Get out of my way... what do you do?

John_Rambo

Had a case of this today, we've all had it. Someone in a rush, tailgating moving out over the central line and back in (regular road, not a motorway or dual carriage way).

What do you do? I'm interested in peoples reaction to this sort of rude driving. Never to pose a question without answering it myself.. Lately I pull in where I can and let them away with it. Fook it, they may be rude, impatient, idiots, having a bad day or even going through some sort of crises, a sick kid in the car. But I've found the easiest option is to just make it easy for them.

Some are really appreciative, some are a bit sheepish or even embarrassed, some will glare at you for driving to slow (at the speed limit or even over) and some are just in a mad rush and don't give a fook.

More often than not you'll end up behind or indeed beside them at a junction.

mikeecho

Well going other posters in a recent thread.

You could do a number of things.

Slam on the brakes/brake check

Turn on your fogs

Hog the lane by riding the white line.

Speed up when the road is clear

&

Slow down when there is oncoming traffic.

Me.. as long as you're making progress, and traveling at or near the the speed limit, maintain your position and when an overtaking opportunity arrives for the other driver, pull in to the left of the lane, and maybe take the foot off the gas, and allow them to pass.

con747

As above. ^^^^^ I usually give 2 flashes of the left indicator to show them it's ok to pass.

hoodie6029

If I’m doing the limit, they can stay where they are. I’m not risking moving into the hard shoulder at 100 because some wants to plough on.
There are plenty of times when I’m not doing the limit for whatever reason and I’m always conscious moving over or speeding up.
The driving the OP experienced was road rage.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572254#Comment_122572254

I'm unsure. It could be road rage, it could be anxiety, it could be late for an appointment, it could be a sick kid… and of course it could be just some wAnkor. It could be in a 30kph area, there could be plenty of opportunities to move over. Either way, I tend to pull over when it's safe to do so.

For context, I actually had a meningitis infected kid with a rash & temperature a few weeks ago. I was advised to smartly drive straight to Temple Street from Clontarf which I did. Fortunately (for this occasion), Dublin is unpoliced and I used the buslanes and nudged in to lanes I really had no right to. Everyone was pretty cool and I didn't even get a beep or an angry high beam. But Dublin is pretty relaxed regarding road rage.

con747

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572287#Comment_122572287

Which is what any decent driver would do.

Padre_Pio

Just ignore them.

Not your problem. They'll pass when it's safe to do so, or maybe unsafe, but that's their gamble. I want no part in it.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572427#Comment_122572427

As an experienced driver, I find it challenging to ignore tailgaters and often feel involuntarily drawn into the situation. That's why I prioritise safety by pulling over when possible to let the other driver pass. I'd do the same on the bike, a slow van or a tractor.

Viscount Aggro

Easy way to deal with tailgaters…

Slow down gradually, they will either back off, or overtake you. Either way, they will get the message.

However, given my nature … I slow down, as they overtake, I accelerate hard.

Cordell

While secretly whishing they find the next ditch I let them pass, I don't want some aggravated cont tailgating me.

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572287#Comment_122572287

Hope the child is ok.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572956#Comment_122572956

All good, thanks endacl. Temple st. were amazing.

Boardnashea

I prefer to have them in front of me than behind me so I let them off at the earliest opportunity.

POBox19

I maintain my speed and road position. Tailgating is just dangerous, don't do it at any speed you'll never pass safely.

On the other-hand, if I need to overtake I'll keep well back from the vehicle allowing room to accelerate to a speed to pass quickly and safely. The car in front should not have to change their speed or position and I'll be on my way before they know it. When it happens like this to me I appreciate that the other driver knows what they are doing.

If the other car is faster the driver's an idiot, if it's slower they're an eejit.

easygoing39

I find the older I get the more risk adverse I've become.If I've a car behind me wanting to get past,I'll ease of the accelerater and indicate left when safe to do so and let them pass.Then I'll go back up to the speed limit.Its cost me all of a few seconds to my journey and it'll stop the driver behind from potentionally trying a dangerous pass.

halkar

Distance between you and car in front is distance between life and death. Tailgating is very dangerous regardless what the reason is. Anything could happen with car in front like tyre burst, go in limp mode and loose acceleration. I let them pass when safe to do so. Sometimes I get thanks sometimes two fingers out of window :D

_Kaiser_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572947#Comment_122572947

Yea that's not dangerous at all! Risking a pile-up if there was an oncoming car in the distance.

