I just been tail-gated for 50 minutes while driving down from brisbane to gold coast.
Offender used High beam and very close to the car and this psycho kept following me even when i moved out of the way.
Whats the best way to get these psychos. I want to prepare for next time
@lew380: Which "buzz words" were you thinking of? Palpable? Irony? Both common English words and both right on the money. Your statement spoke for itself. Advocating and excusing tail-gating in order to "teach someone a lesson" is grossly irresponsible, dangerous and unnecessarily aggressive. The "pack" you identify with has no place on our roads.
@Igaf: I said I'm not advocating for tail gating, just stating that it's the only way for social shaming bad drivers, you have ignored the entire debate and just attacking me based upon your own lack of reading comprehension. The "pack" is on the roads whether you like it or not, the question is whether things can be done differently or do you just hold your head up high as a superior being while the majority try to fix the problems on the road in the best way they can in the moment.
@lew380: You haven't got a clue. Your contradict yourself with every post. You are clearly advocating tailgating when it suits you without even the vaguest idea of the possible serious consequences to others on the road - including people not involved in the offence you've unilaterally decided needs "fixing". Your notion that tailgating is a good (the only) way of sending a message to "bad drivers" (the irony is palpable, as I said) is puerile, dangerous, anti-social and illegal. The message your own vindictive dangerous driving sends has nothing to do with making roads safer or more free-flowing. It's simply about venting your impatience and anger, and your unalienable right to do as you see fit no matter what the consequences may be.
That pack exists in your head, not on the roads, although there are obviously quite a few nutters who think they're perfect and road rage is normal behaviour. "The majority" - roflmao, that old furphy - of people on the roads know it's not their place to "fix" traffic problems through the aggressive and dangerous driving that you advocate. The vast majority of people on the roads appear to accept that drivers - including themselves - make mistakes and errors of judgement or inattention from time to time. That can be very annoying. But they also act as responsible adults on the road, understanding - unlike you - that dangerous driving like "teaching someone a lesson" can have life-changing if not fatal consequences.
Your attitude and mentality has no place on the roads.
@lew380: OMG are you serious? Wow. just wow. You think you're doing a public service and it's actually one of the most dangerous and universally hated things to do.
You're just hoping that your reflexes and brakes are good enough if they emergency stop which is the stupidest way to drive.
@Sxio: You sound like you get tail gated a lot, I stick to the limit, always drive with traffic, the only time I get tailgated is when it's some meth head who drives like they want to die. To me it seems like a natural correction for bad drivers who are oblivious to the road users around them and clueless as to what they are doing. It's obviously somewhat dangerous, but more dangerous than clueless drivers with little to no situational awareness? I would guess that far more accidents are caused by bad drivers than impatient people trying to get home for a shit or late to work and don't want to do 10 under the speed limit.
I would guess that far more accidents are caused by bad drivers than impatient people trying to get home for a shit or late to work
No doubt you would guess that. On the other hand you could spend five minutes of your obviously valuable time googling and reading to see how wrong you are.
@lew380: Well it's clear you don't have a clue what you're on about. Been tail gated once in the last couple of years that i can remember. But i know actively tailgating people is the dumbest thing you can do and to post about it like you're proud of this moronic behaviour speaks volumes about the kind of person you are.
You should do some driving courses. Or at least watch some YouTube videos. What you think you know is vastly removed from reality.
Don't tailgate people. It's stupid and achieves nothing.
Tail gating is the only way to get the message across to dangerous drivers
Quick tap of the horn. Instant feedback is important as otherwise they won't know what they did wrong. It's also important for the person who feels wronged to be able to move on for their own sake. Tailgating someone for 50mins doesn't say anything about the tailgatee, only very concerning things about the tailgater.
@Miss B: Horns alert everyone, hard to tell who is honking who. The offending person in OP's case used his lights as well. A 50 min tail gate seems like a meth head met an incompetent/rude driver.
Bit thick are ya
You are missing the point here. I was doing 110 before, but only after being tailgated and having no means to get rid of them then did i decide to gradually slow down. If they left at 80, then so be it, I'll pick up speed again and drive normally. But they wouldn't leave at all, so it got down to 40.
