Tailgating

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by falcemob

Not quite; There was a case a few weeks/months back where a driver was being followed very closely and he slammed his brakes on causing the following car to swerve and it nearly ended up with an accident.
Unbeknowingly to both drivers all this took place while a police car was traveling close by and the police ended up prosecuting slammy brake man for dangerous driving.

See, I think this decision (I remember it - it was 1st instance) is totally wrong. Cos if you're tailgating a car you have no idea whether someone has a good reason for slamming anchors or not. I had to do it on a motorway once cos a bloody duck started waddling across followed by ducklings. If someone had been close behind me (I was in the inside lane, so not likely) I could have been squished.

Last I saw of them in the rear view mirror was a flapping mother duck and various ducklings being scattered by a middle lane hog 4x4...

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by John Turner

However, I agree that the rest of Knowlesy's suggested action would mean that he had abdicted the moral high ground and would himself then be prosecuted for assault!

Tsk...a small price to pay.

[John Turner]

Falcemob, bella, regardless of the exceptions you can quote, I stand by my view. Surely, we have all had this drummed into us ad nausuem, 'Keep your distance' not that it seems to have much effect these days. The point bella, is that if she'd had a good reason for stopping for an emergency which you hadn't seen (mechanical or otherwise) you would have still hit her because you were too close to stop in time. Your policeman took a generous view if he failed to point this out!

[Suze]

I know my Dad was brake tested by a guy as Dad and another driver had hooted him for poor driving standards. The first guy, the offender in Dad's eyes, decided to brake test Dad and the other driver. The other driver stopped in time but Dad went into the back of him.

On the insurance it went down as Dad's fault simply because he was judged to have been driving too closely as he didn't stop in time.

[Asp]

People need to remember that there's always exceptions, and it's wrong to assume that someone who runs into the back of someone else is at fault as a rule.
I hate tailgating as much as the next person. I always keep my distance. However, the obvious exception to this is when moving up to the overtaking position. You move up ready to overtake because you see it's safe, at which point - for whatever reason - the car you're about to overtake brakes suddenly. In such a situation, you won't have the stopping distance you normally have, and may well run into the back of the car infront.

[Suze]

Your first point is a good one, but from the experiences of people I know, it has also been the person behind's "fault" in the eyes of the insurers - not (yet) heard of anyone who's had it gone the other way - I guess partly because it's a harder one to prove?

[zac510]

Hey Chatters, having driven in Aus and in UK on the M25 and many other M roads around London I can safely tell you that tailgating is even worse in the UK! I am not sure why precisely, but I think it is a combination of sheer traffic volume (enormous amount of cars) and a slightly more relaxed attitude towards speed limits (causes following drivers to want to pass one another).
It's a good thing you recognise the danger at this stage but don't be complacent about it

[Chatters]

I've decided to give highway driving a miss until I have my Provisional License, which means I can travel upto 100km/h. That shouldn't cheese all the other drivers off too much...

[John Turner]

Originally Posted by Asp

People need to remember that there's always exceptions, and it's wrong to assume that someone who runs into the back of someone else is at fault as a rule.
I hate tailgating as much as the next person. I always keep my distance. However, the obvious exception to this is when moving up to the overtaking position. You move up ready to overtake because you see it's safe, at which point - for whatever reason - the car you're about to overtake brakes suddenly. In such a situation, you won't have the stopping distance you normally have, and may well run into the back of the car infront.

Indeed, in any given situation in life, there are exceptions to the norm. However, it is the assumption, not only by insurers but in law that, as a general rule, the person who goes into the back of the person in front, is at fault. That would certainly be the case in the example you have cited, Asp. The fact that you were preparing to overtake would not remove the onus on you to ensure you completed the manoeuvre in safety. The fact that an emergency occurs ahead doesn't alter this and the law will (normally)take the view that you should have allowed for such an emergency in your calculations (easier said than done, of course!); it certainly wouldn't be the fault of the driver in front of you who was reacting to that emergency, when you hit his/her vehicle in the rear.

I must admit that tailgating irritates me intensely, but you can often tell by the position of the car behind and the attitude of it's driver whether it is intentional or not. Often, these days, I come to the conclusion that the person following has no idea of what constitutes a sensible braking distance. The modern car is so competent that many drivers take it for granted that they will stop in time but they fail to consider the other element in such a scenario, which is their own human and fallible input - anticipation and reaction time.

[Mackmot]

I tailgate and get tailgated. On motorways I will tailgate when someone just pulls out of a left lane right in front of me with no apparent regard for mirrors or when people seem to think that the steering wheel doesnt go left for miles after they have overtaken. But then I get really annoyed when I am tailgated by people in built up areas (even if im doing 10mph over the speed limit if im in a rush).

One of my favourite games though is annoying the people who are too scared to travel anywhere near the speed limit on a country lane yet seem to have no problem speeding through little villages with schools. I like to over take them when they are doing around 40, pull a bit of distance, then slow right down to about 27 through the 30 zones. They always end up sitting right up behind me getting frustrated.

Generally I do stick to the speed limits profusely(sp?) but regard the white circle with a diagonal black stripe sign as meaning end of speed restriction.

[strider]

Originally Posted by John Turner

Not so; even if you did deliberately slam the brakes on, it would still be the fault of the driver behind, because he is supposed to be travelling sufficiently far behind to stop in an emergency without hitting you. In that sense there is no difference to you slamming on the brakes deliberately from that of an emergency stop, since the result is the same. How would he be able to differentiate between the two and justify hitting the car in one circumstance and not in the other?

Having thought about it, you are right as a general insurance principle.

However, the instances recounted by falcemob and bella show that there can be exceptions.

I still think that the idea of slamming the brakes on when someone is tailgating you is not a good idea, because at best it causes a load of aggravation and hassle, and and at worst could result in a nasty accident with people being hurt, yourself included.

[SALEEN S7R]

I try not to tailgate, sometimes however I have been guilty of it myself. Generally though if I need to get ahead of someone I try looking up the road and see what is ahead, then by the time the traffic in the other direction is clear im already gathering enough speed to make a clean pass nice and quickly. The best way I find is to drop back a little and get a run at the car in front of you if the other side of the road is clear. Trying to overtake a car ahead of you if you are tailgating requires a lot more time and therefore more risk.

Like most of us here I get a lot of people tailgating me, its just one of those things that happens. Sometimes I just sit there at the correct speed limit and let them get on with it, other times however Im afraid I can be a little stupid and if there is nothing ahead of me I will floor it away from the car behind me and 90% of the time lose the car that was tailgating me in a few seconds.