Same crap driving TWICE

[Spinney]

OK, so I was in a car, but it was still infuriating and a little frightening. It's not nice to glance in your rear view mirror to find it full of radiator grille and flashing lights.

Rixonway Kitchens

Dear Sir/Madam
I wish to make a complaint about one of your drivers, driving vehicle MX59 COH.
I was travelling south on the M6 near Penrith last Thursday, 18th February, at around 2.30 pm. There were a set of roadworks on the motorway, with a 50 mph limit. Part of the roadworks involved a contraflow system, and the speed limit was reduced to 40 mph for a short distance each side of the point where the southbound traffic transferred to the opposite carriageway. I slowed down to 40 mph, as required by law, only to have your lorry approach to within a couple of feet of the rear of my vehicle, flashing its lights repeatedly.
This is clearly intimidatory, bullying behaviour, and also shows that the driver of your vehicle had no intention of slowing down to the speed limit in force at the time but was only forced to by my own actions.
[my name]

And then coming out of the contraflow, the same thing happened again, with a Reid's Transport lorry, PX05 AXY. I've emailed both firms to complain...

 

[wafflycat]

I *loathe* this. I've had it happen to me on the M11. Guy in a car crawling up my boot as driving through contraflow with 40mph limit & speed cameras. It is a frightening experience.

 

[meenaghman]

If a car is following too close use your windscreen washers.. helps get them to back off.

 

[Spinney]

If a car is following too close use your windscreen washers.. helps get them to back off.

Cars doing it only annoy me (but I'll try your tactic next time it happens!). A ****ing huge truck frightens me, and the mist from my windscreen washers probably wouldb't reach his windscreen.

Got a prompt response from Reid's:

Dear [my name],

Thanks for your letter regarding one of our drivers and can confirm that our transport manager will be speaking to the driver concerned as this sort of behavour will not be tolerated and all employees are clearly instructed to follow a good practice of driving and show consideration to other road users which he clearly hasn't followed and we can only apologise for his actions.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention and can assure you this matter will be dealt with.

Sorry again

[name]

 

[thomas]

Sounds like a good reply. I tend to trust they are actually acting on it when they say "sorry". You'll find some firms will avoid actually apologising for whatever happened (COUGH, first buses & anglian buses, COUGH).

 

[XmisterIS]

Sounds like he owns the road!

I sometimes get tailgaters, but rarely tailgating with flashing. That is particularly aggressive.

The thing that really puzzles me is that I tend to get tailgated mostly by chavs in clapped-out 15-year-old 1 litre Vauxhall Novas. Now I drive a 4 year old Mondeo with a large tow-hook on the back (which could be a very effective battering ram). Do these little scrotes not realise that if they do end up running into the back of me, their car will be completely wrecked, whereas the worst that will happen to my car is that I'll need a new rear bumper??

The ones that really frighten me (on their behalf) are the 15-year-old kids on 50cc mopeds who ride within a couple of inches of my rear bumper in 30mph zones ... I wince to think what would happen if I had to brake sharply and they disappeared under my rear wheels. It would be their fault that they get killed in a particularly gruesome fashion, but it would be me who has to learn to live with flashbacks for the rest of my life.

 

[Over The Hill]

I think there should be a better derogatory term for this. Tailgaters is a bit too weak (and american).

I think we should all start spreading the new term ....


Bumsniffers

 

[swee'pea99]

The thing that really puzzles me is that I tend to get tailgated mostly by chavs in clapped-out 15-year-old 1 litre Vauxhall Novas. Now I drive a 4 year old Mondeo with a large tow-hook on the back (which could be a very effective battering ram). Do these little scrotes not realise that if they do end up running into the back of me, their car will be completely wrecked, whereas the worst that will happen to my car is that I'll need a new rear bumper??

I was in my girlfriend's much-loved mini once when the car in front stopped suddenly. I braked in plenty of time, then glanced in the mirror to see a windscreen full of Asian faces all crapping themselves, apart from the driver, who was obviously having a fascinating conversation with someone on the back seat. Once the noise had died down, the Rover in front of me and the Volvo that had shunted me both appeared totally unscathed. The GF's mini was concertina'd, and never drove again - boo hoo!

