Stop tailgating me!

[Anonymous]

There are new speed cameras in Arlington for 20mph school speed zones. I have already gotten a ticket for going 31, so you bet I am going 20 now. It infuriates people behind me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, stop blaming the driver in front of you. I’ve been tailgated in the far right-hand lane going at or above the speed limit.

Secondly, tailgating me will make me go slower, not faster. I will want more room between me and the car ahead of me so that if they do something unexpected I have more reaction time so that I can hopefully avoid slamming on my brakes and getting rear-ended by my tailgater. Moreover, if my tailgater does rear-end me, I want the extra room in front of me to hopefully avoid a chain reaction where I get pushed into the car in front.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in the left lane, you need to move over. You will just as easily cause an accident as someone who is tailgating you.

I thought police and insurance companies hold at fault the driver who rear-ended the car in front of them, not the person who got rear-ended. Has that changed in the 20 years since I got my driver’s license?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are new speed cameras in Arlington for 20mph school speed zones. I have already gotten a ticket for going 31, so you bet I am going 20 now. It infuriates people behind me.

Those are only during school hours, and there are lights to warn you. They are not 20mph all day long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are new speed cameras in Arlington for 20mph school speed zones. I have already gotten a ticket for going 31, so you bet I am going 20 now. It infuriates people behind me.

Those are only during school hours, and there are lights to warn you. They are not 20mph all day long.

correction: not school hours, just around the start and end of the school day - not the middle, and not outside of arrival/dismissal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, stop blaming the driver in front of you. I’ve been tailgated in the far right-hand lane going at or above the speed limit.

Secondly, tailgating me will make me go slower, not faster. I will want more room between me and the car ahead of me so that if they do something unexpected I have more reaction time so that I can hopefully avoid slamming on my brakes and getting rear-ended by my tailgater. Moreover, if my tailgater does rear-end me, I want the extra room in front of me to hopefully avoid a chain reaction where I get pushed into the car in front.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in the left lane, you need to move over. You will just as easily cause an accident as someone who is tailgating you.

I thought police and insurance companies hold at fault the driver who rear-ended the car in front of them, not the person who got rear-ended. Has that changed in the 20 years since I got my driver’s license?

Everyone has dash cams. Now there's evidence if someone is brake-checking or cutting someone off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I absolutely tailgated a woman yesterday going 15 in a 25, causing us to miss every green light. Some people shouldn't be driving.

Did tailgating help the woman drive faster?

It did not. However, I am fairly certain she was aware of my frustration, and that of several other cars who were actually honking, so perhaps she will come to realize that she is a menace. It is true that overly aggressive drivers cause accidents, but overly cautious ones aren't much better.

I guess you showed her ... to literally zero effect. Proud of yourself?

I am, actually. Like I said, drivers like that should not be on the road. If you cannot drive the speed limit under normal conditions, give up your keys. Frankly, authorities need to do more to monitor the driving skills of the elderly and infirm.

I agree and want to add in people who don't know how to drive when they are lost or looking for something. I have taught my kids to be PREDICTABLE. Do not slow down to "find" something or because you are confused. That is super unsafe. A steady spead while you glance at all sides and mirrors without too much head turning is the proper way to navigate. You can always make a few right hand turns if you overshoot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, stop blaming the driver in front of you. I’ve been tailgated in the far right-hand lane going at or above the speed limit.

Secondly, tailgating me will make me go slower, not faster. I will want more room between me and the car ahead of me so that if they do something unexpected I have more reaction time so that I can hopefully avoid slamming on my brakes and getting rear-ended by my tailgater. Moreover, if my tailgater does rear-end me, I want the extra room in front of me to hopefully avoid a chain reaction where I get pushed into the car in front.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in the left lane, you need to move over. You will just as easily cause an accident as someone who is tailgating you.

I thought police and insurance companies hold at fault the driver who rear-ended the car in front of them, not the person who got rear-ended. Has that changed in the 20 years since I got my driver’s license?

How is that relevant? You are ok with causing an accident as long as your insurance doesn't assign blame to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, stop blaming the driver in front of you. I’ve been tailgated in the far right-hand lane going at or above the speed limit.

Secondly, tailgating me will make me go slower, not faster. I will want more room between me and the car ahead of me so that if they do something unexpected I have more reaction time so that I can hopefully avoid slamming on my brakes and getting rear-ended by my tailgater. Moreover, if my tailgater does rear-end me, I want the extra room in front of me to hopefully avoid a chain reaction where I get pushed into the car in front.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in the left lane, you need to move over. You will just as easily cause an accident as someone who is tailgating you.

I thought police and insurance companies hold at fault the driver who rear-ended the car in front of them, not the person who got rear-ended. Has that changed in the 20 years since I got my driver’s license?

How is that relevant? You are ok with causing an accident as long as your insurance doesn't assign blame to you?

