Was this driver justified

[Anxious404]

New driver, had a guy tailgating me doing 32 in a 30. I could see him and his passenger, a woman, gesticulating angrily behind me and the car was swerving in and out behind me but they couldn't overtake due to traffic. I didn't feel there was a safe area to pull over to let them pass.

When we got to a junction on red lights a bus was waiting to turn right so as the lights changed to green I set off slowly and flashed the bus through, which I now know probably wasn't the right thing to do. The bloke started blaring the horn and shouting stupid bitch at me and shaking his fist. This continued all the way down this road and then when I turned off almost in tears he was still going and flipping me off.

It's really shaken me up.

You were fine. He was an arsehole

Advice on a speed awareness course, if being tailgated, is to slow down. You did nothing wrong.

He was an idiot, you shouldn't have flashed the bus through though.

No he wasn't justified. It's usual to let buses out. I'd get a dash cam that does front and back. You can email footage to the Police.

Just a stupid, childish boy racer with a small penis who thinks he owns the roads because he's arrogant enough to drive like a wannabe Lewis Hamilton but knows he'll never be skilled enough to do so.

No, of course not. Horrible, aggressive people who had no business behaving like that.

(However, you are in the wrong for driving at 32 in a 30 zone. 30mph speed limits are in place for a reason. Travelling above 30mph means that if the worst were to happen and you hit a pedestrian, their chances of surviving that collision are lower than if you were travelling at or under the speed limit. You should never speed up under pressure from someone tailgating you).

Some people have no patience, you just have to live with it. And when you have more experience, the first time you feel like screaming at someone going slow or not doing what you would do in a situation remember how it felt to be in that position. Also speedometers are not exact your 30 was probably more like 28, no reason for him to go nuts though.

He's a twat.

Did you slow and flash the bus on purpose to annoy him though?

I know. I just wanted to be kind, I probably only added about ten seconds onto his journey. I feel very sorry for bus drivers and none of the cars behind could continue ahead or turn left.

I guess in the future I won't :(

No, not at all. I always try to let buses out where I can. After catching buses for my life I have huge sympathy for bus drivers.

I know. I normally stick dead to 30,but I thought maybe if I did 31/32 they'd back off a bit. I was wrong

Flashing someone through can be very dangerous, they take it that the road is clear and there could be another vehicle that is not giving way. I saw a pretty big accident where a car flashed someone through a gap in one lane of traffic straight into the path of a car coming the other way, huge broadside hit.

Hi, there could have been no one else coming. The lights are only green for traffic going straight ahead (of course you can also turn left or right) no one behind the bus could move and I was at the front of my row of traffic. The lights were on red for the other directions. Sorry I'm not good at explaining road lay outs, but I do get what you mean.

I always let buses out too.

But I wouldn't if there was traffic behind me that was waiting for a green light.

Was the bus oncoming waiting for his filter? Maybe I've misunderstood.

Anyway...These things happen. He won't be the last abusive driver you come across. Youll make mistakes. Other people will make mistakes. Try and forget it.

His behaviour was awful but please don't flash cars through junctions like that - it can be really dangerous.

EDIT: I know you say other lights were on red but that's exactly why it's so dangerous - they could change, or there could be a police car or ambulance, or a bike you weren't able to see (or just someone running a light) etc.

Unfortunately this is what drivers are like now. Dreadful since Covid.

stick to the speed limit though, don't let idiots push you over the limit.

Don't let them get to you, stay calm & carry on!

There are a lot of impatient idiots on the road and it takes a long time to be confident in what speed you're doing and not let them fluster you. Well it did me. Just keep going OP. It will get easier to ignore jerks like this. I always slow down now if I get one of those behind me - gives me more time to think and react if they do something stupid.

Basically it's a four way junction..+ like this plus sign if you will. So the bus was at the top of the plus sign wanting to turn right down the left of the plus sigh, and I was at the bottom of the bus sign going up/straight ahead. As soon as the lights changed I set off but slowly and flashed so that the bus could quickly turn right. The other direction is on red lights during this.

Oh, so many spelling errors and fails. I'm sorry 😯 I'm still half asleep

That's what I would have done.

Or if a car was trying to get out, then let them get out.

It's a 30. People shouldn't tail gate in a 30

@Anxious404 I have a sign in the rear window of my car which reads " The closer you drive, the slower I go". Seems to work.

This is exactly what I was going to say. Also, never speed up if being tailgated. You'd look in the wrong if you had to turn the dash cam movie to the Police and you were exceeding the limit.
Obey the rules/laws, be polite, stay safe and enjoy your driving. 😊

The rules of the road are there for good reason. Kindness (aka breaking those rules for no other valid reason) was unwise when you knew you already had an idiot going full tonto behind you.

He was very unreasonable with his road rage.

Ha I would have flashed the bus through to annoy him! What did he expect you to do? You were already going above the speed limit. Let's just hope on another day he'll get a ticket!

Can be grateful he's not a regular person in your life, OP.

He probably makes himself constantly miserable, too.