When someone consistently tailgates, it's most often....

[TranquilMind]

I think it has a lot to do with personal space and some people need a lot more than others. I grew up in the city, and either you drive close together or you have a parking lot and nobody moves. Now I live in an area where people rant against tail gating...and they also line up in the left lane for miles because they are going to turn seven miles down the road and they might not be able to merge (there aren't 12 car lengths between cars and anything less than that they can't possibly squeeze in) so one person drives 49 in the left lane and the other drives 48.5 (speed limit is 55, of course). I swore when I moved there that people around here really were afraid of actually arriving at where they were going therefore they put it off as long as possible by driving 28 in a 35 with 7 car lengths between cars so we have to wait through 4 lights instead of just one.

 

Back where I came from you have 5 lanes in each direction on the interstate and everyone is going 70 even though the speed limit is 55 and if you leave more than 1.5 car lengths between you and the next person, someone squeezes in. When you're accustomed to driving that way, you drive differently. I would not want any of the locals around her to drive like that because, quite frankly, they do not having the driving skills to do it. If they drove behind me like that, you right - it would be VERY dangerous. If Jeff Gordon drove like that behind me, I wouldn't consider it dangerous, especially if it was a road he was familiar with (NASCAR drivers go 200 mph with inches between bumpers).

 

It's like driving on ice - you do it enough, you learn what the hazards are and you become comfortable with what you can do and what you can't do and you drive accordingly. People who drive curvy roads all the time drive much faster on them than people who drive straight roads all the time. I now live in Nebraska and every time I drive curvy roads in Kentucky, someone flies up behind me and rides my bumper because I am not going as fast as they feel comfortable driving on that particular road (which they probably drive every day). I don't get mad at them and have a meltdown over it and rant about how they are endangering my life.

 

So is it ignorance? Yes - both on the part of the person tailgating AND on the part of the person being tailgated. Politeness is a two-way street.

 

A person being tailgated is not ignorant or impolite. The duty lies on the one behind him to keep a proper distance. The accident that results from tailgating will be solely the fault of the tailgater, the one in the back.

 

Driving conditions determine "what you can do" safely, not the amount of daring an individual possesses.

[mommybee]

But didn't she say the conditions warranted a lower speed? It's called a speed LIMIT not a mandatory speed. And it's the speed for the most ideal circumstances.

 

 

Well she thinks it does, but maybe the car behind her can handle going the speed limit just fine.

 

I am a major tailgater, could be being raised in crazy L.A. traffic but I drive a big ol' suburban now and hardly dare tailgate with that thing because it's so hard to stop. I also go much slower in it than I do in almost any other car.

[In the Rain]

I think it is mostly impatience, but I voted aggression.

[mommybee]

I hate tailgaters, with a fiery passion. My Dad taught me how to "break check" tailgaters. Mom hates it : D

 

I tailgate all the time but I can't stand when people do it to me. I don't brake check but I always begin to go really, really slow and it has never failed to get someone from backing off. Which makes me wonder if sometimes they don't even realize their doing it. The aggressive people will just find a way around me.

[mommybee]

I try to be so careful though cause I know you can get a ticket for it.

[TranquilMind]

I tailgate all the time but I can't stand when people do it to me.

 

:confused: Then why don't you stop, since it is 1) dangerous as *&^%, and 2) annoying to you when it is done to you?

[mommybee]

:confused: Then why don't you stop, since it is 1) dangerous as *&^%, and 2) annoying to you when it is done to you?

 

Well I did say I don't do it in my current car anyway.

 

But I don't wanna, why don't people who purposefully drive slow move over and get out of the way?

 

I'm not talking about the OP because it sounds like her road is difficult to pull over on.

 

I find it pretty difficult sometimes on a fast moving CA freeway to change lanes when the dope in front of me will not keep up with traffic in the fast lane but refuses to move over when there are tons of cars behind me.

 

 

and it doesn't actually happen to me all that often because I keep up with traffic and I know how to change lanes and let people pass.

