What is the safest way to stop people tailgating

the culture of deference

I have been driving at the speed limit using cruise control on the lucan celbridge road 60km, and the n4 into town from leixlip 80km.

A couple of times last week when it was 2 or 3 degrees outside, in the wet, and I have had cars on my bumper (within 3 or 4 feet). The garda are always at weston entrance and after flyover on lucan road so there is no point breaking the limit.

How do you get the car behind to understand what they are doing is lethal, and they will cause an accident.

What is the safest way to stop people tailgating.

juan.kerr

slowing down regardless of the speed limit works for me - they get the message.

Berty

Get out of their way and/or get off the road is the safest way.

The best way is to feather the brakes for me. I was told by Hibernian/Aviva Insurance and their Advanced Driving School(UK) to do that.

johnos1984

I had an old car before where someone had wired a switch on the dash to turn on the brake lights for such an occasion. It removed the danger element of being rear ended

johnthemull

OP
Could i suggest the best way for you to avoid tailgating is not to drive.


"have been driving at the speed limit using cruise control on the lucan celbridge road 60km, and the n4 into town from leixlip 80km. "

I am frankly amazed anyone would use cruise control on the lucan to Celbridge road. That is one hell of a dangerous road that requires constant attention and car control. Using cruise control here is dangerous driving.

As for the N4 into town; Middle lane by any chance?

hidinginthebush

Just try to ignore them op, they're behind you, focus on the road ahead. You're doing the speed limit and don't plan on breaking it, they'll just have to live with it.

alias no.9

Keep your windscreen washer bottle full and after the second or third time you 'wash your windscreen' with the spray landing on theirs, their necessity to take action (switch their wipers on) will wake them from their autopilot. Many aren't doing it consciously, just caught in a bit of a trance, you just need to disturb them from it.

mad muffin

Applying the rear fog lights usually works for me.

tossy

johnthemull wrote: »

OP
I am frankly amazed anyone would use cruise control on the lucan to Celbridge road. That is one hell of a dangerous road that requires constant attention and car control. Using cruise control here is dangerous driving.

Sensationalise much?

Shane Fitz

the culture of deference wrote: »

I have been driving at the speed limit using cruise control on the lucan celbridge road 60km, and the n4 into town from leixlip 80km.

Firstly, it's not your place to police the speed limit, so move over n let them pass. No loss on you of they get caught further down the road.
Secondly, if you are in the outside lane, then you are obliged to move out of their way. The outside lane is ONLY for overtaking, and not traveling in.

bazz26

mad muffin wrote: »

Applying the rear fog lights usually works for me.

And all they do then is put their high beams on until one of you wilts.

I find the best thing to do is nothing, just ignore them. They will either get annoyed that you will not play their silly game and overtake you or they will accept you will not be bated, back off and find some other way to ammuse themeselves. In my experience the former happens alot more than the latter.

Bigcheeze

alias no.9 wrote: »

Keep your windscreen washer bottle full

Even better, keep it full of piss

David09

Middle finger??

I'd just let them pass out and be the ones to get a speeding fine.

Buffman

OP, my advice is to ignore them. Not much you can do on the Celbridge-Lucan road, but if you use the left lane of the N4 you shouldn't have an issue.

johnthemull wrote: »

"have been driving at the speed limit using cruise control on the lucan celbridge road 60km, and the n4 into town from leixlip 80km. "

I am frankly amazed anyone would use cruise control on the lucan to Celbridge road. That is one hell of a dangerous road that requires constant attention and car control. Using cruise control here is dangerous driving.

Eh, are you sure you're thinking of the right road. It's a straight road with one gentle curve near Weston with a good road surface and a ridiculous 60 limit.

Anan1

I find a quick flash of the hazards works best - it gets their attention without coming across as aggressive.

johnthemull

Buffman wrote: »

OP, my advice is to ignore them. Not much you can do on the Celbridge-Lucan road, but if you use the left lane of the N4 you shouldn't have an issue.

johnthemull wrote: »

"have been driving at the speed limit using cruise control on the lucan celbridge road 60km, and the n4 into town from leixlip 80km. "

I am frankly amazed anyone would use cruise control on the lucan to Celbridge road. That is one hell of a dangerous road that requires constant attention and car control. Using cruise control here is dangerous driving.

Eh, are you sure you're thinking of the right road. It's a straight road with one genlte curve near Weston with a good road surface and a ridiculous 60 limit.[/Quote

Very narrow road. No verge to speak off. Several fatalities in the last few years. Yea I am sure.

dgt

Best to let them by and they'll be out of your way

Alternatively, slow to crawling pace :pac:

Tallon

Get out of the overtaking lane

corktina

the trouble is what you see as being on the limit may actually be 2 or 3 km/h under it and that's really annoying when you are trying to get somewhere.

