67 442

A friend told me this story...

He had a tailgater in a little rice burner up the tail pipe of his pickup all the way down I 270 to the I 55 exit in STL. As he came to the exit the Northbound ramp was jammed and at a complete stop all the way back to the beginning of the Southbound ramp. He was running at 70 or so and waited until last second to swerve into the Southbound lane. He said all he heard was a big crash and that he kept on going.

That was cold... but I bet that guy (if he lived) never tailgated again. I asked him about feeling bad for the people the tailgater hit. He hadn't thought about that he was so pissed at the tailgater. I wasn't too proud of him that day.

BTW< this was 20 years or so ago back when that was a cloverleaf. It's a flyover today.

GoodOldsGuyDougie

This works Best for me! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NelBNtNm8l0

Aceshigh

Actually this is the wisest answer.

This is also what they teach in Traffic Safety school.

oldsguybry

lol , just dont forget they are in the trunk for a few days or so...... whats that smell?

jpc647

It depends, if I'm in the left lane to pass one person, and i'm only doing 70-75mph I'll move back over. If I'm doing 80+ and they are right on my as*, I make it a living hell for them. I'll slow down till i'm about 2 feet from the car in the next lane, and just sit there. Usually people freak out. Too bad, should have though about that before crawling up my as*.

In my old ford, I used to just slam on the brakes, one guy went into the median grass areaday, some yuppie dork in a Denali. I was doing 83 and he was on my as*. Sucks to be him.

Kattosha

I drive a 1940 vehicle, its older than most of the drivers out there. On a good day with a tail wind she tops at 55 mph. In the Chicagoland area, doing anything slower than 50 seems to be considered a sin and the only place I don't get tailgated is school zones. None of the drivers seem to pay attention to what they are taililng, it doesnt matter if its an overloaded gravel truck or a pre-war baby. I just ignore them and make my merry way to wherever I am going and hope that the next gravel truck dumps a load of rock on their vehicle.

mfgusa

Well said Kattosha.

Is it more men than women? Younger of both I would think.

sicky olds

Actually in a lot of states (OH and TX included) if you rear end someone no matter the reason you are at fault due to not having proper driving clearance. And all you have to tell the officer is i saw something jut into the road and i had to brake.


But here is my point of view on this being in one of the worst cities for people to drive in.... I am a fast driver, maybe not over 100 but in a 70 but i generally do 10- 15 over. If you are riding on my *** i will Box you in and then make you slow down, if you go to pass i will downshift and trap you again. Either that or i will brake check like a **** and force them to slow down LOL.

Which reminds me just last month i think it was we were going to the olds meeting and some guy was doing like 90 and tailgated me so i boxed him and then outran him, then boxed him again then started to speed up again and then slowed down. Caddy FLIES by me and BAM he slows down but it was too late.... cop slows down gets behind him and pulls him over. Me and my buddy were laughing the rest of the day about it.

Kattosha

I used to play similar games when I had my POS Blazer. I worked in the rich part of town and think I had the worst looking vehicle in the parking lot. There were plenty of times people tailgated, cut me off etc...I always had the attitude, "Go for it, I dare ya" after all my blazer was worth a hell of a lot less than their BMWs and I didnt care if it got more damage. I actually egged them on when I could

BlackGold

Agreed, I'm sure that technically the tailgater is at fault in most if not all states. That's what I was taught. And you're right, lying to the cop ("that little kid darted in front of me") may help cover your butt, if you're OK with lying.

But again, if the other driver convinces the cop that you were "playing games" and slammed on the brakes for no good reason, there's plenty of latitude in the traffic laws to allow the cop to ticket you. Either "obstruction of traffic" or the cover-all charge of "careless driving."

Another consideration: regardless of who the cop says is at fault, your insurance company determines their own fault. They are free to perform their own investigation and assign more than 50% of the blame to you. Remember, one of the biggest insurance scams going is people who slam on their brakes intentionally to get rear-ended, then seek medical treatment for their "injuries."

For what it's worth, I've been rear-ended 9 times in my life, and not one of them was because I slammed on my brakes. Just dumbsh!ts not paying attention. Most of them weren't following too close either.

MDchanic

Back when I used to drive an ambulance, we were often annoyed by individuals who would try to "draft" us when we were pushing through traffic on busy highways.
Instead of moving over to let us pass, then resuming their former position, they would latch onto our rear bumper to try to screw all of the other drivers who obeyed the law and got out of the way.
We'd put on our seatbelts, hold on to our coffees, wait for a stretch that was clear enough to get up to maybe 40mph, check the mirrors to be sure the a$$hole was still back there, stand on the brakes, wait for the satisfying little telltale "BUMP" of their front end being totalled on our rear bumper, then proceed on. If we had ever been criticized (and we never were), we'd have said, "a dog ran out in front of us." No big deal.

As far as more ordinary situations, though, if someone wants to go faster than I'm going, I just pull over and let 'em by - I'm not the traffic cop of the world.
If I'm doing 85 and they want to do 100, I have no problem with that - the laws of physics or of the State will be enforced sooner or later.

- Eric

66ninetyeightls

That was without the patient in the back right????? LOL

MDchanic

Ha!

Yeah. I didn't think of that interpretation - we almost never went fast or used the lights and siren with a patient in the back - slow and easy is usually healthier. You think those potholes rattle your kidneys now, try 'em with a broken bone!

- Eric

66 Olznut

Never had that problem in the Olds. In my truck, tailgaters, well, when I notice that they are close enough to the point that I can't see their hood anymore have to the count of 5. Foot comes off the gas, boost comes down then I punch it. Instant solar eclipse. Problem solved, they never tailgate me again. I also have other tricks I use. Windshield washers and drifting on to the shoulder for example. I also make a point of NOT hanging out in the hammer lane so the idiots have their own space.

mfgusa

Great Idea! I think I'll install some type of Oil injection device for those close moments on my 455! Just like my dads '59 cyehv wagon which measured distance by quarts of oil / mi.

firefrost gold

Back in the day my dad drove semi trucks us to be a lot of truckers would put a toggle switch inline with the brake light's to get your attention

BlackGold

I love following emergency vehicles! No, I don't draft them, nor try to keep up. But it's amazing how much traffic you can pass in the first mile or so by getting in behind them and staying in the left lane.

A related issue:
What is the law regarding passing an emergency vehicle with its lights and sirens on? I'm serious. I often come upon an ambulance with full lights and siren cruisinig in the left-most lane of the highway -- but only doing 60 mph in a 70 mph zone (when most people usually drive 75). He's not doing the speed limit! Can I pass him? I promise I'll be out of his way in no time.

Redog

I usually find that it's a great time to do a quick brake check. They usually back off pretty quick at that point.

I had a cop tailgating me once in Princeton, NJ. If anybody knows that town, you know that they pull people over for going 26 in a 25. This damn cop was so close, I couldn't even see the hood line on his Crown Vic

I had another cop do this to me in a township around here too, but not that close.

Cops do this to "push" you over the speed limit.

MDchanic

I learned about this in a small town near Binghamton NY one night when I was 19.
Expensive lesson.

It's one of the resins why if there's someone on my tail, I just pull over and let 'em by.

- Eric