Just move into the hard shoulder if safe/clear to do so and let them past then move back. Simple! Or if it's a motorway/dual carriageway then stay in the left lane unless overtaking in the first place.

Far too many road warriors out there who get offended by others who can/want to drive faster than them. I see it every day on the motorway when there's a queue of cars in the right lane stuck behind some dawdler at the top trying to police the roads.

extra-ordinary_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572947#Comment_122572947

However, given my nature … I slow down, as they overtake, I accelerate hard.

Username checks out

vandriver

This "could have a sick child" bullshite.

Put on Google maps and note your ETA.

Drive like a lunatic breaking the speed limit,lights etc. ...... and your ETA moves by at best 1 or 2 minutes.If you're lucky.

It's just bad bullying driving.

Akrasia

I don't think it's prudent to ignore a potential hazard to your rear. You should be aware that they are there and anticipate that they may do something bonkers at any time, but that doesn't mean you should pander to them either. Drive defensively. If an opportunity to let them pass safely arises, give them the space to do so and then they're someone else's problem.

Eventually the gardai will catch up to them if they're persistent offenders, or if they're dealing with a crisis, then hopefully they'll get there safer if other drivers just drive defensively and try to keep everyone safe

BornSkippy

I'm happy to let them pass.

But no way am I pulling into the hard shoulder. It could end suddenly, contain an obstacle or contain hidden hazards that damage your car. Risking your safety for someone who's already endangered you by tailgating is madness.

If someone's tailgating it's usually safer to slightly reduce speed gradually, to give yourself the greater stopping distance you'll now require to prevent the moron behind rear ending you if you have to stop suddenly.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572947#Comment_122572947

Are you serious or are you just trying to get a reaction?

Some of the worst drivers on the road, are the ones that drive slowly until someone tries to overtake them, and then they speed up.

These drivers put everyone else at risk, especially the innocent person driving along on their own side of the road, who are confronted with a driver mid overtaking maneauvre around a blind bend because two arseholes are having a dick measuring contest on the public roads

Viscount Aggro

Of course I am joking.

Ive done it the odd time, because I dont like being tailgated.

If somebody is a car length behind me all the way, it potentially is my problem.. say if a rabbit jumps out.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573218#Comment_122573218

So why do ambulances have sirens and flashing lights then?

In 99% of the cases, it is just some impatient arsehole or someone who didn't allow enough time for a journey and put themselves under too much pressure, or their work has unrealistic timings for when they have to be at certain places etc

But in life, sh1t does genuinely happen sometimes where every second counts.

I personally had to speed from Ennis to Limerick years ago because someone had phoned me and told me that they had just cut their wrists, and then he didn't respond to any more phone calls. When I called the ambulance,they asked for his apartment number, and I didn't know the number, but did know which door it was, so I had to get to limerick as fast as I could because he could have been dying on the floor and every second mattered and I had no other way of finding out his exact address at the time. (In the end, he was ok, he had passed out and was losing blood but the ambulance got there and stabilised him and he survived and is living a happy life married with kids etc)

That day I did not obey the speed limit and was much more aggressive then I ever would be otherwise.

I'm sure most people have something in their history that was a genuine life or death emergency where every minute mattered, if you haven't had one already, you will likely have one in the future…

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573508#Comment_122573508

"So why do ambulances have sirens and flashing lights then?"

So traffic, especially at a standstill, maneuvers out of the way. Obviously.

There's a good chance your crisis raised the risk of harm due to your aggressive driving. You don't have the right to do that.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573458#Comment_122573458

Yeah tailgaters are a genuine danger.

Gardai should be policing this way more. If they're flashing you to overtake, just get out of their way, its not in your best interest to teach them road manners. If they're just 'hypermiling' or 'Drafting' because they're trying to save fuel, then they won't overtake you unless you slow down, in which case, you have a decision to make, to tolerate them driving up your arse and the risk this poses to your own safety, or do you slow down/pull over to make them pass you

If you occasionally lose your cool and then speed up to block their overtaking maneauvre to make a point, that's just a failure on your part to keep your cool and something you need to work on. (We all have things we need to fix about our driving. Nobody's as perfect a driver as we all think we are)

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573519#Comment_122573519

The ambulance drivers told me to get there as fast as possible. I didn't drive down a one way street or break any red lights, but I also broke the speed limits.

In an emergency, people do things that in the cold light of day might not have been the optimal course of action. Life isn't black and white. People make judgements about what level of risks are acceptable and justifiable in a given situation.

Rushing a woman to a hospital who is about to give birth is the classic example.

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mikeecho

These, 'someone trying to overtake me threads', need to be put in the same bin as Fog Light threads.

They just bring out the idiots ,trolls and holier than thou brigade.

Oscar_Madison

unless I really felt this won’t end well, I’d just keep driving whatever speed I was doing before they nearly rammed my arse- they’re likely in a car with excellent acceleration so I’ve no doubt they’ll overtake me soon anyway - one thing I’m conscious of is when they overtake, to get ready to break suddenly or slow suddenly coz invariably they won’t have a chance to overtake more than 1 car at a time so I know I’ll be faced with a much shorter distance between me and the current car in front of me - worst thing to do is speed up as they’re overtaking - it will lead to all sorts

AnnieinDundrum

regular road with no scope to move over then i just hope that they get the opportunity to pass me asap.
and when they do get past me I’m try to help make sure they have enough space to overtake me and pull in if needed, I don’t want to be heading towards a car crash site.

Ambulance or police car I’ll use the hard shoulder.

dual carriageway or motorway it doesn’t happen unless I forget to return to the left after overtaking which I don’t.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572254#Comment_122572254

Are you also as much as a coward when there is an emergency vehicle trying to overtake you and you refuse to move to the hard shoulder? Or does your cowardice depend on the nature of the vehicle trying to overtake you?

Whocare

I just get out of way especially if it extreme tailgating could be emergency . If normal tailgating almost never happened to me I get out of way slowly 🐌

Whatwicklow

The experienced good driver will allow them passed at the first opportunity.

De-risk any situation.

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122576743#Comment_122576743

Really is the only way to do it, slow down if needed and move over a little without going off the road and don't create a potential incident regardless of the other driver clearly being at fault.

A lot of roads policing, aggression and fragile egos here with people blocking others off and suggesting accelerating when being overtaken.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573218#Comment_122573218

I remember telling this to someone about the M50 years ago and they were shocked. Lets say, giving a bit extra, the M50 is just shy of 20km long. At 100kmph, it takes 12 minutes. At 120kmph it takes 10 minutes. At 140kmph its 8.6 minutes. At 160kmph its 7.5minutes. I mean, it is mere minutes, you don't save much, certainly not as much that anyone will notice if waiting for you but look at the distance covered, breaking times etc, what's the point.

Even Dublin to Galway city centre to city centre, 2h12min, 1h50min, 1h35min, 1h22min. And that is presuming you can blow through every pinch point, light, ped crossing, and traffic jam without slowing, which will reduce the gap down to less than 20 minutes in the real world.

As for the could have been a sick child BS, in Dublin, use the bus lane and explain to a garda if pulled over, for the rest of the country, if those minutes are the difference between life and death, your child was probably not going to make it and ringing to meet an ambulance on route would be far quicker and beneficial.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122576646#Comment_122576646

If a real emergency, the driver wouldn't tailgate, they would have hazards on, blasting the horn all the way. Tailgating just gets more people in trouble. Any driver who can't see that, even in an emergency, shouldn't be driving or the person in charge of a vehicle during an emergency.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122573019#Comment_122573019

this +1

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122576410#Comment_122576410

Is it not illegal to move into the hard shoulder to let someone pass?

mikeecho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122578614#Comment_122578614

No

moonage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122578426#Comment_122578426

I recently saw this explained graphically in a video.
From 1:46

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc9jFbxrkMk

DaveyDave

On a normal road? I do nothing. It's not my job to wipe someone's arse for them. If they can't overtake when there's nothing in front of me and no oncoming traffic then they can sit behind me doing that middle of the lane tailgating nonsense all they like.

On a motorway/dual carriageway I'll move over once I'm done overtaking. I'm not going to speed up or swerve into a tight spot in the lane beside to get out of their way. We share the roads, the person doing 120 down the M50 will just need to wait a few seconds for the car to finish their overtaking.

If you're having an emergency throw the hazards on, that's what I do.

Whocare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122578434#Comment_122578434

There lots of cases were people can be in emergency but not to extreme of hazard lights on horn blasting that would be life or death situation. Other tailgating could be rushing to hospital to see love one in hospital after emergency ect . That way I look at it anyway normal tailgating (almost never happened at most few times a year) usually probably someone late going to work or going home after bad day I keep them behind me for bit move bit more to line to show them f off and if straight part of road come up just keep in and can drive on. And if car is tailgating hard were possible I just leave them pass out

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122580216#Comment_122580216

Would you be of the same attitude cycling a bike or driving a tractor?

Mister Vain

I usually see it in the mornings so its most likely just people that are late for work. Not much I can do on country roads except wait until they have the opportunity to overtake.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122580281#Comment_122580281

Doesn't change my point, whatever the reason, tailgating is stupid and dangerous and you shouldn't be driving if you think it is the only way to get attention. Is there any scenario where tailgating makes sense? In regards overtaking in a rush, unless a super car, it is far easier and safer to do it from further back. If you are tailgating, you can't accelerate until you pull out to overtake. It means the overtake, takes longer, increasing risk on non dual carriageways/motorways.

Don't get me wrong, I have no interest in being right on the road, I just want to get where I am going, and so like you, I too will pull over if possible and safe to do so (although I admit, it is a perception, so I could be wrong about it being safe), if someone is acting the muppet.

For those around Dublin though, have you ever noticed, when you pull over and some nutjob has been so far up your hole that they should be pulling your hair on the M50, unless the middle of the night, that when you pull over once you have your overtake done, they will probably be within your eyeline for several minutes after the overtake. Or on roads within the M50, you end up seeing them at every set of lights for the next 10 minutes until either your paths diverge or the lights separate you.

freddieot

Another variation on this is the tailgater that has been pedalling like crazy to help their ancient one litre engined heap get up to 125 \ 130 or so on the motorway. Now they are stuck behind a couple of cars and a truck in the RH lane and starting to freak out at 90, driving 1-2m from the cars in front of them, that can't go anywhere yet anyway.

Usually when said truck or bus gets out of the way, everyone passes and pull over into the left side but the tailgater just becomes a dot in the back mirror, still presumably pedalling to try to help the engine pull back up to speed, and still in the RH lane of course.

StudentDad

The drivers that really grind my gears are the ones on a motorway who camp in the overtaking lane and won't move in. If you then move in and accelerate in an effort to pull in front a few miles down the road, they suddenly floor it and try to turn it into some sort of race all the while remaining in the overtaking lane.

iwillhtfu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122572947#Comment_122572947

I think I met this driver years ago rushing to the Rotunda hospital. I'd love to have a catch up with her one day and explain how my child was born in an ambulance at heuston station as you added to unnecessary delays. 🙄 Yes, road rage is a nuisance on our road and so are the number of gobshites on our roads that have a complete inability to drive carefully and are oblivious to other roads users. I wont even get into the folks that have no idea what lane to use on a three lane carriageway.

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122576410#Comment_122576410

LOL! That’s your attempt at bait? You gave me a chuckle so I suppose the post wasn’t completely wasted 😂

Viscount Aggro

Ive been in front of a tailgater, small country road, nowhere to pull in.

I mean, what do you do.

I could see in my mirror, the guy was nearly foaming at the mouth.

Im doing 40kph, and thats all I safely want to do.