Just move out of their way and let them go, you can then have the satisfaction of watching them get a ticket perhaps.

Using brakes, indicators and lights to try to police them is never going to do anything except distract you or them from driving safely.

CiniO

the culture of deference wrote: »

What is the safest way to stop people tailgating.

I'd say the easiest way to get rid of tailgaters is to start driving in Ireland

Over last few weeks I was away driving in 9 different countries of EU, and I didn't see any other country than Ireland, where there would be such few tailgaters. Poland was probably the worst. UK also very bad. Germany was not too bad, but still way worse than Ireland.

Pkiernan

Possibly not the safest, but certainly effective is the method some have employed of stomping on the brake pedal as hard as they can to avoid the pedestrian/dog/child/cyclist/horse that came out of nowhere.

Works better in the rain, and even better still when one checks in one's rearview to observe when the tail gater is looking down at his radio/phone etc.

The ultimate however is when one can secretly wire ones brake lights NOT to come on, then proceeding as above.

But noone should ever do this.

i usually just slow down to be honest, if i do end up getting hit at higher speeds it's more dangerous
i don't mean hitting the brakes either, just slowing down

usually i have to say it's worked, they get the hint and back off and then we can all proceed in a mannerly order back at the speed limit or whatever

it's a pain on the motorway though... i was in the overtaking lane one day, yes, genuinely overtaking with someone behind me... when all the traffic ahead brakes suddenly. not braking a little bit, but nearly to a full stop, from 120

of course if i'd jammed on the brakes like them he would have gone right through me

enough safety distance ahead to be able to tap the brakes to warn the guy then hit them properly and end up with inches to spare, but it was a fright

Atlantis50

Don't do this!

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=931_1327202577

marzic

if you have elec. mirrors adjust them outward - there comes a point at which if the car behind gets too close what they will get is a big flash of their own headlights. they'll drop 40 yards in about 2 secs!

i used to do the interior rear view mirror also until its completely facing the rear windscreen altho now with tinted windows this wont work.

Only caveat is that its a bit off-putting to be driving with your rear views altered... and this only works in the dark (I forgot to say)

alias no.9

Bigcheeze wrote: »

Even better, keep it full of piss

It hits your windscreen first

Mycroft H

You get a shocking amount of them between Enfield and Kilcock on the old N4.

On my car you can gently apply the breaks which kicks the light in without actually slowing down. It usually sorts them out.

There are two types of tailgaters imo, the ones on autopilot that don't realise how close there behind you and the aggressive "get the f**k" out of my way". The first usually respond to a flash of the hazards/foglight/break light but the second aren't worth fighting.

I had a BE coach tailgate me on that perticular stretch of road one evening during the summer, particularly aggressive too - I could see the number plates/lights disappear beneath rear view mirror as he was inches from my bumper.

Gentle breaking/hazards/fog lights would only result in flashing lights from the bus. When we got into enfield he pulled into the stop to pick up passengers and I stopped in front of him. This is the one and only time I have got out of a car in anger. I hopped out on boarded the bus and asked the bus driver as the reason to his aggressive driving, stating he was a danger to me and his passengers safety. He basically told me to get move out of the way the next time a bus was that close to you. I laughed and told him that my girlfriend in the car had already rang busaras to complain to the inspector on duty. As I was leaving one of the passengers started clapping much to the embarrassment of the red faced driver.

He kept his distance after that. A small victory against the tailgaters

no1beemerfan

In one of my cars I've no rear fogs so I hit the hazards, the others I turn on the rear fogs. If that doesn't work I tap the brakes.

One time I was with my uncle who had an '88/'89 escort van and the fella behind was up his rear, uncle pulled in, wouldn't pass. So my uncle slammed on the brakes till we stopped. Fella got the message!

Another I had a woman in a Santa Fe behind me right on my bumper, wouldn't pass when I pulled into the hard sholder and didn't get the message when I put on the fogs or braked lightly.
I copped every so often she took a drink out of a take-away coffee so the next time she did I hit the brakes and she over reacted, braked too hard and spilt the coffee over her. Soon got rid of her as she had to pull into the hard sholder!

BX 19

BX 19 wrote: »

You get a shocking amount of them between Enfield and Kilcock on the old N4.

exactly what i had in mind!
and no overtaking for the length of it

Mycroft H

bluewolf wrote: »

exactly what i had in mind!
and no overtaking for the length of it

I'm pretty sure the council reclassified it about 15 years ago as an 50mph speed limit as to the amount of accidents there. Perhaps I have that date wrong, but the limit is there at the very least 10 years.

GTE

On the motorway, I have managed to just get the satisfaction that I am pissing them off considering I am doing no wrong over taking, in cruise doing 120 sat nav speed. Its a bit more then 120 indicated in the car. I used to flash fogs, hazard lights but I would still slow down to 120 indicated if they were horribly idiotic.

Once I am finished my over take on a motorway a gentle pull into left hand lane usually catches them totally unawares. Some seem to floor it the second I indicate.

I get a lot of it from Southern reg cars when I cross to NI and then I get loads of NI plonkers when I come back.

The N4 is a bad stretch though for this kind of thing though.

monument

Shane Fitz wrote: »

the culture of deference wrote: »

I have been driving at the speed limit using cruise control on the lucan celbridge road 60km, and the n4 into town from leixlip 80km.

Firstly, it's not your place to police the speed limit, so move over n let them pass. No loss on you of they get caught further down the road.
Secondly, if you are in the outside lane, then you are obliged to move out of their way. The outside lane is ONLY for overtaking, and not traveling in.

This is nonsence.

There is nothing whatsoever in the road traffic acts or case law which says that you are obliged to move for somebody breaking the law, or even those who are not.

You don't know if the op is overtaking others or not -- when they are overtaking or in the process of such, they are not obliged to move just because there is a motorist trying to go faster behind them, and even less consideration should be given to law breakers.

Also -- not doing something is not a form of policing.

phill106

monument wrote: »

This is nonsence.

There is nothing whatsoever in the road traffic acts or case law which says that you are obliged to move for somebody breaking the law, or even those who are not.

You don't know if the op is overtaking others or not -- when they are overtaking or in the process of such, they are not obliged to move just because there is a motorist trying to go faster behind them, and even less consideration should be given to law breakers.

Also -- not doing something is not a form of policing.

The lane is called the overtaking lane. Clue is in the name?
As for pulling over, you don't know why people are speeding. Could be someone bringing someone to the hospital, a doctor in his own car on the way to an accident, liam neeson chasing the men who kidnapped his daughter, you just don't know!

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Either speed up or let them pass. I love when I get to let someone fast pass me, I can follow them and they then act as a minesweeper for me and take the speeding fine bullet for me, which is most kind of them.

I used to let tailgaters get to me, and slow down and flash the fogs and all that crap that is distracting me from the job of driving for myself. Now I let them pass. OP if your on a two lane carrageway then it is you that should be shot for lane hogging. Respect faster drivers and don't try police the roads.

annieoburns

Yes my pet hate is tailgaters... I let them pass but at a point when safe to do so. This can be a mile or so until a suitable driveway or decent stretch of hardshoulder appears. Great relief to see them go on their merry way and have the open road behind me as well as in front. In rural areas, it is can often be locals who know the road well and might be just going a few miles!

gk5000

bbk wrote: »

On the motorway, I have managed to just get the satisfaction that I am pissing them off considering I am doing no wrong over taking, in cruise doing 120 sat nav speed. Its a bit more then 120 indicated in the car. I used to flash fogs, hazard lights but I would still slow down to 120 indicated if they were horribly idiotic.

Once I am finished my over take on a motorway a gentle pull into left hand lane usually catches them totally unawares. Some seem to floor it the second I indicate.

I get a lot of it from Southern reg cars when I cross to NI and then I get loads of NI plonkers when I come back.

The N4 is a bad stretch though for this kind of thing though.

Thats pretty idiotic and dangerous, you are deliberatly driving in such a way as to piss off other road users.

You could and should be done for driving without due care and attention - inconsideration to other road users.

What are you doing in the passing lane in the first place? Going 120 in the fast lane to pass someone going 118 in the slow lane?

keithclancy

gk5000 wrote: »

Thats pretty idiotic and dangerous, you are deliberatly driving in such a way as to piss off other road users.

You could and should be done for driving without due care and attention - inconsideration to other road users.

What are you doing in the passing lane in the first place? Going 120 in the fast lane to pass someone going 118 in the slow lane?

How so ?

He's saying he drives the speed limit, pulls out when he overtakes and pulls in when he's done overtaking.

monument

phill106 wrote: »

The lane is called the overtaking lane. Clue is in the name?

And as I said in my last post, the OP could be overtaking others while getting tailgated.

As for the excuses: The OP could have a bomb on board that goes off when he goes over the speed limit -- you just never know!

gk5000

keithclancy wrote: »

How so ?

He's saying he drives the speed limit, pulls out when he overtakes and pulls in when he's done overtaking.

Overtaking must be done in a safe manner. His overtaking should not impede other road users - hense the driving without due care and attention.
If his overtaking is going to take so long as to cause a queue of people behind him then he sould not be in the overtaking lane.

And he knows its wrong " I have managed to just get the satisfaction that I am pissing them off..." Nobody should be allowed on the roads with that attitude.

monument

gk5000 wrote: »

keithclancy wrote: »

How so ?

He's saying he drives the speed limit, pulls out when he overtakes and pulls in when he's done overtaking.

Overtaking must be done in a safe manner. His overtaking should not impede other road users - hense the driving without due care and attention.
If his overtaking is going to take so long as to cause a queue of people behind him then he sould not be in the overtaking lane.

And he knows its wrong " I have managed to just get the satisfaction that I am pissing them off..." Nobody should be allowed on the roads with that attitude.

More nonsence.

He said he was driving at the speed limit -- please do point out the law or case law which says you must not "impede" people breaking the speed limit.

Westernman

This all depends on what lane you are driving in I imagine if inside lane I would just reduce speed until they over take. However if you are doing this in the outside lane I think you would be in the wrong because the outside lane is for overtaking and not strictly for driving in. Try not allow yourself to feel its your duty to correct the behaviour of other motorist this should be done by the gardai.

Having spent many years driving Irish roads, I have found that drivers who drive slow and below the speed limits are just as much a danger to those who speed by compelling others to overtake. Not saying you fit this description and I believe the correct speed to travel in is to drive and maintain the speed of the traffic traveling with you.

gk5000

monument wrote: »

More nonsence.

He said he was driving at the speed limit -- please do point out the law or case law which says you must not "impede" people breaking the speed limit.

Common sense should apply, but in its obvious absence:
The rules of the road:
http://www.rotr.ie/pdf-downloads/english/rules-of-the-road%20eng.pdf

Page 8
A number of skills are expected of road users, especially drivers:
the ability to act responsibly

Page 9
Road users are also expected to have a positive and considerate attitude to each other..

That's only for starters.
How can you defend: " I have managed to just get the satisfaction that I am pissing them off..."

Marcin_diy

Safest way to stop people tailgaiting is to let them go and not to use overtaking lane as driving lane. Some people are speeding or driving close to the max speed and it is not you to judge or police them. Remember, that blocking faster lane and not driving as close to the left of road as possible is also an offence and you can get a ticket for this.......

12 days ago, at 2am Garda stopped* me for speeding and overtaking their car from the left... after 2 sencence conversation they let me go my way.

Few minutes later while driving on N3 heading to city centre i was blocked by 2 cars - A slower on the bus lane, B little bit quicker on the cars lane. When I was just behind car B driver hit brakes and slowed down and kept me blocked for a long moment ( I couldn't overtake it from the right)
then car A from bus lane turned left and when I was going to overtake car B using left lane, driver moved his car to the midle of 2 lanes just not to let me go.......
As a result I had to overtake him from the right crossing double lanes and using all power of my car to do this. Once I overtook that car driver started flashing his lights.

Finally few minutes later i got to the hospital, and honestly another few minutes later my daughter was born.


* When Gards stopped me. I told them that wife is in labour, has contractions very often and it can happen any moment. Tey looked at my wife, and let me go "you won't get a ticket or warning, go, but be carefull" was what i heard from them.

Then shortly after some id.iot was trying to play policeman role and stop me.



Now I would like to hear some voices - who put other's people at more risk - me speeding to the hospital, to have my wife and baby being looked after, or some stupid driver specially blocking way ????


** Baby girl and her mum are well

johnthemull

Only in Ireland, Could a thread like this on tailgating go on so long.
As an unrepentive tailgaiter i say to you the answer is simple;
Get out of the way!
You dont own the road or other peoples time.

monument

gk5000 wrote: »

monument wrote: »

More nonsence.

He said he was driving at the speed limit -- please do point out the law or case law which says you must not "impede" people breaking the speed limit.

Common sense should apply, but in its obvious absence:
The rules of the road:
http://www.rotr.ie/pdf-downloads/english/rules-of-the-road%20eng.pdf

Page 8
A number of skills are expected of road users, especially drivers:
the ability to act responsibly

Page 9
Road users are also expected to have a positive and considerate attitude to each other..

That's only for starters.
How can you defend: " I have managed to just get the satisfaction that I am pissing them off..."

