What is it with people who feel the need to tailgate you?

Question

I'm not talking about the fun tailgating with beer and grilling. :)

If I'm in the far-right lane, and the speed limit is 60, and I'm going 75, there is NO REASON for someone to tailgate me. Fact is, the more someone tailgates me, the more slowly I will drive on purpose.

Then they do that thing where they finally zoom around you, cut back into your lane after almost taking your front left headlight off, drive one block, and then turn without using a signal.

What exactly is being proved when someone drives so closely to you that you literally can't see their front bumper?

Answer 1

because those people are idiots. they trust their brakes too much and don't anticipate that they might need to stop suddenly! and some people are just obnoxious.

a couple years ago i was rear-ended by someone who was tailgating on a very busy 8-lane highway near detroit. the speed limit is 70, i was going 75 to 80 in the far right lane. an idiot in a dodge ram was no more than 2 feet behind me for miles, and i was driving a ford focus. traffic in front of me slowed, and this guy wasn't paying attention, and hit me. when the cops came, he tried to argue that it was my fault! my car was totalled and i had massive injuries, and he got off without even a ticket. i sued for medical expenses, and won. muahahaha.

my best advice: if someone's tailgating you and you're uncomfortable, move over, even if you're moving to the left. once they pass, go back into your lane. i do that now.  

Answer 2

I have about a thousand and one methods for confounding tailgaters. I double the distance between myself and the car ahead ( because I have to bank emergency stopping distance not only for myself but for the tailgater ), then I very deliberately let drivers from other lanes or side streets in ahead of me.

Answer 3

I wish I knew...I just don't understand what the confounded hurry is all the time.  A lot of the time, I think super close tailgating is an attempt to intimidate you into moving out of the way or driving faster.  A large percentage of accidents could be avoided by not tailgating-they teach this in drivers education.  When my daughter started to drive two years ago, I told her the two things you can do to significantly avoid accidents is to not speed and not tailgate.  I decided long ago that I wasn't going to kill my family because the guy behind me should have left 10 minutes earlier!

Good luck!

Answer 4

If you are in the far right lane then you are fine, maybe give them a quick brake check! (make sure your passengers are prepared!) I'll admit I am guilty of tailgating people in the left lane but I figure if you want to drive in the fast lane you better be willing to get the ticket so speed up or move over!  

Answer 5

I had a van with a reversing light which was switched on from the inside independent of the gears. Good fun when switched on to a tailgater. They brake like mad.  

Answer 6

Because some people have become impatient.  I blame it on society in general.  We live in a fast paced world now with everything having to be done yesterday.  We are always on the move and always in a rush.  

And of course a dab of A$$Hol# always adds to the joy of roadrage.  Why do people feel the need to do this well because of the *** syndrome and because they are not thinking about anything else but themselves.  They don't see what could happen if for some reason the driver in the front has to stop suddenly.. if that happens then they cause an accident and so on... They are in there own minds at that moment they are not thinking about consequenses.

HOWEVER, you may have times when it could be an emergency and possibly and it is possible that they are on there way to the hospital or to pick up a sick child or a child that has been in an accident.  

I try to think of the later and just move out of there way.  It only takes a few seconds to let them by and then they are gone... gone out of your lane and perhaps you will never see them again.. Awwww isn't that refreshing.. Now you can continue on your journey to your destination with that much less stress..

Have a good weekend Miles.. Un Abrazo mi Amigo..