Confronting Tailgaters

[Enceladus]

Wired into the ignition system, the rear one is under neath my top box mount. The front one is behind the front screen. I will be doing a fotifixes write up on them soon. They record in a loop onto 32gb sd cards.

I'm looking forward to this one :-)

me 2!
use a drift on my helmet but could do with one pointing backwards and this seems like a good idea

[pitternator]

Dave
Its true ! I used to spar with a copper who was 6 ft , 18 stone, a black belt in karate and  judo , and was same belt as me in kung fu. I was a bit leaner back then !   
 
but you never forget basic stuff.He taught me some superb judo moves...it was rare to even be able to land a kick or punch on him.
 
I never got to my ex bro inlaw standard though , he was black belt karate, so slim and long legged...he could pull a roundhouse and part my hair! so feckin quick....awesome.
 
I got out of it when GFs came along and it all got spiritual rather than combative. Would love to do it again, but me knees not up to it these days.
 

[alexanderfitu]

Wired into the ignition system, the rear one is under neath my top box mount. The front one is behind the front screen. I will be doing a fotifixes write up on them soon. They record in a loop onto 32gb sd cards.

I'm looking forward to this one :-)

me 2!
use a drift on my helmet but could do with one pointing backwards and this seems like a good idea

It does work quite well. Takes a bit of time to get the correct angle though

[DryRob]

Would love to do it again, but me knees not up to it these days.

You should give it a go if you really want to do it, it's better than regretting not trying. I only started Judo in the last year after thinking about it for ages, there's a fella with a chocolate knee who started a bit after me and he cant get enough. You could always just concentrate on kata if you go back to Karate

[Enceladus]

Wired into the ignition system, the rear one is under neath my top box mount. The front one is behind the front screen. I will be doing a fotifixes write up on them soon. They record in a loop onto 32gb sd cards.

I'm looking forward to this one :-)

me 2!
use a drift on my helmet but could do with one pointing backwards and this seems like a good idea

It does work quite well. Takes a bit of time to get the correct angle though

do you need to press the record button every time though ?
and have you made the usb connection waterproof / removable ?
thanks

[simonm]

What cameras do you have?

I have these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120-HD-720P-MINI-DVR-ACT20-Waterproof-Bullet-Helmet-Camera-Motorcycle-Bike-Cam-/290789597574?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43b4692186


Wired into the ignition system, the rear one is under neath my top box mount. The front one is behind the front screen. I will be doing a fotifixes write up on them soon. They record in a loop onto 32gb sd cards.
[/quote]

I've bought one to give it a try. Thanks for the pointer

[simonm]

What cameras do you have?

I have these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120-HD-720P-MINI-DVR-ACT20-Waterproof-Bullet-Helmet-Camera-Motorcycle-Bike-Cam-/290789597574?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43b4692186


Wired into the ignition system, the rear one is under neath my top box mount. The front one is behind the front screen. I will be doing a fotifixes write up on them soon. They record in a loop onto 32gb sd cards.

I've bought one to give it a try. Thanks for the pointer

[Liroka]

If I'm in the car I tend to slow right down to both increase the distance to the car ahead and frustrate the tailgater. If I'm on the bike I try and signal to them that I would like them to pass or back-off, if that fails, I'll pull over and stop.


A couple of years ago I rode to work on lovely New Year's eve morning, cold and crisp but dry. During the course of the day the weather changed and by the time I finished there was about 6" of snow on the roads and due to the fact I live about 15 miles from work and there was no public transport I had no choice but to ride home. I made it most of the way without any real problems until some idiot in an old 3 series BMW decided to drive up my backside. He was so close I felt violated. I tried to get this idiot to pass me but he wouldn't, and then it happened, I panicked and grabbed too much brake at a set of lights. The bike went down, trapped my leg and we both slid down the road a little. Because of the snow I couldn't get enough purchase to pull my leg from under the bike. I gestured to the guy in the BMW to help me but he just sat there with his arms crossed, smirking at me. Thankfully a woman and her teenage son were out walking their dog and they came to my aid and as soon as we got the bike over to the gutter the guy in the BMW drove off.   

[bri h]

I find that letting them pass then returning the compliment works as our lights in their mirror seems to upset them (shame). doesnt work on the 4x4 s though and they seem to be the worst now. They dont seem to want to let anyone filter either bless em.I must admit to anger issues myself ( once ran after a beemer throwing stones at it cos the bloke chose to drive away rather than do what he bravely threatened to do). I dont seem to have trouble on the bike thanks to being able to filter and go quicker when the roads clear.