The real question is, which self respecting tailgater would continue tailgating a gradually slowing car until it reaches 40?
The usual: an idiot
I think the important point we should take away from this, is don't do what you did.
Doing something dangerous to stop someone else doing something dangerous is well Dangerous whether it achieved your desired outcome or not. Two dangers don't make a safe.
PSA: One should never choose to do 40 in a 110 zone unless otherwise directed to do so by roadwork/police or hazard(hazards IN front of you, not hazards behind you). This advice is for your own safety and more importantly the safety of others.
@ceroau: Fair point, but I wonder if it is really safer to be tailgated at 110? If you get involved in a car accident with a tailgater on your tail, at the speed of 110, the damage would be tremendous
@ceroau: I dont agree. Its situational. The poster thought slowing down was safer than driving with a road rager sitting on their ass - dependant on road type, traffic etc it may well be the best option.
Throw a banana peel at them
O'Doyle Rules!
O'Doyle, I've got a feeling your whole family's going down.
Red shells better
OP was in 1st, he might only get a green shell.
Star is best
Throw a shoe!
Whats the best way to get these psychos.
Somehow you don't strike me as the type to throw hands with someone at the side of the road, so I'd be careful what you wish for and instead recommend that you opt to be the bigger man and let it go. Provoking unstable lunatics is a game of diminishing (or no) returns.
D*ckheads like that usually end up getting what's coming to them and lead pretty f**ked up lives to begin with.
50 minutes of being tailgated versus being another road rage victim story on ACA is not the end of the world.
Keep things in perspective and remember what you value most in life unless you're seriously prepared to follow through with your rhetoric, in which case, good luck and I look forward to reading the next instalment: "Confronted tailgater on the highway and now I'm typing this post with my big toe from the ICU… Advice?"
Agree. Easy to get upset, but I always remind myself (and others) that the only thing that matters is getting to your destination safely. Don't provoke/engage, because you have no idea what kind of drug-fueled lunatic may be in the other car. It's not worth it, so let karma deal with it.
Yep. This. I haven't really been tailgated that I've noticed for a while but if I'm on the highway I just drive in the most normal, boring way ever and it doesn't leave ppl much to engage with.
Seriously I just want to get to where I'm going in one piece.
I did have a guy 3inches from my bumber in suburbia a few months ago and that definitely raised my blood pressure. No idea what he was doing,
Not sure what you should do, but never ever brake check.
That's probably what started the whole thing in the first place!
Why?
Two wrongs don’t make a non-idiot
Why is it wrong?
@jackspratt: Brake checking is just plain dangerous. If you want whiplash or to be bashed or fined, go right ahead. It’s also banned in motorsports for the basically the same reasons.
@WhyAmICommenting: I've never found brake checking to be dangerous, and I have also found it to be generally effective in achieving the desired result
Also, I have never been whip lashed, bashed or fined.
However, I can understand why it is banned in motorsports - if that is relevant to this thread.
Was the tailgater @speedingftw?
Dam. Beat me to it!
I was going to say I thought speedingftw was from Victoria
Just been up to the goldy to drop off latest ice shipment.
Maybe they were on their mobile phone and ended up in QLD
Officially voting this as comment of the month.
Yes, he's angry that he just got banned on Whirlpool
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/user/911965
Status: In the penalty box
That made me laugh. Here, have an upvote sir.
I can’t believe you let someone tailgate you for 50 min. I had a tilgater last week. I was doing the speed limit. I tapped the brakes once while they were too close and continued at the speed limit and they got the message. Had they continued to tailgate I would have pulled over. Life’s too short to deal with d-heads
If you pull over though they'll stop too and start threatening you.
So when they get out of the car you move off again, hit try to pull over somewhere it’s easy to take off from. It’ll take them time to get back in and going again.
No they won't. Will they? Why? Aren't they tailgating cos they're so keen to get where they're going?
If you're frequently getting threatened for your driving, maybe you should brush up on your skills and do a few courses? Cos that's not normal.
Aren't they tailgating cos they're so keen to get where they're going?
Are you speaking from experience, or are you assuming that people who tailgate have any observable higher brain functions?