Edited September 7, 2012 by mommybee

[eternalknot]

I voted other.

 

I always figure they're in a mad hurry to go poop.

 

(I do think it's likely a pretty even split; some are aggressive, others are distracted. It's a crazy, scary world like that.)

[Ibbygirl]

Well she thinks it does, but maybe the car behind her can handle going the speed limit just fine.

 

I am a major tailgater, could be being raised in crazy L.A. traffic but I drive a big ol' suburban now and hardly dare tailgate with that thing because it's so hard to stop. I also go much slower in it than I do in almost any other car.

 

Well I did say I don't do it in my current car anyway.

 

But I don't wanna, why don't people who purposefully drive slow move over and get out of the way?

 

I'm not talking about the OP because it sounds like her road is difficult to pull over on.

 

I find it pretty difficult sometimes on a fast moving CA freeway to change lanes when the dope in front of me will not keep up with traffic in the fast lane but refuses to move over when there are tons of cars behind me.

 

 

and it doesn't actually happen to me all that often because I keep up with traffic and I know how to change lanes and let people pass.

 

You're brave to be so candid in your admission on this thread. :D hehe I had to smile while reading what you wrote because I'm from metropolitan South Florida and I know exactly what you're talking about. You have to drive aggressively just to even get on to the freeway and to be able to keep up with everyone else and get where you're going.

 

Here, in addition to the maximum speed limit we have a minimum speed limit (40mph) posted on the freeway because people going too slow can cause accidents. Often times you just have to keep up with the ambient traffic regardless of what the posted limit says (ever drive through Atlanta? :rolleyes: ) and someone going too slow or going under the speed limit when everyone else is going 20, 30 or more over the speed limit can be a danger and cause accidents.

 

Shoot, I've been cruising a long doing 65mph on the freeway (posted speed limit) and have had to hit my brakes because someone in front of me pulls into the next lane and I'm suddenly confronted with someone in front of me going 35mph on the highway. I leave lots of car lengths in between me and other cars just for that reason because you always have to be aware of what other drivers might do.

 

I totally agree with you that if they want to be slow they need to get out of the left lanes and get over to the right or even not take the freeway. However in OP's case she's not talking about a freeway situation and the ambient traffic is 10 mph below the posted speed limit so the tailgater in her situation was being overly impatient/aggressive. I think a lot of the other posters mentioned too that they were on rural, winding roads so again different from a freeway situation. :)

 

Just wanted to post that in your defense as someone who knows how it can get on congested freeways and how the driving is lest someone think you are like this on all roads and not just the freeways. :)

[mommybee]

 

Just wanted to post that in your defense as someone who knows how it can get on congested freeways and how the driving is lest someone think you are like this on all roads and not just the freeways. :)

 

aww thanks! Yeah I mentioned in a post that I understood the OP had a different situation with the kind of road she was on and I completely understand and usually in that situation I will just turn up my rear view mirror and ignore the other driver behind me. Especially if I need to concentrate and can't pull over and the driver behind me is stressing me.

 

I do think it's just a factor of where I learned to drive.

 

But I do understand what everyone is saying and I am aware it isn't exactly safe, but I am not perfect and it's kind of a habit that is hard to break. And having a son driving does make me more aware as I lecture him on car lengths and such. So I'm doing it less and less.

[Ibbygirl]

 

But I do understand what everyone is saying and I am aware it isn't exactly safe, but I am not perfect and it's kind of a habit that is hard to break. And having a son driving does make me more aware as I lecture him on car lengths and such. So I'm doing it less and less.

 

I think it's great that you are aware of it and making strides to change. Good for you! :) :hurray:

[Laura Corin]

However, there is no generic speed limit. Reasonable speed limits are posted and signs for reduced speed are placed before dangerous curves. If the sign says 10 mph on a curve, you believe it. It never occurred to me that a minimum posted speed could possibly be too fast for ideal road conditions.

