Being Tailgated... How do you handle it?
 

It is only occasionally that I get tailgated in the X5, it happens far more offten in my RX7 TT (little bigger than a Miata); I guess some people think people in smaller cars are more easily intimidated?

Anyway, on these occasions. I start watching the rear view mirror to see if the driver is paying attention. Most are. When I am sure they are looking, I give them a "back off" sign - thumb pointing backwards with arm pumping.

Most people back off right away - others get angry, more aggressive, and move in closer.

This happened today. I was going down the street in the 7 when this woman with child in back seat came speeding up to my bumper. She was so close, I could not see the lower portion of her front grill. I give her the "sign" and she immediately gets pissed and closed in tighter while giving me the "go ahead and drive sigh" hands grasping invisible steering wheel and rocking left/right.

Well since I was (a) doing the speed limit - according to my speedo (b) waiting for my engine to come up to heat, (c) on a one lane, I continued at my speed while trying to get her to back off.

After a while it became apparent that she was not going to back off (she was giving me a new sign - the bird) I started to slow. My position is that if you wont get off my ass, I'll take it down to 5-10 MPH below the limit if I have to in order to make the point. If you get off my tail, I will speed back up.

So this turned into a big deal when she tried to pass me on a bend and almost had a head on with opposing traffic. I could see her swearing and cursing and just freaking out. (BTW, this is one of the reasons I keep a camera recording front/rear in th X5 - i need to get one for the 7 now.) All the way to the next light she kept swerving left and right in the lane. I am not sure what that was for because she had nowhere to go.


So, the question I have is how do you all handle tailgaters?

factory option S907A

Yeah, that would be one option but it's a pretty drastic solution :D

Jog my memory....Is that the rocket launchers or machine guns option?

:gun:ok... we will spare the kid... so, when he grows up, he can come after us...

:explode:

this is what we install in northern virginia at our work cars before shipping them abroad!!!

007 - James Bond option

Niice!!

When younger and full of T and angrier/bolder, I would either tap the brakes, or give them the back off wave...these days, I may tap the brakes lightly and see what the response is, or just slow down slowly and wave them by.

Surprisingly, or maybe not, even on fairly empty roads/interstates I occasionally find some idiot on my azz...in the X and esp in the Vette, I might drop the hammer and watch them get tiny in my mirror. But lately, with all the angst and acrimony out there on the highways, if the idiot is not texting, I let them go by. If they are texting, I honk and make faces or...

GL out there in WalmartNation bad driver land. ;)
BR, mD

here is a thought..how about you get out of the way? unless you enjoy pissing people off! "am doing the speed limit" thats just an excuse to be a dck IMO.

not trying to be an a22whole just my .2 ;)

I usually just move out of the way regardless of what speed I'm doing and the posted speed limit (which I ignore anyway). I don't cruise in the left lane so it's extremely rare, but if the right lane is unbearably slow I will speed up and find a gap to poke into the right lane to let the person by.

When I am driving, I am rarely in the mood to offend anyone. If I am doing 140km/h and someone wants to go faster, I will move over as soon as possible, no hard feelings.

However, I'll get pretty annoyed if I'm on the receiving end. If someone in front deliberately tries to slow me down or fails to yield or use an object called a mirror (standard equipment on vehicles!), I get pretty short. In derestricted zones this will happen at times; I realise that 160km/h isn't exactly permissible but if there's room in the right lane, please just move over. Thanks. :banghead: