When the person in front of me is making the same turns as I am and going to what seems like the same place..

[Anonymous]

When I’m nervous someone might think I’m following them, I try to put my turn signal on before they actually make their turns so that they know I planned on going in that direction already.

[Anonymous]

Once we were driving home to Silver Spring from BWI. We were behind a van on 95 just after leaving the airport and DD noticed that we seemed to be following the van.

Sure enough, the van got onto 495, then off of 495 at our exit, and it literally drove past our house. We were following the van for 40+ minutes.

[Anonymous]

I NEVER would do this OP.

You should not have to go out of your way so another motorist does not suspect you of trailing them.

And if they do, I say so what??

[Anonymous]

Never heard of this, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I turn off or start to go another way to make sure they don’t feel like I’m following them.

It gives me some type of anxiety or something! But I don’t want you to think I’m following you.

Seek help…

[Anonymous]

Sometimes if it's late at night and another car has been following me for a while on pretty empty roads, I make a detour instead of going straight home.

I also notice other cars on the same route when driving 95 and my family's always surprised when we drop at a rest stop and I recognize a car we were with a couple states prior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is funny to me because when I was quite pregnant a guy getting on the same bus as me kind of shoved past me to get on the bus when it arrived, then jumped up and jostled past me to get to the front of the bus when we were getting off at the same stop, and while walking did a big "jump out ahead of these slow walkers" thing at the first intersection when we had to wait for a light. He was clearly frustrated and running late, but then when I got to my OB's office he was waiting for the elevator in the lobby. I unbuttoned my coat while we were waiting and he was sooooo visibly uncomfortable with the fact that he'd been basically pushing a pregnant woman out of his way in his hurry to get to his pregnant partner's appointment, instead of just a slow fat lady or whatever he thought at the time. He held the elevator door for me when it showed up and when it got to the doctor's floor, and was all "after you" about going to the check-in desk.

Nobody thinks you're tailing them. But drive politely all the same so that if you end up at the same place it's not awkward!

This reminds me of this time in high school when I spent the night at a friend's house and the next day drove from her house to my summer job working in an office in our small town's downtown area. When I pulled into a parking space, a truck pulled into the space next to me, and when I got out of my car, the man in the truck got out and approached me. And then he explained that I had cut him off like 20 miles ago near my friend's house way out in the country, and he had followed me all the way into town to tell me to drive more carefully. I probably did cut him off accidentally -- I was 17 and I will fully admit I was not the best driver. He was reasonably nice about it but it also made me pretty uneasy thinking about him getting mad and then following me for almost a half an hour to my workplace. I was glad I wasn't going home! Though it also taught me to drive a bit more carefully because you don't want to upset someone who might be mad enough to do something about it either.

So creepy. My sister was followed after someone thought she cut him off. She went into a shopping center thinking she might be imagining it, but sure enough he followed her in and started telling. So she drove to a police station and then he went on his way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know what you mean. There’s probably a gendered component to this: I’m a woman. A man (a) probably wouldn’t notice and (b) wouldn’t even think to change his route to make sure a stranger felt safe.

That is just a bunch of gendered nonsense that you tell yourself in order to maintain your own persona biases. You are stereotyping an entire gender in a way that you wouldn’t appreciate if the tables were turned.

[Anonymous]

I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and I don't do that, OP! Statistically, it's bound to happen. That's just math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is funny to me because when I was quite pregnant a guy getting on the same bus as me kind of shoved past me to get on the bus when it arrived, then jumped up and jostled past me to get to the front of the bus when we were getting off at the same stop, and while walking did a big "jump out ahead of these slow walkers" thing at the first intersection when we had to wait for a light. He was clearly frustrated and running late, but then when I got to my OB's office he was waiting for the elevator in the lobby. I unbuttoned my coat while we were waiting and he was sooooo visibly uncomfortable with the fact that he'd been basically pushing a pregnant woman out of his way in his hurry to get to his pregnant partner's appointment, instead of just a slow fat lady or whatever he thought at the time. He held the elevator door for me when it showed up and when it got to the doctor's floor, and was all "after you" about going to the check-in desk.

Nobody thinks you're tailing them. But drive politely all the same so that if you end up at the same place it's not awkward!

He sounds like a good person. Most of the jerks you see every day couldn’t care less about you. There is nothing wrong with trying to rush to your pregnant wife’s appointment. I would expect no less from any committed father.

[Anonymous]

I usually just will make sure to park far once at destination. And I do notice if someone is “following” me and will try to lose them, especially if on my way home. Better safe than sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's strange but okay.

Would you even do it if, for instance, it's school pick up time and you're driving to the school? Or if you are in a neighborhood with one commercial center and you are driving to that commercial center? Like basically would you do this even if there's a very good reason why you and others would all be driving to the same place at the same time?

It’s usually in my experience noticeable in the same way like you’re on a road trip and notice you’re behind or beside the same vehicle for x number of miles. Often times people will wave when the two vehicles part.

With local driving, it’s like driving from Doc Waters in Germantown to Gaithersburg but behind the same car making the same turns all the way to the Montgomery Village McDonalds. After a while it feels like you’re following that person.

[Anonymous]

This happens to me most often when it is early and we are going to a swim meet. I like trying to guess if that is where they’re headed too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know what you mean. There’s probably a gendered component to this: I’m a woman. A man (a) probably wouldn’t notice and (b) wouldn’t even think to change his route to make sure a stranger felt safe.

That is just a bunch of gendered nonsense that you tell yourself in order to maintain your own persona biases. You are stereotyping an entire gender in a way that you wouldn’t appreciate if the tables were turned.

I don't know, as a man, I don't mind if she stereotypes men as being not mentally ill enough to worry about this.

[Anonymous]

Ha! One time I was driving to the Homestead and I got off of I-81 behind a Mercedes to make the final drive out there (about an hour-ish on back roads) I jokingly said that I bet we were going to follow that car all the way there and sure enough we did. For all I know they did think we were tailing them, but I didn’t really worry about that. There was one turn where I wasn’t entirely sure whether it was the right one towards the end, so I did decide it was the right one when they turned there as well.