@DiscountForThee: I am. I can be honest. I don't think I am a tailgater, but I have found myself right behind ppl before because they're going so slow. At no point am I thinking 'I'm gonna get this person' I'm thinking 'seriously 40 in a 60? I want to get somewhere!' And that's the point where I slow down and give myself safe stopping distance.
Very confident every normal person who drives has experienced this.
I'm thinking 'seriously 40 in a 60? I want to get somewhere!'
Very normal and I'm sure everyone experiences this.
have found myself right behind ppl
This makes you an silly Billy. Either not paying attention to the road (bad!) or choosing an unsafe following distance (also bad!)
@Sxio: alot of stupid drivers who do 50 in a 70 zone then do 60 in a 50 zone… i have no idea what they are thinking, just change lanes and get around them, or if single lane bad luck.
If someone is tailgating you when they do not have the option to overtake? Sure in OP's case after 50 minutes of tailgating where the tailgater has plenty of opportunity to overtake whe OP moved over for them and slowed down for them? If they haven't left you in their rear view mirror at that point. That person wants a confrontation. Pulling over may well just be what gives them the opportunity to get their confrontation.
I wouldn't do anything to aggravate them even more. You never know with nutjob looneys, they can be carrying a weapon or can even just grab their tyre iron out and bonk you on the head.
Get a balloon, fill it cum, throw the balloon at the Raptor that was tailgating you.
Instructions unclear. Couldn’t finish, too stressed. Crashed into tree when hand slipped.
Need a hand?
How long does it usually take to fill balloon?
Usually about 20 seconds.
Just a typical afternoon
Balloons are pretty small until you add a lot of pressure.
I imagined it would be pressurised for maximum damage
2 minutes me aged 15, 3 days me aged 40. Sadly this has nothing to do with me being able to last longer ☹️
cracking one out while driving is not really a good idea
Seems like the may be preloading them in case a situation like this arises.
Doesn't surprise me on that road. They are maniacs. Changing lanes 4 at once, overtaking in the left lane etc, etc.
Left lane is almost always empty.
this is actually interesting… you're on the left lane, all others empty. Doing normal road speed. You catch up to someone going slower, in the middle lane. Do you change lanes twice, all the way to the right, to overtake the one in the middle lane, then go back to left lane, or do you just keep going at same speed in the left lane?
Pull over if it's safe to do so and let them leave.
Just move to the leftmost lane and gradually slow down. No brakes needed. When you are doing about 80 in the 110 zone they usually give up and drive off.
Serious question. If someone is absentmindedly stuck in the right lane on a two lane highway, what do you do?
I followed a car for literally 75km on the Hume because maybe I'm a masochist, and I'm a stickler for not undertaking, and I honestly didn't think it'll take 40 mins for them to get the message but after a point I just wanted to set a record for longest right lane hog following, and I wasn't in a rush. Active cruise helps a lot though.
Undertake. It's not illegal to go round them using the left lane despite what many seem to think.
Thanks. Should've looked it up and saved me some time.
Undertaking is ok as long as there is a marked lane to the left.
I mean it is common sense at that point. Someone is driving slower in the right lane, solution? Drive around them.
Move fairly close, not tailgating close. Give a flick or two of the high beam. Wait a little. If this fails, pass on the left and carry on. No point hanging around for some clown to come back to earth and move left.
I'll be honest: I do it for the entertainment factor. It's an otherwise several hour drive with nothing else to do. It's a bit like an experiment, you try the flashing, the honking, the moving in close, the exaggerated move over hand signal. Then you just think about life a bit. Is the other driver not a local? Do they think I'm a 'psycho' for following them and flashing them? The mind wanders.
For the record, I only do it to 'teach', as soon as they pull over to the left, I'll pass them while golf clapping.
Then do not and i repeat do not move in front in the right lane and Brake check them. Some people just have no idea about driving etiqutte and they probably were oblivious of you behind, then on the left, but see you when you brake check them. That activates Psycho mode and becomes your problem.
If you're absentmindedly driving then you're a danger.
Make your way to Logan. No one will follow you there.