[JoeRock]

Must admit it's very rare indeed I get tailgated indeed. In the rare situation it happens I tend to wave backwards at the guy and put the brake light on a little bit so they get the idea, but I did once drop back beside the car and ask if he wanted to get any closer (that was in a 30 zone commuting into central London, no idea why he was so close, as he couldn't go anywhere!)
That said, I must admit I do come up quite close behind cars on the motorway if they won't pull out of the overtaking lane and I'm trying to get past, give them a while to move out the way, then if they don't move i'll come up closer, and if they don't get the hint then I'll flash them, once they pull over from that I do give them the thumbs up as i overtake them so as not to cause bad feelings.
Of course if they don't pull over despite a few signals if there's space i undertake with the middle finger up and clear off!

[tailgate]

Eh?

[pitternator]

there are no rules on filtering . I think its the craziest thing we ever do, But I have done it myself many times on motorway when it stops. Its so hard to not do it as its so tempting. But every time there is some sort of near miss. Last year on mway down to dover the queues were incredible, and we filtered for miles, but I was tense every second, cos cars are so unpredictable.When you think just how many cars are stuck in say  a 10 mile jam, only need a small percentage of red misters and its a lot of cars !..and a lot of potentail carshes.I really only like doing it in stationary traffic , and am always wary of any gap in front of a car as someone might charge across into it .

[purplebear7]

Just another angle on this topic and as always .. all only in my opinion. 
 
As a general rule .. these days I try not to ride with guys on solo bikes .. although I'm on a high performance sidecar outfit and keeping up is not too difficult on 'empty' roads.
 
However .. in traffic it is of course a very different ball game .. I can't filter anywhere near as much as a solo rider .. so I have to join the tin can queue and bear it  .
 
The strange thing is .. over the years I have noted that I almost always arrive at the 'point of destination' in less than a minute or maybe two after the solo's.
 
Makes me wonder just how much a solo rider actually gains in time or distance by risking any 'rolling filtering' in traffic that is moving comparatively slowly?   
 
You might also notice that the Big Long Haul Truckers always pass you within minutes after you pull in and stop .. maybe for fuel or whatever .. and then go on to arrive at their 'point' on time     The trick is 'consistency'
 
Old saying .. 'More haste less speed'   
 
Stay Safe     Trev
 
 
 

[stevierst]

Your pretty much spot on there Purplebear. I used to do a bit of HGV work a few years ago, and it made me laugh when you saw inpatient car/van drivers jockeying for lanes, bullying themselves into the quickest flowing traffic only to find them stationary shortly after and stressed out. The wagon in lane 1 just rolls past cool as ice.

 On short journeys (>25 miles) even bike filtering like you say is only saving you a minute or two, but its very satisfying

My old long distance commute (250 miles) on average filtering saved me 45-60 minutes compared to in the car. This was due to the dreaded m5/m6 junction before the toll road opened.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[Grahamm]

Makes me wonder just how much a solo rider actually gains in time or distance by risking any 'rolling filtering' in traffic that is moving comparatively slowly? 

Riding up the A34 to Birmingham a while back, traffic was nose to tail and only making about 10mph. I filtered past a load of it, then stopped for lunch at a service station.

I had a nice meal, took time to relax, then got back on the bike and filtered past all the traffic which I'd gone past previously which was all still chugging along at 10mph

[spoonlamp]

Makes me wonder just how much a solo rider actually gains in time or distance by risking any 'rolling filtering' in traffic that is moving comparatively slowly? 

I'm going to have to say it depends entirely on the road; length, number of lights, number of junctions, roundabouts etc. I have about an 8 mile journey to work through loads of lights and roundabouts and crossing points. If I'm in the car or not filtering, during rush hour, it will take me about 30 - 40 minutes to get to work. When filtering this is consistently reduced to less than 20.

[alexanderfitu]

Thats a big difference! I have a journey similair to your description, in the car, exactly 50 minutes, in the bike normally 35-40 minutse.

[Streetbudgie]

If you live in a town and use your bike to commute then filtering isn't optional, if you don't filter you might as well be in a cage.

Why sit on a bike getting soaking wet waiting in traffice queues, filtering can be done safely, be alert, learn to read the road and you get a sixth sense for cagers that are about to pull out.

Also I find that lights on full beam only when the car traffic is stationary helps reduce the amount of doors, fags and gob that hits you.

Over the years I have had fags, gob, various fruit, banana skins, spew, all sorts of rubbish, people and animals come flying out of car doors and windows either just missing me or testing my brakes and the odd strike - lit fags are my pet hate, had 'em bounce of the visor and off my body several times - that always ends in a confrontation as it's bloody ignorant.