Why Do People Engage in Tailgating Behavior on the Road?

[Cyrus]

Oh, I forgot to mention, D.C. is worse than NJ. Everyone will be driving along at a nice consistent speed on the beltway, and some maniac will fly by at 70+ MPH in a hurry to get nowhere.

NO! People in DC drive like idiots. They will SLOW DOWN in the MIDDLE lane becuase they realize they need to make that exit that's 50 feet away and cut across almost 3 lanes!

I HATE THOSE PEOPLE. Why do they always drive FORD EXPLORERS? AHHGHGHGHAHLHDkljdalkDJSlkdsfjiosrehyoijdflkgh9048754$w(&w*&$%*&$w^*&$y*&$w^*$&w Y!

*********'in mother ***************** son of a ************** why don't they ************ their ********** ******** ********** ****************.

Ahhhhhhhhhh. Serenity now.


(Just kidding, I don't cut people off like that anymore. I used to, but now I've calmed down. I just wait for an opening and then turn and floor it and pass them and change back infront of them when I am 2-3 car lengths ahead of them).

 

[turbo]

Normally, I stay out of the left lane on crowded highways, and in the case of I-76, that means hanging in the right lane, since that road is so narrow and ancient. I'm not a lead-foot, although I come into my own on twisty roads on the Harley.

 

[lisab]

I used to drive a Subaru WRX, which is a very fast car. I'm not talking about top speed (I have no idea what that car's top speed was!). I mean, when I could be tooling along at 60 mph, then floor it and throw my passenger's head back. While going up a hill.

Something about driving that car made me a very impatient driver. I didn't like the change in me, so I drive a Legacy now. Better for commuting, anyway.

But that little WRX was a fun, fun car to drive.

 

[turbo]

I used to drive a Subaru WRX, which is a very fast car. I'm not talking about top speed (I have no idea what that car's top speed was!). I mean, when I could be tooling along at 60 mph, then floor it and throw my passenger's head back. While going up a hill.

Something about driving that car made me a very impatient driver. I didn't like the change in me, so I drive a Legacy now. Better for commuting, anyway.

But that little WRX was a fun, fun car to drive.

My wife has a Legacy sedan. If you will keep the RPMs up in the torque-band, the acceleration on tap is very impressive.

 

[moose]

I used to drive a Subaru WRX, which is a very fast car. I'm not talking about top speed (I have no idea what that car's top speed was!). I mean, when I could be tooling along at 60 mph, then floor it and throw my passenger's head back. While going up a hill.

Something about driving that car made me a very impatient driver. I didn't like the change in me, so I drive a Legacy now. Better for commuting, anyway.

But that little WRX was a fun, fun car to drive.

Haha, driving a 115hp honda civic can get frustrating at certain times. I do notice that I'm more patient though, because I know that I can't accelerate worth **** anyway. It calms you down quite a bit. It's still a lot more fun to own the road in a fast car.

 

[Moonbear]

NO! People in DC drive like idiots. They will SLOW DOWN in the MIDDLE lane becuase they realize they need to make that exit that's 50 feet away and cut across almost 3 lanes!

I HATE THOSE PEOPLE. Why do they always drive FORD EXPLORERS? AHHGHGHGHAHLHDkljdalkDJSlkdsfjiosrehyoijdflkgh9048754$w(&w*&$%*&$w^*&$y*&$w^*$&w Y!

*********'in mother ***************** son of a ************** why don't they ************ their ********** ******** ********** ****************.

Ahhhhhhhhhh. Serenity now.


(Just kidding, I don't cut people off like that anymore. I used to, but now I've calmed down. I just wait for an opening and then turn and floor it and pass them and change back infront of them when I am 2-3 car lengths ahead of them).

I was really just teasing you, if it wasn't obvious. Yeah, my experiences on the beltway have mostly been rather white-knuckled. Since I only visit there, it's even more frustrating. I never know quite how far it is to my exit, so am hesitant to move from the right lane, but then you get these slowpokes in that lane, so you HAVE to go around them, but all the other lanes seem to be more "anything goes" than any actual speed limit, or assumed amount over the speed limit (most places, folks will drive somewhere between 5-10 MPH over the speed limit and you can sort of fall into place once you figure out what the local "norm" is). People there need to get off the phone and pay attention to their driving...hands-free doesn't mean brain-free.

