Confronting Tailgaters

[His Dudeness]

Here's a good one about confronting bad drivers  :lol Happened on my morning commute. I was in a line of traffic and there was a taxi infront of me. There was a big queue of cars ahead of the taxi turning right and the taxi wanted to go on straight so he had to move to the left to get past them. So he started edging left and went into a cycle lane to get around the cars but just as he moved a cyclist came flying up the cycle lane. So the cyclist lamped on his brakes, skidded and went up onto the curb and got around the taxi just in time and I thought WOW that took some serious skillz to pull off! Well done

The cyclist was stopped now at the front of the taxi and he was fuming. So he parked his bicycle against the front of the taxi and started giving out to the taxi driver for about 30 seconds and then slapped his hands down on the bonnet of the taxi. Funnily enough the taxi driver took exception to this and hopped out of his car and ran at the cyclist :lol The cyclist saw him coming and ran away around the taxi, I've never seen anyone change so quickly  :lol The taxi driver chased him around the car twice  :lol and then gave up and pick up the bicycle off the front of his car and threw it off the road :lol Was the funniest thing I've ever seen. :lol

[richfzs]

My next door neighbour was a bus driver. Pootling down Blackett st in Newcastle, following a cyclist. He can see 1 guy waiting at the bus stop, sitting reading the paper. Wannabe passenger looks up last minute, sees his bus, jumps up and sticks his hand out. Punts the cyclist right off his bike! Fred stops, gets out prepared to defuse the situation, passenger is saying (oh yes he was!) "sorry mate didn't see you". Cyclist picks himself up, dusts himself down, picks hus bike up. Swings it round, properly twats the passenger with it, says "sorry mate didn't see you" gets on rides off. Fred stood there open mouthed :rollin :rollin

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[Robbie8666]

[quote author=Robbie8666 link=topic=6679.msg62850#msg62850 date=1363009989]
now i've grown up and calmed down a bit most of the time i let them pass me on dual carriageways / motorways, as they draw level and look across and start to gob off I blow them a kiss!!! winds em up sommat chronic n what are they gonna say to their mates when recounting it? this ugly bloke with glasses n beard blew me a kiss n winked at me!!!

Love it!!

Then comes the day Elton John tailgates you...  :rollin :rollin :rollin
[/quote]

I'm ex navy so that dont bother me lol!!  :rolleyes 

[UG]

I had a guy cut me up once when he overtook me quite deliberately blew my horn flashed my lights he stops i stopped he come walking towards me asking me what my fucking problem was replied not as big as yours and laid him out in the middle of the road ..end of story,,yes its all true,mate said all i saw was your shoulder move,game over,went home ... :rollin

I thought it was just DaveG that behaved like that.  :lol

[His Dudeness]

Another time I was filtering up the middle of a road and there was a garage on the left. There was a queue of cars and a van waiting for a green light. The van had left a small gap for a car to pull out of the garage so I saw this and stayed back a bit and as the car pull out from the garage and was heading off in the opposite direction the chap in the van said something out his window to the car driver who also had his window open. The guy in the car heard it and stopped and got out with a metal bar in his hand. The chap in the van rolled up his window really quickly and looked straight ahead and pretended there wasn't an angry man waving a deadly weapon in the air  :lol

[cable tie]

I can remember a time when we was kids and was travelling with my dad in his white van its got to be 25 years ago when we came under attack from road rage  ill never forget it he came charging upto the van my old man just locked the door and sat there the fella was effing and jeffing and smacked the side window and making threats, than my old man just drove off i was so upset and disgusted at my dad i wanted him to deck the fella, at the time my dad was my hero x military forces a real tough guy and in my head my dad could have snapped him in half but I could not understand why he never only later in life i realise it takes someone special to show restraint in this way.


JP, you made me LOL Kung fu i never took you for a bruce lee type of guy.....

[ginkster]

It happens a lot, even today but I'm just trying to let it slip and chill now. After 2 days thinkinf about it, I really shouldn't have stopped. There are some good tactics I'll try to apply. My mate said you're getting angry over a bit of tarmac and to just let it go.. easier said than done at times though!


If I saw him again I think I'd try and have a word with him and put it straight but I think that time has passed..!  :\

[UG]

They are in and out of your life in 10 seconds.

[sure2ride]

He's right, let it go mate,  it's hard I know but the world is full of tw**s, but there are some good guys too. We've all been there.  You were doing the right thing, 30 in a 30 limit. Speaking to him again wouldn't achieve anything, life's to short to ruminate over pillocks. You just do whats right and keep out of their danger zone. Best of luck. 

[stevierst]

They are in and out of your life in 10 seconds.

I tend to say that too. Best way of dealing with it on the bike.

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[Enceladus]

[quote author=alexanderfitu link=topic=6679.msg62530#msg62530 date=1362867947]
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 :-)
[/quote]
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 !  :lol

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]

[quote author=simonm link=topic=6679.msg62820#msg62820 date=1362998088]
[quote author=alexanderfitu link=topic=6679.msg62530#msg62530 date=1362867947]
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 :-)
[/quote]
me 2!
use a drift on my helmet but could do with one pointing backwards and this seems like a good idea
[/quote]


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]

[quote author=Enceladus link=topic=6679.msg63216#msg63216 date=1363183848]
[quote author=simonm link=topic=6679.msg62820#msg62820 date=1362998088]
[quote author=alexanderfitu link=topic=6679.msg62530#msg62530 date=1362867947]
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 :-)
[/quote]
me 2!
use a drift on my helmet but could do with one pointing backwards and this seems like a good idea
[/quote]


It does work quite well. Takes a bit of time to get the correct angle though
[/quote]
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-MI...43b4692186


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]

[quote author=alexanderfitu link=topic=6679.msg62530#msg62530 date=1362867947]
What cameras do you have?

I have these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120-HD-720P-MI...43b4692186


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

[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!