Lol!

None of that says you have to get out of the way of those speeding.

In any case, I asked for what is said in the road traffic acts or laws or case law.

You're defending breaking the law and pointing to fairly meaningless stuff in the rules of the road to try to defend it -- which is far worse.

monument

johnthemull wrote: »

Only in Ireland, Could a thread like this on tailgating go on so long.
As an unrepentive tailgaiter i say to you the answer is simple;
Get out of the way!
You dont own the road or other peoples time.

Only in Ireland?

This from somebody publicly admitting to tailgating and not seeing a problem with telling others that they don't own the road?!

Defending speeding on an open road is one thing but defending tailgating is beyond moronic.

johnthemull

Getting out of the way is an act of common courtesy.
Guess that is so rare in this country, that it should be enshrined in law.
In the mean time, get out of the way and you wont be tailgated any more.

monument

This is very funny if not tragic at the same time...

johnthemull wrote: »

Getting out of the way is an act of common courtesy.
Guess that is so rare in this country, that it should be enshrined in law.
In the mean time, get out of the way and you wont be tailgated any more.

What are you talking about? You want aiding criminal acts enshrined in law?

Tailgating is highly dangours and very much so illegally yet you're worried about "common courtesy"?

What about the common courtesy of not putting people in danger and not acting so aggressivly -- they seem to override having to get out of the way of others who are breaking the law in one way (tailgate) and want to also break it in another way (speed).

gk5000

monument wrote: »

Lol!

None of that says you have to get out of the way of those speeding.

In any case, I asked for what is said in the road traffic acts or laws or case law.

You're defending breaking the law and pointing to fairly meaningless stuff in the rules of the road to try to defend it -- which is far worse.

"There are none so blind as those who will not see".

Why don't you start and actually read the rules of the road?
"The rules comply with and reflect the Road Traffic Law as at 31 December 2009."

And stop posting, and driving until you understand them.

nacimroc

monument wrote: »

Tailgating is highly dangours and very much so illegally yet you're worried about "common courtesy"?

Blocking lanes is far more dangerous just not written into law! You make people undertake, swerve, drive to close, distract them from driving when lane hogging but because you feel your legal entitlment is there your doing the safer thing! Tailgating will happen regardless of the law, so don't run to the the statute book when its clear to see lane hoggers cause dangerous driving to happen, legally or illegally!

And yes, I tailgate and will so until people learn to use the OVERTAKING lane properly.

And to answer the OP, don't do anything too serious as you probably have them furious with you already and you may just push them into doing something stupidly dangerous!

monument

gk5000 wrote: »

monument wrote: »

Lol!

None of that says you have to get out of the way of those speeding.

In any case, I asked for what is said in the road traffic acts or laws or case law.

You're defending breaking the law and pointing to fairly meaningless stuff in the rules of the road to try to defend it -- which is far worse.

"There are none so blind as those who will not see".

Why don't you start and actually read the rules of the road?
"The rules comply with and reflect the Road Traffic Law as at 31 December 2009."

And stop posting, and driving until you understand them.

Again the main point here is that you're defending breaking the law (both tailgating and speeding) by pointing to the rules of the road?!

This is road traffic law comedy gold!

nacimroc wrote: »

monument wrote: »

Tailgating is highly dangours and very much so illegally yet you're worried about "common courtesy"?

Blocking lanes is far more dangerous just not written into law! You make people undertake, swerve, drive to close, distract them from driving when lane hogging but because you feel your legal entitlment is there your doing the safer thing! Tailgating will happen regardless of the law, so don't run to the the statute book when its clear to see lane hoggers cause dangerous driving to happen, legally or illegally!

And yes, I tailgate and will so until people learn to use the OVERTAKING lane properly.

And to answer the OP, don't do anything too serious as you probably have them furious with you already and you may just push them into doing something stupidly dangerous!

Lol... More comedy gold!

You should not be on the road if an obstruction to speeding causes you do do thing like undertake, swerve, drive too close, or distracts you from driving!

Nobody is making a tailgater tailgate or a speeder speed other than them self and their greed. You're the one acting dangously by tailgating -- take a bit of responsibility for your own actions or get off the road.

As said before: the op could have also been overtaking others!

CageWager

All this flashing of fog lights and tipping breaks and spraying windscreen wiper fluid is just as dangerous as tailgating. If there is room to let them pass, let them off. If they're tailgating you in the slow lane of a motorway they're just retarded. If you start trying to exact revenge by the methods above you're likely to get into an accident yourself, and then the tailgating fecker will go into the back of you after all...