 

[edward]

We have a number of red light cameras at key intersections. The locations are well advertised. The biggest effect I have seen so far is that at the first sign of the yellow light people panic and jump on the brake pedal causing rear end collisions. It has been rumored that a certain lawyer, whip lash Larry, hangs out around these intersections.

We also have a number of mobile photo radar cameras around town. They are located inside vans marked "Photo radar Van".

The odd thing is that there must be a warning sign placed 100 feet out from the vans. The signs state; "PHOTO RADAR VAN AHEAD" (another rear ender causer). The vans are operated by a civilian contractors not law enforcement. Before a citation may be mailed to a speeder a police officer must physically l@@k at the picture.

If that isn't dumb enough the cameras do not take a picture unless the car is traveling 11 MPH over the speed limit.

A motorcyle cop, on the other hand, may ticket a person for any speed over the limit depending on what kind of mood he is in.

 

[edward]

Don't even mention the quick lane changes the big rigs now make on the interstates.

 

[Cyrus]

We have a number of red light cameras at key intersections. The locations are well advertised. The biggest effect I have seen so far is that at the first sign of the yellow light people panic and jump on the brake pedal causing rear end collisions. It has been rumored that a certain lawyer, whip lash Larry, hangs out around these intersections.

We also have a number of mobile photo radar cameras around town. They are located inside vans marked "Photo radar Van".

The odd thing is that there must be a warning sign placed 100 feet out from the vans. The signs state; "PHOTO RADAR VAN AHEAD" (another rear ender causer). The vans are operated by a civilian contractors not law enforcement. Before a citation may be mailed to a speeder a police officer must physically l@@k at the picture.

If that isn't dumb enough the cameras do not take a picture unless the car is traveling 11 MPH over the speed limit.

A motorcyle cop, on the other hand, may ticket a person for any speed over the limit depending on what kind of mood he is in.

I actually saw BOTH on the road today!

The cops looked super bad ass in their harleys. They have proper helmits, riding boots, the works. I want the job just to ride around on that bike in that uniform.

http://www.mdsp.org/images/kids/policemotor.jpg

Every time I drive by that van with the cameras I beep my horn and give them the middle finger in there.


Id also kill to fly our state helicopter

http://www.medevacmdsurcharge.com/images/trooper.jpg

Ooo che mama hot. Their hangar is right by my house. Its in the middle of a field surrounded by trees. Out of no where you see a helicopter raising and fly away.

 

[moose]

We have a number of red light cameras at key intersections. The locations are well advertised. The biggest effect I have seen so far is that at the first sign of the yellow light people panic and jump on the brake pedal causing rear end collisions. It has been rumored that a certain lawyer, whip lash Larry, hangs out around these intersections.

We also have a number of mobile photo radar cameras around town. They are located inside vans marked "Photo radar Van".

The odd thing is that there must be a warning sign placed 100 feet out from the vans. The signs state; "PHOTO RADAR VAN AHEAD" (another rear ender causer). The vans are operated by a civilian contractors not law enforcement. Before a citation may be mailed to a speeder a police officer must physically l@@k at the picture.

If that isn't dumb enough the cameras do not take a picture unless the car is traveling 11 MPH over the speed limit.

A motorcyle cop, on the other hand, may ticket a person for any speed over the limit depending on what kind of mood he is in.

Haha, do you live in Arizona?
I've never seen any of those vans you're talking about though... Maybe I'm just blind?

 

[Moonbear]

We have a number of red light cameras at key intersections. The locations are well advertised. The biggest effect I have seen so far is that at the first sign of the yellow light people panic and jump on the brake pedal causing rear end collisions. It has been rumored that a certain lawyer, whip lash Larry, hangs out around these intersections.

I haven't seen red light cameras or vans yet, but I can certainly see how it would cause more harm than good with people panicking at yellow lights...similar to people spotting a cop parked along the interstate...the attentive driver will spot all the brake lights ahead to know there's a cop just ahead.