 

.... she said that she found it confusing. There are generic speed limits for towns (30mph - anywhere where there are street lights), single lane roads (60mph) and dual carriageways/motorways (70mph). Sometimes special limits are posted - mostly where people don't behave sensibly for the road conditions - but in general the onus is on the driver to behave well. Signs before curves say 'slow' but don't give a speed limit. I've always thought that this was because the curve might be safe at 45 in brilliant sunshine but the planners wouldn't want to suggest that as a speed for fog or ice.

 

Google maps' timings are very unreliable in the countryside. I remember one journey taking a full hour longer than Google says: the last third was along a very winding road with poorly-fenced sheep pasture on either side. The official speed limit was still 60, but sheep-dodging took it down to about thirty.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

and it doesn't actually happen to me all that often because I keep up with traffic and I know how to change lanes and let people pass.

 

Britain has a very fierce attitude to overtaking on motorways - you can only do it on the 'fast' side. So lane discipline is something that is taken very seriously. Driving in California scared me to death because, for example, I'd be in a middle lane because that was where I needed to be to feed into my exit and people would be overtaking me on both sides.

 

Laura

[Ibbygirl]

Britain has a very fierce attitude to overtaking on motorways - you can only do it on the 'fast' side. So lane discipline is something that is taken very seriously. Driving in California scared me to death because, for example, I'd be in a middle lane because that was where I needed to be to feed into my exit and people would be overtaking me on both sides.

 

Laura

 

They do it inSouth Florida too. It's really a free-for-all here how people drive. Miami has had the dubious distinction of having the rudest drivers in America for several years.

[Georgiana Daniels]

People totally know when they're tailgaiting. Total pet peeve of mine.

 

It's like they have a self-important attitude that says wherever they have to be is more important than safety or courtesy.

[Soror]

People totally know when they're tailgaiting. Total pet peeve of mine.

 

It's like they have a self-important attitude that says wherever they have to be is more important than safety or courtesy.

 

:iagree: It isn't safe, no matter if you think you can drive safely faster or not the person in front of you doesn't. It seems I often see this not even when the person in front is driving slower than the speed limit but just right at the speed limit. It is everyone's own responsibility to leave enough time to make it, without endangering others and while obeying the law. Besides the fact that it doesn't matter if you are such a skilled driver that you can safely drive faster, you are still endangering yourself and others driving too closely, due to physics, which applies to everyone.

 

I had a friend who tailgated, she perpetually ran late and it was everyone else's fault. She thought it would encourage people to drive faster. No, it doesn't, if anything it encourages me to drive slower but I try to set my speed as to the limit and what I feel safe to drive. Generally I try to keep right around and maybe up to 5 miles over the speed limit.

[flyingiguana]

Could be either.

 

But (I add for the benefit of any tailgaters out there), tailgating makes me slow down. I want a little extra time for stopping if there's someone right on my tail. I figure it might make the whole accident that's about to happen a little easier on everyone if we're going slower.

 

So if you're a tailgater and you wonder why all the traffic in front of you is always going so slow, this might be the reason.

 

I also slow when people honk behind me. For similar safety reasons. Any hot head who needs to honk because I'm going the speed limit, or stopping for a pedestrian, or slowing because of merging difficulties, or not turning left into oncoming traffic probably needs to be slowed down a bit. And I don't want to be going at a high rate of speed when they decide they have to pass me right that very second. Seeing as they likely didn't even look to see if there was oncoming traffic.

[flyingiguana]

But didn't she say the conditions warranted a lower speed? It's called a speed LIMIT not a mandatory speed. And it's the speed for the most ideal circumstances.

 

And one can get a ticket for speeding even when going slower than the posted speed limit. It's called driving too fast for conditions.

 

Speed limits are posted, but the law assumes the driver needs to have the brains to take conditions into account and go the speed that is safe.

 

My sister in law once got a ticket under these circumstances. She was livid and took it to court. She didn't get very far with that. (She also tailgates. A lot.)