You sound super aggressive. I know you think everyone should be an expert driver such as yourself but there are new drivers, old drivers, tired drivers, distracted drivers on the roads. No, “they” aren’t going to root out all these people that are such an aggravation to you. So get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, stop blaming the driver in front of you. I’ve been tailgated in the far right-hand lane going at or above the speed limit.

Secondly, tailgating me will make me go slower, not faster. I will want more room between me and the car ahead of me so that if they do something unexpected I have more reaction time so that I can hopefully avoid slamming on my brakes and getting rear-ended by my tailgater. Moreover, if my tailgater does rear-end me, I want the extra room in front of me to hopefully avoid a chain reaction where I get pushed into the car in front.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in the left lane, you need to move over. You will just as easily cause an accident as someone who is tailgating you.

I thought police and insurance companies hold at fault the driver who rear-ended the car in front of them, not the person who got rear-ended. Has that changed in the 20 years since I got my driver’s license?

How is that relevant? You are ok with causing an accident as long as your insurance doesn't assign blame to you?

You sound super aggressive. I know you think everyone should be an expert driver such as yourself but there are new drivers, old drivers, tired drivers, distracted drivers on the roads. No, “they” aren’t going to root out all these people that are such an aggravation to you. So get over it.

No, I don't.

All of the drivers you listed can get over to the slow lane. If they aren't confident on the road, perhaps consider Ubers.

[Anonymous]

I had someone lay on their horn behind me today while I was stopped at a stop sign because small children were crossing in front of me. We were literally a block from a school. They may have even been racing to drop kids off at that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had someone lay on their horn behind me today while I was stopped at a stop sign because small children were crossing in front of me. We were literally a block from a school. They may have even been racing to drop kids off at that school.

It was probably the PP who fancies himself the left lane police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had someone lay on their horn behind me today while I was stopped at a stop sign because small children were crossing in front of me. We were literally a block from a school. They may have even been racing to drop kids off at that school.

It was probably the PP who fancies himself the left lane police.

I love how triggered you are while trying to justify shitty driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, stop blaming the driver in front of you. I’ve been tailgated in the far right-hand lane going at or above the speed limit.

Secondly, tailgating me will make me go slower, not faster. I will want more room between me and the car ahead of me so that if they do something unexpected I have more reaction time so that I can hopefully avoid slamming on my brakes and getting rear-ended by my tailgater. Moreover, if my tailgater does rear-end me, I want the extra room in front of me to hopefully avoid a chain reaction where I get pushed into the car in front.

If you are driving slower than the rest of the traffic in the left lane, you need to move over. You will just as easily cause an accident as someone who is tailgating you.

If you re-read my post you will see that I have been tailgated in the far right lane.. Moreover, I generally go with the speed of traffic, at or above the speed limit. Maybe instead of tailgating, the person who wants to go faster than the speed of traffic can move left, but that still wouldn’t accomplish much, because traffic would still be moving at about the same speed.

That’s why I said tailgaters should stop blaming the drivers that are ahead of them. From my experience, tailgating has very little to do with speed or lane choice, and is more about a driver’s impatience and frustration which they choose to express as a threat to the driver directly in front of them. It’s like a schoolyard bully making themselves feel more powerful by picking on someone else. Unfortunately, when you combine the weight of motor vehicles with the speed of traffic, the consequences for salving an overblown ego can be deadly.

I’ve been frustrated, myself, behind slow traffic. Once, I was stuck for a long time on a narrow road behind a bicycle riding in the middle of the lane with too much oncoming traffic to pass. I can relate to the frustration which is why even though I drive with the flow of traffic, I move over for faster traffic. However, whichever lane or speed I’m driving, I keep in mind that SAFETY is the top priority. Getting in an accident will definitely delay my arrival, and could mean that I don’t get to my destination at all (or that someone else doesn’t, which matters even more to me, but maybe not to self-centered tailgaters).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had someone lay on their horn behind me today while I was stopped at a stop sign because small children were crossing in front of me. We were literally a block from a school. They may have even been racing to drop kids off at that school.

It was probably the PP who fancies himself the left lane police.

I love how triggered you are while trying to justify shitty driving.

I’m not trying to justify it. I give other people grace and accept imperfection in other human beings so I’m not losing my mind on the highway every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had someone lay on their horn behind me today while I was stopped at a stop sign because small children were crossing in front of me. We were literally a block from a school. They may have even been racing to drop kids off at that school.

It was probably the PP who fancies himself the left lane police.

I love how triggered you are while trying to justify shitty driving.

I’m not trying to justify it. I give other people grace and accept imperfection in other human beings so I’m not losing my mind on the highway every day.

Clearly, you ARE losing your mind. People like you are dangerous. We have traffic laws for a reason. Instead of extending this imaginary grace, how about you obey the traffic laws and do what the signs tell you to do. Everyone is safer that way.