I think if you're going to have red light cameras, there should be a countdown on yellow lights so you know how long you have to get through...actually, wouldn't be a bad idea on other lights either...if you know it's a short yellow, you're more likely to stop in time, while a long one, you know you can get through without having to stop short. If I'm in that range where it's a close call between making it through or not, usually a mirror check tells me whether I should stomp on the brake or gas pedal.

 

[Hurkyl]

If your not going slow on the right, you deserve to get run off the road.

Second from the right, when there are more than two lanes. You need to keep it clear to lessen the congestion when two packs of tailgaters run into each other during a merge. (And to avoid all the people who want to do 50 over trying to exit)

(I'm assuming from the context that your use of "slow" includes all legal speeds)

 

[Mororvia]

I was really just teasing you, if it wasn't obvious. Yeah, my experiences on the beltway have mostly been rather white-knuckled.

Hahaha, the beltway. I moved to the area recently from the midwest... WOW what a shock. You have to use NASCAR tactics to get around on that. The fact that the posted speed limit is 55 when everyone else goes 70+ doesn't help either. I avoid it as much as possible.

At least in Detroit, everyone goes 80 and its more like Indy racing ;)

 

[wildman]

In Arizona the speed limit on the open interstate is 75. However if one tries to go 75, one has to weave around all the elderly drivers going 55 or 60.

 

[Danger]

I'm seriously starting to think that all of you are insane and that no one in the world should have a license.

 

[BobG]

The Jeep Cherokee I used to own had a great anti-tailgating device. The tube to the rear window washer developed a leak, so instead of washing my rear window, it would squirt an arc out behind me. Not only did I not fix the leak, I started looking for yellow washer fluid. If a car was too close behind me, the arc would reach anywhere from the nose of their car to the middle of their front hood. Not only did I not fix the leak, I started looking for yellow washer fluid (I found green, but no yellow).

When I used to make trips to DC, my attitude was "Forget the speed limit! Just get in the left lane and go with the flow." The maneuvering in the other lanes was just too exciting for me. And, naturally, since I was usually unfamiliar with the location of my hotel, once I was within 50 feet of my exit I'd cut across all of the intervening lanes to make my exit.

Actually, I can read a map pretty good and I know to look up both the exit I need, plus the 3 preceding exits when in a town like DC. In a town like the Springs, I only need my exit and the preceding exit.

 

[Moogoo]

One idiot tailgated me last year. Had to do an emergency stop as the cars in front were all stationary. Then of course the dear tailgater went right into the back of me and caused a domino type effect righting off three cars (ours included). He didn't even have time to break as he was much too close. Please don't do it. Whiplash, back problems and becoming a back seat driver is no fun. (woe is me ;) )

 

[P4PPY]

I once did a small psych test on the cause of tailgating. The results were interesting.

It seemed that drivers would gauge their speeds based on the car in front of them subconsciously. Instead of looking at their speedometer, they would just follow the car in front of them and their vision would judge the speed. This happened more and more at faster speeds and longer durations of travel time.

The reason behind the tailgating was when the car in front of them would slow down or speed up gradually. The mind would not calculate in the safest distance as the speeds increased. It would only tell your mind to accelerate or decelerate depending on the speed of the car in front… not the distance.
Brake lights were the only thing that would “wake” the mind up.

If you really want to mess with someone though… use your E-Brake to slow down. Your brake lights don’t come on… and the vehicle will slow down at a faster rate than normal. (Just don’t lock the rear tires up). The car behind you (if in a state of subconscious driving) will bump into your tailgate without even knowing what happened.

 

[Moonbear]

I once did a small psych test on the cause of tailgating. The results were interesting.

It seemed that drivers would gauge their speeds based on the car in front of them subconsciously. Instead of looking at their speedometer, they would just follow the car in front of them and their vision would judge the speed. This happened more and more at faster speeds and longer durations of travel time.

The reason behind the tailgating was when the car in front of them would slow down or speed up gradually. The mind would not calculate in the safest distance as the speeds increased. It would only tell your mind to accelerate or decelerate depending on the speed of the car in front… not the distance.
Brake lights were the only thing that would “wake” the mind up.