[flyingiguana]

On this road, everyone drives at 50mph. You couldn't take the corners if you went at 60. You can't pull over because, for almost the whole length, the lane is so narrow that there is no space at the side to park. If you stopped, everyone else would be stuck behind you, unable to pass. The only way to get off the road is to turn into a farm track. To get out of the farm track, you would then need to reverse back onto the road - not safe.

 

I should have realised that when a Brit said 'narrow winding road' that image would not be obvious to people from other places. Sorry.

 

Laura

 

No need to apologize. We have those roads in the US as well. And I've been tailed on them. Want to talk one lane roads with two way traffic on the side of a precipice and a rock face on the other side? With a tailgater? Not fun.

 

Maybe the only difference is that in the US on windy roads, there are a lot of signs posted amending the speed limit on a lot of the twists and turns. So while the default speed limit might be 55 mph, a turn might be posted at 40 or 20 or whatever, depending on how sharp it is. However, most people just stay at 65 mph around the turns, or would, if there weren't those darn people in front of them being safe.

[TravelingChris]

WE have a road like this which is the only road to get out from our neighborhood. It is hilly and curvy. It is posted 35 mph. Anyone who lives here and is a good driver can do 35mph in the slowest part. I would be supremely annoyed with anyone going under by 10 mph. In the straight away section, you can safely go up to about 55mph. Now it also depends on the car, you drive. I can go tighter corners faster in my AWD Subaru station wagon faster than my dh in her Toyota Tundra truck.

 

I don't know how your roads are marked in Scotland, but I remember that in Belgium and most European countries, there was standard marking for each type of road which equated to something like 30 mph in cities, 60 mph in country, and 80 mph on the equivalent of US Interstates. IF that is how it is in Scotland, I could definitely see how some roads can't really be 60 mph.

[Laura Corin]

I don't know how your roads are marked in Scotland, but I remember that in Belgium and most European countries, there was standard marking for each type of road which equated to something like 30 mph in cities, 60 mph in country, and 80 mph on the equivalent of US Interstates. IF that is how it is in Scotland, I could definitely see how some roads can't really be 60 mph.

 

Laura

[Soror]

It is posted 35 mph. Anyone who lives here and is a good driver can do 35mph in the slowest part. I would be supremely annoyed with anyone going under by 10 mph.

 

Why be annoyed? Everyone that drives will not be from your area, as someone else said as well it is the maximum, not required speed. I live on a very curvy road, as we have lots around here. I can of course go faster than others that have never been on it before. I still cannot go as fast as dh though, he has always lived and drove here and is a better driver period.

[Amy in NH]

People being tailgated for driving the speed limit are ignorant? :glare:

 

 

 

We were talking here about people being tailgated for driving 10 mph under the speed limit.

[Laura Corin]

Hooray!  The speed limit on the road has been changed for its entire length.  On a few straight stretches it is now 50mph, but it's mostly 40mph.  The next week will be difficult until regular commuters notice the new limits, but after that, I think the tailgating will reduce.

 

L

[momee]

I'm with Amy.  We live in the country and roads go from 65 to 25.  I'm sorry but many, many times I have been stuck on a road with no passing zone behind someone who slows down to 20-30 mph EVERY hill (there may be an accident on the other side?) and EVERY curve.  If you've driven in the mountains, you know that is constantly an issue with the roads.

 

Maddening.

 

When you're the 15th car in a backup like that you can almost feel the anger of the drivers before you :)

 

If you're unable to maintain a safe speed on the roads, you shouldn't be driving on them. 

 

I know my limits in snow for example. Most of the time I stay home.  I don't drive well and get stressed.  I'm afraid someone from the north with a beautifully equipped SUV in 4 wheel drive will come barreling into the back of me.

 

 

[Amy in NH]

I never said that I tailgate people, because I don't, nor do I condone it.  It is an unsafe practice.  I was only pointing out how equally inconsiderate it is for people to hold up other drivers by travelling at a speed substantially lower than the limit. 

 

If there is no place to pull over then sobeit, but around here with our narrow, hilly, curvy roads there are pullouts every few miles.

