Tailgating on the motorway, but in the LEFT lane

fricatus

My commute involves around 35 km of the M9, and practically every day, the same thing happens to me.

I'm in the left lane and traffic is free-flowing so I'm not stopping anyone from proceeding on their merry way. I mostly have the needle at 70 mph (UK import) and sit there on cruise control, maybe overtaking the odd truck or Corolla. Then, someone will drive up gradually behind me and then hang on my rear bumper for 5-10 minutes.

Then, all of a sudden, they will whip out into the overtaking lane and bomb off ahead.

Does this happen to anyone else? Why do people tailgate like this when it's dangerous and there's absolutely no need?

jock101

Welcome to Ireland style motoring, with ignorant dangerous drivers and virtually no traffic policing. Except for bank holidays and other well known fine/revenue collection zones!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Captain Commie

Same on the M50, if im early enough for work, or when leaving on thursday/friday (not rushing to get to college) i tend to hog the left hand lane and always have someone right up my exhaust pipe, i now tend to let them stay there for a bit, then when clear i move to right lane myself and get clear of em, really hate people sitting on my rear.

Another thing i do, (which is kinda dangerous is give em a flick of my rear fogs, they tend to get the message after that)

jock101

innovated wrote: »

Same on the M50, if im early enough for work, or when leaving on thursday/friday (not rushing to get to college) i tend to hog the left hand lane and always have someone right up my exhaust pipe, i now tend to let them stay there for a bit, then when clear i move to right lane myself and get clear of em, really hate people sitting on my rear.

Another thing i do, (which is kinda dangerous is give em a flick of my rear fogs, they tend to get the message after that)

Or tap the brakes!

MagicMarker

Stupid is as stupid does.

For instance, I was taking the Sandyford exit this morning, and with the usual queues at the exit some women decided to just stop ON the M50, and wait for a gap to open up so she could take the exit. :eek: There wasn't an air of panic about her.

Tallon

jock101 wrote: »

Or tap the brakes!

No!

I'm all for braking when you have a tailgater - not just to tell them to fcuk off but because it's dangerous and you need to slow down - but NOT on a motorway.

here.from.day.1

Could be people half asleep in the morning not realising they can overtake..

101sean

When I'm in my 101 I tend to cruise at 55 - 60 on a motorway. It never ceases to amaze me how many drivers catch up with me and hang around behind for miles like they are afraid to overtake or use lane 2.

-Chris-

jock101 wrote: »

Or tap the brakes!

For the love of God, don't do this. It's an idiotic and dangerous practice.

loobylou

Drove the length of the M50 this morning about 8am in lane 1.
It was like having a bus lane to myself:D
All the other traffic was fighting it out in lanes 2 and 3.

RobertFoster

loobylou wrote: »

Drove the length of the M50 this morning about 8am in lane 1.
It was like having a bus lane to myself:D
All the other traffic was fighting it out in lanes 2 and 3.

Quick, hide! They don't take kindly to undertakers 'round these parts!

Tallon

RobertFoster wrote: »

Quick, hide! They don't take kindly to undertakers 'round these parts!

You can drive in the left lane of traffic if the right lane is moving slow

ROTR

loobylou

Did'nt have to undertake although had to slow a couple of times to match the speed of lane 3 traffic.
Was tempted to "undertake" though, especially given there was a whole empty lane between me and them.

drBill

jock101 wrote: »

Or tap the brakes!

Or spray your windscreen a few times. Some of the spray blows into the slipstream behind you and onto the windscreen of anybody too close behind.
It'll make them cop on how close the two cars are together. And you both end up with nice clean windscreens. Everybody wins!

Tallon

drBill wrote: »

Some of the spray blows into the slipstream behind you and onto the windscreen of anybody too close behind.

I seriously HATE cars like that.

Is it too much effort to take 2 mins to adjust your sprays to not shoot over the car

i know you will always get a little bit of spray, but some cars just wash your windscreen and not the god dam car their on :pac:

Bruthal

jock101 wrote: »

Welcome to Ireland style motoring, with ignorant dangerous drivers and virtually no traffic policing. Except for bank holidays and other well known fine/revenue collection zones!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Perfect description, the worlds most stupid drivers we must have here, some of it is beyond reality, 6 feet behind you at 70mph, overtaking on roads in the morning when there is traffic as far as the eye can see, doing 30mph down ramps onto motorway and then cant merge in, last week someone stopped on the M4 in hard shoulder just started and straight out at walking pace in front of a car ahead of me doing the motorway speed, others turning left onto main road that has a merging lane but they sit there waiting to be let out instead of turning and merging in, its endless the stupidity here. And ignorant dangerous drivers is the most perfect description, stupid has to fit in there somewhere.

hobochris

A flash or two of the hazard lights usually works.

sentient_6

I'd a weird one on the M6 recently. Was doing 120 bang on & this car caught up with me. He had clearly been traveling faster but when he reached me he just stayed behind nice & tight to my bumper. The next truck i came to overtake i put the boot down & created about a km of distance & dropped back to 120. 5 minutes later? He's back up my hole & stays there! He had to have sped up to catch but won't overtake! I created distance twice more & he caught up again each time but wouldnt overtake. I stuck i the indicator for a few seconds a couple of times but it didnt seem to register. :rolleyes: He finally took the exit for moate then. So strange. The motorway was very quiet to, you know the right was hardly packed with an overtaking train or anything.

Cuddlesworth

Its lazy driving. If you look closely at them you will see that they are focused solely on the back of your car with no attention to the road ahead. This is because it take far less effort to watch a car twenty feet away then have to try pay attention to everything else. They don't bother overtaking because it means having to use mirrors, indicating, their right foot and some sort of forward observation.

Bruthal

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Its lazy driving. If you look closely at them you will see that they are focused solely on the back of your car with no attention to the road ahead. This is because it take far less effort to watch a car twenty feet away then have to try pay attention to everything else. They don't bother overtaking because it means having to use mirrors, indicating, their right foot and some sort of forward observation.

Id say this is spot on.