if I see these on the car in front of me, I'll merge into the oncoming lane, close my eyes and floor it
As you should op, as a rightful punishment for tailgating. However please aim for the nearest tree so you dont endanger other drivers.
Even then you shouldnt be that close in case you have to move to the side to make space for emergency services and stuff.
You're not wrong but the realities of living in a city are that people bunch up at stop lights.
I'm with the furry on this one. Fuck tailgaters.
I'll personally just slow down until they either get the message and back off, or get annoyed enough to pass. Or if I see a piece of debris ahead, maintain speed until the VERY last second, then swerve to avoid it - they won't have time to react, and will run it over. I got some asshole to run full speed into a chunk of some other car's bumper doing that, and I gotta say it was the best high I've ever had!
*above does not apply to slow drivers camping in the fast lane. If that's you, you're the asshole.
To be clear, I don't ever break check, as that's dangerous as fuck - I'll just drop a mph every few seconds until they fuck off. Idk if I'd call that rage... my safety is compromised by them riding that close to me, so finding ways to get them off is a defensive move. I also don't want to be the one to change lanes, since collisions tend to happen during transitions, so that'd just be switching from one unsafe situation to another. If I tactically annoy the other driver until they move, then it ends the risk to me without increasing the odds of hitting someone or something else... and since they're already putting my safety at risk, I don't really give a damn about theirs.
As for the debris situation, yeah I got nothing - that was rage, lol. But damn did it feel good! Thankfully there's not enough shit on the road to make that a go-to option, but I'll definitely scope the road out ahead juuust to be sure before starting the slow-down thing. Cuz, and I can't overstate this: fuck tailgaters.
I’ve had another driver brandish a gun at me for doing that. Be safe out there! Making a point isn’t worth your life.
People be crazy.
Unless you live in a country with gun control. Then you can be slightly more passive aggressive as long as you're not creating an unsafe driving scenario.
Even with some gun control, you never know if the asshole is a cop on break. Fuckers love to carry and threaten others with weapons and will shoot to prove their point (at least in Brazil)
I too employ the artful tactics of passive aggressive driving. It works. Hopefully it works well enough that people learn long term.
Isn't brake checking just pressing on your brakes slightly to turn on your braking lights but not engage braking? So you're not actually braking. I did it several times when someone's tailgating really close and it's pretty funny to see them immediately slow down. Usually after a couple of times of doing it they got the memo and increased their distance.
A "brake check" in the context of road rage isn't checking your own brake lights, it's checking the brakes of the person following you.
You slam on your brakes, forcing them to slam on their brakes even harder, scaring and angering the trailing car.
Okay I don't get the not switching lanes part, maybe I don't drive enough. Why are people tailgating when there are multiple lanes, unless you're in the leftmost lane for too long?
Not switching lanes thing - this goes back to the driver's ed course I took like 50,000 years ago, but the gist was auto collisions pretty much never happen when everyone is just cruising and staying in their lane; collisions happen during transitions like lane changes, merges, accelerating/decelerating etc. So, best practice in multilane highway situations is to get established wherever you're comfortable among the 'pack' of cars cruising around you, and then maintain that position relative to the other vehicles. So when douchebag decides to ride my ass, me changing lanes to get out of his way compromises my own safety. Tailgaters tend not to be very patient, so responding to their behavior by instead decelerating (slowly), they usually don't make it more than a few mph before they give up and go around.
Why are people tailgating when there are multiple lanes, unless you’re in the leftmost lane for too long?
Power move is my guess. I personally live in the cousin-fuckingly deep US south, and I drive a tiny car. 90% of the time someone wants to tailgate me, it's some lifted monster truck... I think rednecks are actually offended by little cars. The other 10% are fancy sports cars. In either case, it's the kind of vehicle that screams insecurity, so trying to impose themselves on other drives fits the M.O.
I tend to cruise in the middle lane - that way I don't need to worry about people merging on the right, nor pay much attention to traffic behind me to ensure I'm not impeding the left. So, it's usually in the middle lane that I have issues with tailgaters. If I'm cruising in the left lane, it's usually because EVERY lane is jacked up, but in that situation I'm not getting 'out of the way' of the people behind me cuz I'm stuck in traffic right with em. People still tailgate in that situation and it's like... bro I get it, I wanna go faster too, fuck off.
Tldr, people are assholes.
One time I was driving on some long ass backwoods country road in the rain. I was making like a 12 hour drive to get home, so it's not like my destination was anywhere near close.