 

[gaz]

If i get someone tailgaiting me then i slow down VERY SLOWLY. Obviously a massive lorry behind you on the motorway is something different!
Had someone do it to me on my road, i slowed down from 30mph to 10mph and he had no chance of overtaking. could see him effing and blinding at me in the mirror. He can only go as fast as the car in front. so don't piss me off by driving to close!

The thing that really puzzles me is that I tend to get tailgated mostly by chavs in clapped-out 15-year-old 1 litre Vauxhall Novas. Now I drive a 4 year old Mondeo with a large tow-hook on the back (which could be a very effective battering ram). Do these little scrotes not realise that if they do end up running into the back of me, their car will be completely wrecked, whereas the worst that will happen to my car is that I'll need a new rear bumper??

And if you think about how cars fronts are designed to protect the passengers. There car would be a write off, and more than likely you could drive yours away.

 

[XmisterIS]

If i get someone tailgaiting me then i slow down VERY SLOWLY. Obviously a massive lorry behind you on the motorway is something different!
Had someone do it to me on my road, i slowed down from 30mph to 10mph and he had no chance of overtaking. could see him effing and blinding at me in the mirror. He can only go as fast as the car in front. so don't piss me off by driving to close!


And if you think about how cars fronts are designed to protect the passengers. There car would be a write off, and more than likely you could drive yours away.

While I know exactly how irritating it is to be tailgated by some boorish driver, you should try to retain your composure! These guys (they're usually male) are outright aggressive and often want to get a rise out of you. If you react to them in any way, you risk giving them a "reason" to kick off (which could be very dangerous, especially if they are a complete nutcase). I don't react at all to tailgaters, or people cutting me up aggressively, etc. I just make sure that I keep alert and aware of my surroundings. Usually they drop back when they see that they're not getting a reaction. I have only ever once had someone escalate on me with absolutely no provocation whatsoever, not even eye contact (he got progressively more and more angry and tried to run me off the road even though I did not respond at all to his increasing rage).

Like you say about the chavs who tailgate me, I just look in my mirror and think, "Oh well, if you want to smash your car up and loose your NCB, by all means carry on!"

 

[Globalti]

Who was that bloke who got murdered a few years ago by a well-known criminal who they extradited from Spain? Wasn't that a road rage incident?

We nearly got wiped out a week ago last Friday at dusk on the M6 in Cheshire; everybody braked hard and as I did so my wife and I glanced in the mirrors to see somebody heading towards us at 80 mph. I yanked the car onto the central reservation and the bloke skidded past, all wheels locked, into the middle lane. It would have been a fittingly disastrous start to what continued as a disastrous holiday.

 

[domd1979]

While I know exactly how irritating it is to be tailgated by some boorish driver, you should try to retain your composure! These guys (they're usually male) are outright aggressive and often want to get a rise out of you. If you react to them in any way, you risk giving them a "reason" to kick off (which could be very dangerous, especially if they are a complete nutcase).

Indeed. I encountered such a headcase on the M6 near Stoke one night. Going down the outside lane, overtaking, and sensible distance from next car in front of me. Some tossbrain came hurtling up behind flashing his lights wanting me out the way - I thought "sod you" and carried on as I was though I did slow down so although still overtaking lorries in middle lane I wasn't doing so that quick. Then got full beam lamps, fog lights and car glued to my bumper. Suddenly he shot across from outside lane to hard shoulder in one diagonal movement then undertook a load of stuff to hurtle back across the motorway to get in front of me - but then started braking to wait for me. Obviously he was totally unhinged so I retired to inside lane to get further behind him and was only few hundred yards from J15 so did a swift exit to lose him. J15 to J14 is quite a few miles and I get the feeling it could have got quite dangerous had I not bailed out.... there are some utter head cases around.

 

[swee'pea99]

We nearly got wiped out a week ago last Friday at dusk on the M6 in Cheshire; everybody braked hard and as I did so my wife and I glanced in the mirrors to see somebody heading towards us at 80 mph. I yanked the car onto the central reservation and the bloke skidded past, all wheels locked, into the middle lane. It would have been a fittingly disastrous start to what continued as a disastrous holiday.

Jesus! Well done. Mind you, having read about your holiday, maybe a week in a nice hospital would have been an improvement...