[hjffkj]

next time that happens spray them with you windshield wiper fluid until they back off.  We run out of windshield wiper fluid a lot because dh can't stand ppl tailgating him.  It never fails to get the message across though.

[idnib]

Both.

 

Aggressive in the mind.

 

Clueless about the laws of physics.

[Alessandra]

I didn't answer the poll. Logically, I would have said aggressive, except for my mother. Completely non-aggressive, but she tailgated horribly. No matter how many times I explained about stopping distances, she kept on tailgating. Oddly, she never had an accident. Btw, she was from Scotland, lol. Also, she learned how to drive in the days before driver education. Dealers delivered the cars and then taught customers how to drive.

[Dolphin]

Thanks for the update Laura. Isn't it nice when things get done that make sense.

 

I understand the pull over thing. I lived in Cornwall for 5 years. The road we took out of our village you would have the hedges brushing both sides of the car, and it was a 2 way street. Countryside, so you would back up to a farm entrance when you meet an oncoming car. You had to watch out for cars coming at you forwards and backwards :). My american friends would be having kittens in the next seat when the realized it was a 2 way road we were on. :)

[BlueTaelon]

:iagree: That will definitely cause tailgating. I'm surprised no one honked at you.

 

I agree, do the dang speed limit! I was not happy yesterday driving a similar road where the person was driving 10-15 miles below the speed limit. When your going for 40 miles that really adds time to a trip and they made me late for my appt. I should not need to leave 30-45 min earlier because YOU feel like driving below the speed limit. To me its very inconsiderate of others when you drive below the speed limit. If its just you then fine but if there is another car you either go the speed limit or you pull over at the first possible opportunity in a driveway or side street.

[MistyMountain]

I hate tailgating because it is so dangerous and makes me incredibly anxious. I think it happens for a variety of reasons including road rage, impatience, cluelessness, self absorption and zoning out. Here it doesn't happen super often unless I am driving around the area of a high school a little after the school lets out. When I visited family in NJ and PA it was happening constantly and I stick to the right lane. Whenever I visit home the way people drive, all the traffic and all the highways drive me crazy. It is really annoying when people are super impatient and do stupid things that will not get them where they are going any faster.

 

ETA: Just noticed this was an older thread that was updated. I am glad they finally changed the speed limit.

[Laura Corin]

I'm with Amy.  We live in the country and roads go from 65 to 25.  I'm sorry but many, many times I have been stuck on a road with no passing zone behind someone who slows down to 20-30 mph EVERY hill (there may be an accident on the other side?) and EVERY curve.  If you've driven in the mountains, you know that is constantly an issue with the roads.

 

Maddening.

 

When you're the 15th car in a backup like that you can almost feel the anger of the drivers before you :)

 

If you're unable to maintain a safe speed on the roads, you shouldn't be driving on them. 

 

I know my limits in snow for example. Most of the time I stay home.  I don't drive well and get stressed.  I'm afraid someone from the north with a beautifully equipped SUV in 4 wheel drive will come barreling into the back of me.

 

I think you missed from the original thread that everyone was driving at 50mph - that was indeed the safe speed.

 

I agree, do the dang speed limit! I was not happy yesterday driving a similar road where the person was driving 10-15 miles below the speed limit. When your going for 40 miles that really adds time to a trip and they made me late for my appt. I should not need to leave 30-45 min earlier because YOU feel like driving below the speed limit. To me its very inconsiderate of others when you drive below the speed limit. If its just you then fine but if there is another car you either go the speed limit or you pull over at the first possible opportunity in a driveway or side street.

 

And I think you missed the update that the speed limit had been reduced, in fact to below my average speed.  Should I have been driving at 60mph just because the speed limit said so?  Or was I right to drive at the lower speed, which was finally recognised by a change in the limit on that road?  Sometimes, we have to trust our instincts as experienced drivers.

 

L

[stripe]

Sometimes, we have to trust our instincts as experienced drivers.

