How Do You Deal With Tailgaters?

[MossRoad]

I haven't given anyone the finger in traffic for years. It's a habit that was hard to kill. I also quit antagonizing other drivers who behaved rudely.

My response to tailgating is to control the space in front of me. If you're going to be 5 feet behind me, I want a couple hundred yards of free space in front of me.

In a road rage situation, you don't want to have to tell the cops or a judge you gave a guy the finger or hit the brakes in front of him, and then he went nuts for "no reason." Cops, judges, prosecutors, and juries are often extremely unreasonable and self-righteous. You may be judged by someone who thinks shooting at you is no worse than you making dirty gestures at him.

On the road, impatience kills. It can get you shot or cause a horrific accident. If you leave for your destination on time, as a mature adult should, you will be less irritable when you are delayed. Get used to arriving at least 10 minutes early, and when you arrive, do something useful with your time while you wait. Read the Bible. Study a language.

I get annoyed with people, but you have to balance the magnitude of their trivial transgressions with that of the consequences of being a hothead.

On that note... a couple years ago I created my own horn meter. I count every day that I do not use the horn in anger or impatience. If I do, I have to reset it to ZERO and start over. When I started it I made it to day 3. But I've gone months with biting my tongue (or fingers) and just let them go. But sometimes, just sometimes... like when people stop inside a roundabout when there's no reason, or when someone is staring at their crotch at a green light( I count to 5), then, well.... dang! Back to day ZERO.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Where I live, using the horn is a major social gaffe. It's great.

 

[mark in portugal]

I hit the horn once a year; to check that it works before the safety inspection.

I did give a guy the finger one time; he was being very bad. Well, it turned out to be the village nut case bully from my own village 10 miles away. He got in front of me and stopped, blocking a major through route for 10 minutes. A few miles later, when I turned off, he circled back and chased me for 5 miles. So I stopped.
He was all red faced and wanted to beat me up; which I know is his thing. So I apologised and he calmed down and gave me a lecture in Portuguese (I didn't understand a word so that was ok), and left.

I stopped training a while back, but I did achieve a black belt in karate. To me, fighting is like digging ditches; I can do it, I just don't want to if I can avoid it.

 

[Runner]

I haven't needed to use my horn in years, literally.

 

[mark in portugal]

In India, the horn is vital. instead of wasting time and fuel by stopping at intersections, people just give a little toot. If pedestrians don't hear a horn, they may walk into the road. People don't look, they listen.
The louder your horn, the greater the distance you could clear and the faster you could go.
Different culture.

I put air horns on my motorcycle and rode fast all the time; ok, I was young then. I had fun, and miraculously, survived.

 

[t1kilo]

My daughter’s boyfriend lives in the downtown Houston area. Recently, he had a problem with his Tahoe where the horn would blow every time he made a right turn. Not really a good place for that to happen. I think it was 3 weeks or so before he was able to get it into the dealer. He’s lucky he didn’t get shot.

 

[tradosaurus]

If I have to drive under the speed limit for whatever reason (say towing) I use my emergency flashers.
If I'm on the interstate I always try to get over to the right as soon as possible.
Of course with my Tesla I can get past almost anyone very quickly.

 

[Jstpssng]

The last time I used my horn there was a turkey in the road.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

So were you tailgating? Come on, we're all being honest here.

No, I'd hold back until just before the passing zones. Hoping I could sling shot past. But nope, as soon as they saw a straight away it was pedal to the metal. There are a lot of folks who think that since they drive slow through the corners, you'll dive just as slow as they do, and don't want to let you pass them. I drive the roads frequently enough that I have them memorized and generally drive the speed limit except for two corners with 25-mph yellow warning signs. Those two corners I slow down to 30. Really tight and no banking whatsoever.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

I haven't needed to use my horn in years, literally.

I use mine frequently, short taps to let other drivers know I see them, or am yielding at a 4-way stop, etc. Something I learned in the dark ages at UPS.