That actually makes sense to me. When you're going faster, you usually spend more time looking at the road and things are moving too fast to spend so much time looking down at the dashboard. You "go with the flow." Even more so if there are a lot of cars on the road that you can use to pace your speed...usually more important to drive a speed consistent with the rest of the traffic flow than the posted speed limit anyway, whether it's slower or faster.

I can also see how gauging a safe distance for your speed would become less accurate with more speed and more traffic. Again, you're not looking down at the speedometer, but watching the vehicles around you to stay in an opening, which may not be a safe following distance, but gives you places to move laterally if you need to swerve, for example. The way cars are built so well insulated, you really can't tell by feel anymore how fast you're going, so may underestimate your actual speed too (again, more so with longer distances driven as you habituate to the motion).

And, there may also be what I call the "claustrophobia factor." Nobody likes to feel boxed in or stuck behind another vehicle (this is especially bothersome to me with all the tall SUVs on the road that I can't see what's happening ahead of them), so you get closer as you prepare to pass so you can get "out into the open" and see where you're going.

One idiot tailgated me last year. Had to do an emergency stop as the cars in front were all stationary. Then of course the dear tailgater went right into the back of me and caused a domino type effect righting off three cars (ours included). He didn't even have time to break as he was much too close. Please don't do it. Whiplash, back problems and becoming a back seat driver is no fun. (woe is me ;) )

Well, there were two things that person did wrong. They were tailgating AND not watching the road ahead of you (and neither were you apparently if you didn't see the traffic stopping before you needed to slam on the brakes). If you watch ahead, you can anticipate such things unless you've just come around a blind curve...and in that case, yeah, you should leave more stopping distance between cars to account for not being able to see far enough ahead to anticipate slow downs.

 

[Cyrus]

When I am driving I don't look at the car infront of me. I look through the windshield of the car infront of me and watch the car infront of him. When THAT guy slows down I slow down, because I know the guy infront of me is going to react slow and then slam on his brakes. This way I almost NEVER find myself slamming on the brakes.

I only glance down at my speedo every few mins to make sure I am not going too too fast.

 

[Danger]

My driving technique is a bit different than what I am reading here. I use the 'Cylon' system; my eyes constantly sweep from side to side. My focal point is constrained to about a 30˚ wedge, but with 190˚ of peripheral vision, that gives me a pretty good idea of what's going on. It goes in steps, as opposed to a true sweeping motion. I look 15˚ to the right for about 1 second, then straight ahead for another second, then to the left for a second, then straight again. About every 5 seconds or so, I drop my glance to the dash for a second to check the speedometer, tach, and oil pressure.
That's on an open road. The only difference in city traffic is that I double the scan rate and don't check the dash except at a stop light.
I've never actually had any difficulty automatically adjusting the spacing with varying speed. That might be from being used to 'taking a lead' on something when shooting at it.

 

[lisab]

I only glance down at my speedo every few mins to make sure I am not going too too fast.

You wear a Speedo when you drive?

 

[Cyrus]

Im always packing when I drive baby. I need a special permit to carry around that concealed weapon.

 

[edward]

When I am driving I don't look at the car infront of me. I look through the windshield of the car infront of me and watch the car infront of him. When THAT guy slows down I slow down, because I know the guy infront of me is going to react slow and then slam on his brakes. This way I almost NEVER find myself slamming on the brakes.

I only glance down at my speedo every few mins to make sure I am not going too too fast.

Looking ahead is a good idea. I will usually drive the fast lane and if I can't see through the windshield of the vehicle in front of me I will drive a bit offset to the left in the lane so I can see what is ahead. It bugs the heck out of my wife because I drive so close to the edge of the road.

 

[Einstienear]

I don't know why people do it, other than unforgivable stupidity.
When I learned to drive, it was the car-length rule. Now it's considered that a 2-second separation is safe, so I give 3 under clear dry conditions, or 4 if it's a motorcycle in front of me. Both of those distances go up by 50 or 100% for adverse weather or road conditions.
I don't like it if someone tailgates me, but I have ways to make their lives miserable if they don't back off.