It was one of those roads where there was one lane on either side divided by a dotted yellow line. You were allowed to pass and visibility was clear. There was almost no traffic coming in the other direction, meaning abundant opportunities to pass.
Some asshat decided to ride my ass for *miles and miles and miles in the rain. I was going a decent speed too...a bit above the marked limit. This fucker both pissed me off and stressed me the fuck out. I tried the letting off the gas technique which usually makes dickholes go around, but nope. He continued to tailgate me for miles and miles no matter if I was going 10 mph above the speed limit or 20 mph below. Visibility on this road was fantastic and no one was coming in the other direction for miles and miles and miles.
I got so frustrated at this dangerous asshat that I straight up eventually pulled off the side of the road and stopped. He finally passed me and didn't end up coming after me with a weapon or anything thank fuck. I don't know if this chode was just too stupid to pass or what.
I don’t know if this chode was just too stupid to pass or what.
That would be my guess. Sounds like the dude didn't even know that was an option lol.
For those backroads type one-lane-each-direction situations, I'll just pull way over and slow down to a crawl. Otherwise, even if the other driver isn't trying to be an asshole and is maintaining a decent distance, I still don't want their headlights shining into my mirrors for miles, so I'll be pretty extra about ushering them infront of me.
Bonus: that puts them on deer duty :P
I got some asshole to run full speed into a chunk of some other car's bumper doing that, and I gotta say it was the best high I've ever had!
Jesus! See this bulge in my pants? That was all you.
suicide by oncoming traffic is such a dick move. you don't have the right to endanger other lives just because you're suicidal.
if you want to kill yourself, do it right. go to Michael's™ and buy a tank of helium to asphyxiate yourself.
Respectfully, please do not do this. Helium is a non-renewable resource. Once lost to the atmosphere it's gone for good. Nitrogen on the other hand makes up 78% of the atmosphere and is equally effective.
Bro really just said "We can't replace helium, unlike you, pick a different suicide option"
ah good point. so instead, go to your local tire shop and fill some balloons with nitrogen :p
Helium gets replaced by radiation. You can do your part by breathing in radon. I love helping science!
Aint that mentality kind of why climate change is a thing, the oil barons will be dead when rest of humanity has to suffer from their actions
I will attempt an oddly serious answer, unlike my previous comment, since I feel this deserves one.
Sort of, and technically correct. Both the suicidal and the oil baron have no reason to care what happens after they're dead. But I don't know if that's relevant here.
Powerful people ruining the world do so because of incentives and... because they can. The only thing that will stop them and those that come after is meaningful societal change. Convincing people to participate in bringing about this change is important too, make no mistake, but it's because of what they can achieve united. It's voting, protesting, and building a world where the powerful can't screw over the world and everyone in it.
Hoping a change in culture alone will save the world is useless, because the rich and powerful will not follow that new culture. There's no trickle-up morals, and telling suicidal people they should be mindful of how they die (if serious) is barking up the wrong tree. It won't stop the oil baron from continuing to pollute more than everyone in this thread combined, nor will it make a meaningful difference even should the person follow your advice, because it's a drop in the bucket---and maybe the last one they'll ever make.
Trying to put it shortly, my point is that mentality is only the start. The world is broken (e.g. climate change is a thing), not just because of mentality, but because those high above do all in their power to stay there and shape the world in ways that suit them. Changing people's mentality is good, but is "use hydrogen instead of helium" really the last thing a suicidal person should have to hear from you?
Of course, this is a meme community in the end, so apologies if this comment was unnecessary because no one is seriously saying that. But anyone who thinks so should also be able to read my previous comment in its intended humor as well.
Hey, Helium is too valuable to waste like that! A toaster in the bathtub will do just fine.
We call ourselves leaffers, and the costumes are expensive. And no, you cant use that word, only we can. And yes, its a sex thing.
"Dont tailgate me, i'll cum" ruined me. I can't even...
Im in work, just laughing. People are looking at me.
I'm no prude, but having blatantly nsfw stuff like this where it'd be seen by everyone has always rubbed me the wrong way. Like c'mon kids don't need to see this.
Because after the 30th ejaculation in a 15 minute drive, even the most well hydrated among us will be gasping.
Better than how my city handles a merge lane... they just stop, full on stop on both the merge lane AND the left lane, if they are feeling spicey the passing lane might come to a stop too because... reasons? Best of all is when they are slowing right down to merge in light traffic but they see you coming up the left lane so they take the lane immediately and just, not speed up.