Tail gater counter measures

[Axel Deneselya]

Does anyone know of some sort of device I could get to deploy either tire spikes or some sort of repellent to rid myself of tailgaters. Used to be a little tap on the brakelights would be enough but nowadays people are so busy talking on cell phones the only way to teach them a lesson is for them to learn it the hard way.

 

[Dingo]

 

[Bill V]

Nothing comes to mind that is legal.



But you could always open your back window and throw a soda on their windshield. If any cops or anyone else asks, "it spilled".

 

[Aaron Yarbough]

I keep this in my receiver to protect my truck just in case someone gets too close......it sits out about 6 inches from my bumper.

 

[Jenn D]

Sunroof and/or back window combined with pennies. How can they A) find the penny and B) prove it was yours.

 

[Jason Sundown]

you got those spoke screens that you attach to your tail pipe, but i don't think it will work with the high speed and wind. I think they sell them at autoloc.com or something to that name. I have my police sirens so when they go to pass I hit it and they end up braking all scared looking around

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Axxman says:

...the only way to teach them a lesson is for them to learn it the hard way.

What exactly is "the hard way?"



Intentionally killing or potenitally killing someone, is that "the hard way?" Deliberately destroying their property, is that "the hard way?"



Sure, tailgaters are annoying, and yes, most that do it are dangerous and thoughtless, but note that last word there..."thoughtless" Most aren't doing it intentionally. But to intentionally endanger a tailgater in order to "teach them" something, IMHO, makes you a worse person to have on the road than them.



Speed up if you can or move over if you can. Leave the "teaching" to the police.



TJR

 

[Bill Ellis]

Another option is to ignore them. Pay attention to what's in front of you and expect them [tailgaters] to do the same. Besides, in the Trac if they get too close you can hardly see them anyway, especially at night. Don't worry, be happy.

 

[TomT]

I just hope your not one of those people that gets in the left lane and drives slow. I tailgate the hell out of those idiots. Nothing infuriates me more then a person that thinks he owns the fast lane. If your keeping up with the traffic in front of you and still getting tailgated then I can understand your frustration.

 

[Fred]

Yeah, I just ignore them. I'm not adjusting my speed or pulling over for them. Piss on them. Just do the speed limit, maybe they'll pass you in a no passing zone... in front of a cop.

 

[Casey B]

Amen TomT

 

[Jenn D]

If I see someone zipping in and out of traffic, cutting people off, and driving like an overal jerk, I'll admit it...I pull into the left lane in front of them and drive the speed limit next to a person in the right lane for a little while. The only lesson there is patience.

 

[Jeff C]

I usually speed, so if someone tailgates me, I'll slow my speed to about 10mph below the limit. Then, first stop sign I get I leave rubber all over their front bumper.

 

[Scott Doughtie]

But you could always open your back window and throw a soda on their windshield. If any cops or anyone else asks, "it spilled".

I would not recommend throwing a drink at another driver. A woman did that last summer and she got tossed in jail as the glorious state of Virginia considers any object thrown as a missle and thus, a felony charge. The jury found her guilty and her sentence was to be 2 years. However, the judge reduced/modified the sentence to 5 years probation. The case was called the McMissile case:

 

[Bill V]

Leave the "teaching" to the police.

In general, I agree--but the problem is that the police never do any teaching. They're generally too busy dealing with more serious issues to deal with tailgating--and therefore no teaching occurs.



In my experience, most people who enact vigilante justice only do so when 'regular' justice fails them. In that case, determining who is more at fault, the vigilante or the 'regular' justice system, is open to debate.

 

[Brandon Hovater]

I like to spray my windshied and wait till they turn theres on and then I hit the brakes! But I also drive with 45 and a mossburg 410 with 18" barel with a pistol grip just incase!

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Bill V, even if the police aren't doing anything, that's not an excuse to become a danger on the road.



If someone is tailgating, it is more than likely a thoughtless act by someone who is being careless. It is annoying but still typically within the control of the person being tailgated to remove themselves from the situation and make themselves safer.



However if someone brake-checks a tailgater or throws a foreign object out of the car, that is willful, intentional, and putting at danger the tailgater and anyone else that might be traveling behind them.



Two wrongs don't make a right.



Friends of ours buried their sister (a young mother in her 30s) because some jerk thought she did them wrong on the road....witnesses said he swerved in front of her, did a brake check, and the young mother lost control when she hit her brakes, went off the road, flipped the car, and died a week later in the hospital due to head injuries. They never did catch the guy.



But she certainly learned her lesson the hard way. Serves her right I guess, huh?



TJR

 

[Axel Deneselya]

I look at "Teaching them the hard way" as a public service. as long as there are no reprocussions, they will continue until someone sets them strait.

If they run into another car from behind and kill its occupants it doesnt matter if they were intentionally doing it or careless.



as far as leaving it to the cops, never seen a police officer pull someone over for tailgating, sorry, but if you wait for the government to come save you, you end up on the roof watching bodies float by.

 

[Bill V]

If someone is tailgating, it is more than likely a thoughtless act by someone who is being careless. It is annoying but still typically within the control of the person being tailgated to remove themselves from the situation and make themselves safer.

Actually, I disagree. Especially in heavier traffic, someone being tailgated often cannot easily extract themselves from the situation.



Note that I am definitely not advocating throwing solid objects or anything like that. But the risk involved in a beverage is relatively low--likely lower risk than the tailgating itself.



Regarding your friends' sister--What I'm about to say is going to sound callous, so I apologize for that, but I need to say it in the way I will in order to make my points. For the point of argument, let's say that she was tailgating, and someone did this to her, causing that accident.



First, most tailgaters are habitual tailgaters--meaning that if she was tailgating here, she's done it before. Therefore, if the cops were in sufficient quantity to be able to do their job, she would have been ticketed, possibly arrested for her actions, causing her to learn her lesson, and thus preventing this incident from occurring. If she didn't learn from that, she would have been ticketed/arrested again, to the point of losing her license, thus also preventing this. Part of the cause of this accident was that no one ever previously taught her how to drive.



Secondly, and more importantly, there is a lesson here--not to her, but to others. And that lesson is, "tailgaters pay for it--sometimes with their lives". Even with the tragedy involved, the guy who brake checked her may have prevented even greater eventual loss by teaching everyone that knew her or heard about the incident that tailgating can have serious consequences. It's the same argument that people who support concealed gun laws make--people are less likely to treat you and others inappropriately if they know that there is a chance of severe, immediate consequences for those actions. One person with a concealed weapon at Virginia Tech shooting a crazed gunman could have saved dozens--and one person taking action against a tailgater may have saved dozens as well.



FYI, I'm on the other side of this discussion--I've had two friends killed by tailgaters, in separate incidents. So I have no sympathy for them when others take action against them for their actions--even if that results in the tailgater's death. Better them than us.

 

[TomT]

Something came to mind that would be harmless but make a point. What if you connected some additional rubber tubing to the windshied washer and snaked it out towards the rear of your Trac? Or you could just aim the existing nozzles up into the air. I've gotten behind people that have screwed up nozzles that get more water on the car following them then their own windshield. Just an idea.