 

I read an article a while ago that contrasted American signs with signs in other countries, I think particularly the UK. The conclusion was that in many places, fewer signs were posted, there was an assumption of the use of common sense, and it was safer. Whereas in the US, there are a million signs all over the place and the assumption of zero common sense. I couldn't find the article, but I did find this one!

 

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/04/lots-cars-and-trucks-no-traffic-signs-or-lights-chaos-or-calm/5152/

 

and this one about German signs' efficiency

http://www.stevencanplan.com/2012/the-united-states-uses-way-too-much-text-for-regulatory-traffic-signs/

[Paige]

I think most of the time it is cluelessness. Either the person is unaware of how close the vehicles are or unaware that it really isn't a safe distance. Some people seem to truly believe that their excellent driving skills ensure that the situation is safe.

 

I don't knowingly tailgate. Sometimes I get closer than I would like because I anticipate that the person will be getting over soon and I don't want to turn my cruise off, but if I need to I will, or if it's obvious the car will be in my way for a while, I back off. Tailgating won't get me there faster. I always like to think of the person in front as my sweet grandmother and who could be upset with her?

 

I hate driving in big cities because nobody leaves a safe gap. I always try to leave space and then people fill it up! Hate that. I'm not a pokey driver either- I have no problem keeping up and changing lanes, but that doesn't mean I can't be safe.

[North Coast School]

I think it's almost always aggressive.  And obnoxious--even when I do it! :laugh:

 

HOWEVER, I hate it when people drive in a fast lane at the speed limit and think they have every right to do so.  Nope.  The fast lane is for going faster than the speed limit in order to pass.  Drivers who block the passing lane are a major cause of traffic in almost every city.

 

So when someone is tooling along in the fast lane and I am trying to pass, I will tailgate with care--sometimes adding lights!  We live in a place with crazy truck and commuter traffic, GET OUTTA THE WAY!  

[Laura Corin]

I read an article a while ago that contrasted American signs with signs in other countries, I think particularly the UK. 

 

Yes: in general in the UK, national speed limits apply: 30mph in towns, 60mph out of town and 70mph on a dual carriageway/divided highway.  Within that, you are meant to make your own decisions about road conditions.  Only when people have consistently behaved like idiots do the authorities step in to impose specific speed limits.

 

When I started this discussion, I didn't realise that this was quite different from the US model.  This led to quite a bit of talking past each other, for which I apologise.

 

L

[Laura Corin]

The fast lane is for going faster than the speed limit in order to pass.  

 

 

Really?  Is that the law?  In the UK, the overtaking lane is for overtaking slower traffic, but it is still illegal to exceed the speed limit.

 

ETA: FWIW, I do move out of the way where I can so that people who wish to break the law can do so by speeding.  

 

L

[stripe]

Really?  Is that the law?  In the UK, the overtaking lane is for overtaking slower traffic, but it is still illegal to exceed the speed limit.

Not where I've lived. It was always articulated to me when I read drivers' education materials that one is still supposed to drive within the speed limit.  I guess the problem is that most drivers are already speeding! So passing them "requires" speeding. 

 

However apparently there are a few states that specify you must maintain the speed limit while passing (Kansas, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia) and a few (such as Minnesota, Wyoming and Montana) where you may speed 5-10 mph to pass, and apparently the rest say nothing, leaving you at the mercy of any observing police officer's views on the subject.

 

A snazzy map of the laws about just the conditions for driving in the left (passing) lane is at

http://jalopnik.com/5501615/left-lane-passing-laws-a-state-by-state-map

[madteaparty]

Some of the responses in this thread terrify me. How is tailgating not bullying behavior? I am not going to substitute my judgement of what is a safe speed for me, in my vehicle on a road I know, for that of a stranger trying to effectively push me off the road. Wow.

[Soror]

There was a highway patrol officer on the radio a few weeks ago talking about this very thing. He said it is still yet illegal to exceed the speed limit, even if you are passing. (and my state is not listed above)