When I was younger, someone was being a dick and did that to me so I slowed down to a near walking pace. This big angry guy stopped and got out of his car and tried to catch up to me, but i was going just fast enough so that he couldn't. After just over a minute, he had eventually had to run back to his car that he left in the middle of the road and he eventually f'd off lol
Not sure if I would have had the balls to do this in the middle of nowhere but
Reverse - fast enough but not too fast ?
Handful of big nails out of the window?
If that doesn't work there are machine guns at the rear of my V8 interceptor…
Just joking…may be…may be not…
Take up fishing, have your tackle box within easy reach. Fishing sinkers do wonders..
Pull over. A lot of them will just drive by as they don't have the balls to confront you. If they do pull over wait until they approach your car, keep moving forward, then drive off.
Write a letter to them:
Dear Tailgater,
Hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirits.
I was bored to hell but Its a pleasure to have you on my back now.
Regards.
Call 000
Spot on
Sure OP wasn't towing a mate?
Just turn your police lights on ferchrissake.
(Joke that op is a cop and not impersonating one of course)
Keep left unless overtaking.
And FFS don't take 10 mins to 'overtake'
There is too many Clueless drivers on auto speed doing 101 passing someone doing 100 .
Of course this takes them 1/2 hr to overtake and clogs up the traffic.
Some people know don't speed under bridges and at traffic lights . Add parked cars on the side of the road .
And can get away with no fines doing the speed they want .
There is too many Clueless drivers on auto speed doing 101 passing someone doing 100 .
Of course this takes them 1/2 hr to overtake and clogs up the traffic.
As long as you maintain your speed and stick to the limit you can take as long as you want to overtake. Travelling at the speed limit doesn’t ‘clog up the traffic’, idiots that speed and tailgate do.
When I overtake it’s at the posted limit on cruise control. I’m not going faster and risk a ticket just because you’re speeding. When there’s sufficient space I move back left again but I’m not moving back left if I then need to slow down waiting to overtake again to allow you to speed past. Of course discretion is the better part of valour and if some douche canoe is being overly aggressive I’ll move over. Better to have them get away on front of me that to have the take a risky manoeuvre to pass (illegally)
You can, doesnt mean you should.
By doing this you're part of the problem. Move to the left, let them pass and go about your day.
Aholes don't get triggered for no reason if they don't have to deal with you.
Record their registration and vehicle make, model, colour. Rear dash cam is a big help here.
Pull off the highway at the next spot where there are other people around.
99% of the time they will continue on their journey and find someone else to harass.
If they do stop make sure all your doors are locked. If they approach your vehicle, drive off and go to the nearest Police station.
While it is not your fault, letting someone tailgate you for the period of time is not advisable. Safer and less stressful to make it easier for them to continue on their way and leave you alone
Standard m1 practice. Meth heads get stroppy at people doing 70 in the right lane, and start to target people driving below the speed limit
Dashcam.
Call police from your car if you can and head toward nearest police station if able.
Pat yourself on the back for being a grown up with normal responses and realise that there are some people out there who are entirely disproportionally emotional to all situations. They cannot control their emotions at all and it comes out in dangerous ways.
When I drive from QLD to NSW, I find the tailgating almost magically disappears once I cross the QLD/NSW border.
ha - you reminded me of driving in Brisbane when I lived there last century - there was this odd custom where 2 cars approaching an intersection at right angles, would both kind of try to go first, then brake at the last moment to avoid the imminent collision
at which point both drivers would wind down their windows and yell abuse at each other
ah - life in the Police State - you can police some people, but you can't police everybody !
the shock for me was moving to Melbourne and one day stepping onto the road to wait for the oncoming car to pass by so I could cross the road. Instead I saw it stop 10m down the road before it got to me - I couldn't see the driver so didn't know why - I was mystified - my experience in Brisbane was that if I tried stepping in front of such a car it would accelerate and swerve towards me to try to scare the s#it out of me - so I waited …
finally I realised - the driver had stopped for me ! To let me cross ! I later learned the law in Melb was that drivers had to give way to pedestrians who stepped onto the road - and I went 'wow Dorothy - I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore … !' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQLNS3HWfCM
@lew380:
The irony is palpable. You're well on the way to becoming that "psycho" by the sound of it.