’s narrow with lots of blind corners. The speed limit is 40mph. Most people do 60-70mph. I am constantly tailgated every single morning for actually doing 40. It’s so stressful.

how there hasn’t been more accidents on that road I’ll never know.

I bloody hate tail haters. Get them all the time. I dunno where they expect you to go when there's clearly a car In front of you .

Its amusing to watch them chop and change lanes then seem genuinely surprised each car they end up behind is still only doing 30 😂

If it's safe to do so just pull over and let them pass. Lowers your blood pressure but does nothing for theirs as they get stuck behind the poor bugger in front of you 😁

If someone is driving too close to me, I just gradually reduce my speed in 10mph increments untill I get to 10mph or they back off. I will then pick it up again but if they come too close I do the same again.

Audis are the worst offenders.

Thanks, Carrie. Only 9am and you’ve already made my day.

Men have always done this to me. They see a small woman in a small car and believe they own the road more than I do.

Its bullying. If you are not emergency services there is no reason to be the car in front of me.

I had someone do this to me the other day.

60mph road, I'm driving at 60mph. He overtook me and nearly crashed into someone coming the other day - two bends later it amused me greatly to see that he was stuck doing 20mph behind a lorry 🤣

True.

His annoys me too however we have a newer modern car and bizarrely people don’t do it as often now!

I do hate when driving on the motor way and you leave enough space in front just in case and then some arse swerves in in front of you causing you to have to brake!

I drive a similar road to you. It's recently had average speed cameras installed which has helped a bit perhaps. I have been known to do the angry skunk too @Jaggerdagger 😁

I have also been known to get eye contact in rear view mirror and mouth "fuck off" at them. That does work actually 🫣

He has a tiny penis??

I agree too but you have to remember on country lanes that you know well that others may not. Also visibility in a high up vs low down car and handling of cars can affect the speed people can travel at. Op it does my head in when people tailgate when you are in a queue of traffic. I wish I has an LCD display on the back of my car that could read 'Don't you think I'd like to be going faster too you prick'. For info I'm often seething at having to travel behind someone doing 30 ok a 60 road, I actually failed a my first driving test for doing that.

He's an aggressive arsehole who thinks he's Lewis Hamilton?

Fucking annoying, and so dangerous.

I had a 40 minute drive on single carriage roads through various villages the other day. The car in front of me drove at a steady 40mph the whole way, through 60, through 50, through 30 zones. It was very frustrating (but I didn't tailgate).

You are supposed to drive to the speed limit. Lots online that states driving too slowly can be an offence...

In the eyes of the law, driving too slowly or braking without good cause is an offence under the scope of inconsiderate and careless driving.These are defined as driving a vehicle without reasonable consideration for other people.

It is also classed as “unusual and unexpected driving behaviour” and can force harsh braking, increasing the risk of a pile-up.

It also encourages actions like tailgating or unsafe overtaking, particularly if a queue builds up behind the slow driver, and there is peer pressure at play.

If you’re deliberately driving below the speed limit on a clear road, you are likely to be pulled over or reported to the police.
An officer can issue anything from a verbal warning to a fine, or even prosecute for careless, inconsiderable and - in some cases - dangerous driving.

Inspector Gareth Jones of the Roads Policing Unit said: “Driving too slowly on any road can result in the motorist being penalised for careless driving which carries a fine and penalty points on a licence."

Being tailgated is one of the few things that stresses me out when I’m driving. It’s so dangerous and so pointless. Pure aggression, really. I agree the 2-second rule should be the law, and an automatic fail if broken in a driving test.

When a male relative of mine overtakes on the motorway, he always accelerates before overtaking and seems to choose the smallest window. So he'll be right up the arse of the car in front, no doubt scaring the shit out of some people, then swing into the next lane literally the second the car is level with the one he's already pestering. If there's a car accelerating up to us in the lane he's moving into, tough shit for them, Dave's moving into that spot.

It is absolutely terrifying, white knuckle horror for anyone in the car with him, but he literally cannot see what he is doing wrong. He is baffled as to why anyone would be afraid. Doesn't seem to enter his King Of Drivers head that it only takes one emergency brake, one overly panicked driver or one other King Of Drivers to kill us all.

I used to have a C1 when I was single and pet free. People drive up my arse all the time.

Now me and my bf have an SUV in a good brand. I have not changed my driving style one iota, but guess what? No one fucks with me!

Which is weird because in a small car you need more space because you're more likely to do yourself damage in a crash.

I think these people think the rules aren't made for them, everyone is in their way, probably they're bad at time management so they're late and they underestimate (or just don't consider) the risks / impact of driving this way.

Basically they're entitled.

Chip on your shoulder much?

The tiny penis thing always makes me laugh. Imagine it the other way …

bloke : “some woman was tailgating me this morning”
his mate “maybe she had a massive vagina?”
mother mate “it’s small boob syndrome mate, they have to make up for having small boobs by tailgating people” 😂

NAMALT: but, every time (and I really do mean each and every time) I have been tailgated or subject to aggressive driving or dangerous overtaking, it has been a man.

You are correct in that they are mindless pricks. The scariest is the trucks that do it and all you can see in your rear view is the grill.

It's male (usually) entitlement and they do it to intimidate because they are the most important person on the road 🤔