True,I agree.

Driving my Chrisler 300 while someone tailgating dangerously close behind me is by no doubt dangerous.

Einstienear

 

[Cyrus]

Looking ahead is a good idea. I will usually drive the fast lane and if I can't see through the windshield of the vehicle in front of me I will drive a bit offset to the left in the lane so I can see what is ahead. It bugs the heck out of my wife because I drive so close to the edge of the road.

Lines on the road mean nothing to me. Ill drive half way on the shoulder if it means I'll take the turn smoother. I use all the available road surface possible. Most off ramps have a shoulder. They say take the off ramp at 40. If you drive with your car in the middle of the white line between the off ramp and the shoulder, you can take it at 60mph and it will feel smooth as silk with no tire noise, and no feeling of being thrown to the outside of the turn. Just keep the white line relatively in the middle of your windshield during the entire time you take the off ramp. (Although, there's a bit more to it. For example, almost all exits are to your left. So you want to start the turn almost all the way to the right as possible. Then when you turn left you want to kiss the apex and keep the shoulder line in the middle of you car. That way it will feel smooth, and you will go fast the entire time). Most of the time cars following me are also going fast...until we go on the off ramp and I leave them in my dust despite the fact that my car is not powerful at all. They just take the turn wrong and end up slowing down considerably)

 

[rocketboy]

...you can take it at 60mph and it will feel smooth as silk with no tire noise, and no feeling of being thrown to the outside of the turn...

60? I do about 190 through there... sucks though because there's usually a stoplight at the end of the off ramp.

 

[Cyrus]

Im not talking about KPH. 190KPH is 118 MPH...are you joking? You're going to kill someone going that speed on an off ramp. Thats moronic.

 

[rocketboy]

nonono mph man, I go faster and faster each time, I mean you have to have some way to make driving entertaining when your not tailgating people right? Soon I'm going to need a new car though I think I'm nearing the limit of mine, and I don't want to lose the game.

 

[Cyrus]

Oh, I forgot that you own a 190MPH ferrari.

There going to scoop your brains off the interstate one of these days.

 

[rocketboy]

hehe... on a more serious note, can anyone imagine going that fast? I mean, high end sports cars these days top out over 200mph, with a few exceptions over 250! Furthermore, not only are they incredibly fast in a straight line, but their handling capabilities (I'm talking European sports cars, not american cars) are incredible. I can think of very few things I'd rather do than drive a high end Porsche (like the GT2/GT3/Turbo/Carrera GT) on a closed circuit... it would be, well, I can't find the words.

 

[Cyrus]

You would not be able to handle such a car at its limits. You would kill yourself.

 

[rocketboy]

I never said anything about taking it to its limits, I have no doubt that I lack the driving skills necessary to do that. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be absolutely exhilarating!

 

[Hurkyl]

So I guess my question has been answered mostly indirectly (and directly by chroot) -- I had assumed that the prevailing cause for tailgating is a combination of not actually having learned properly how to drive, and sheer stupidity... and none of the stories in the thread apply to the general case.


I would like to point out that if I'm "blocking" you in the left lane, that either means I am in the process of passing a group of cars, or I have been pinned into the left lane (e.g. by someone speeding up as I was passing). In the latter case, tailgating would be counter-productive -- cutting off most of my rearward visibility is likely to increase the amount of time it takes for me to move back over to the right. In the former case, it runs the risk of shifting me out of "pass these cars" mode into "risk mitigation" mode. (Which would again probably increase the amount of time I'm in front of you)

In any case, I do not consider being in front of you a sufficient reason to drive illegally.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

hehe... on a more serious note, can anyone imagine going that fast? I mean, high end sports cars these days top out over 200mph, with a few exceptions over 250! Furthermore, not only are they incredibly fast in a straight line, but their handling capabilities (I'm talking European sports cars, not american cars) are incredible. I can think of very few things I'd rather do than drive a high end Porsche (like the GT2/GT3/Turbo/Carrera GT) on a closed circuit... it would be, well, I can't find the words.

http://www.millionairesconcierge.com/racecar.htm