Ruses to stop tailgaiters
 

Has anybody considered putting a magnetic sign on the door and on the back of your car that says "Survey Crew?" Just put a hardhat on the dash or on the back deck, a clipboard on the front seat and wear a safety vest everywhere you go?

If your county/state allows it, add some flashing yellow lights in the rear window and behind your grill. That should keep most manic tail-gaters from
honking while you coast. :D

https://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:...4survey600.jpg

Highway or town/city driving? Isn't it illegal to be going substantially less than the speed limit on most highways and freeways? I've seen local highway construction crew pickup trucks using a big full window sized directional flashing yellow LED arrow in the rear window so maybe those are obtainable from a safety supply store.

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[QUOTE=ArtFox;100800]Has anybody considered putting a magnetic sign on the door and on the back of your car that says "Survey Crew?" Just put a hardhat on the dash or on the back deck, a clipboard on the front seat and wear a safety vest everywhere you go?

If your county/state allows it, add some flashing yellow lights in the rear window and behind your grill. That should keep most manic tail-gaters from
honking while you coast. :D
__________________________________________________ __________________

My favorite was a magnetic sign that said


----test vehicle---
--DO NOT FOLLOW--
Allied Manure Spreaders

It was just an old guy with a sense of humor, but it worked.

That reminds me:

Amish bumper sticker: Warning! Do not step in exhaust...

Yeah tailgaters are a nuisance and other than slowing down even more to really make them angry, there are no foolproof ways of keeping them off you.

I don't care much for alleygators either! :D

Thoes are much nicer idea than mine. I want one of those programmable LED signs in my back window. when someone gets too close, it displays:
"BACK OFF <insert favorite cussword here>"
:D

I have been thinking about a horn that honks to the cars behind:).

I've toyed with getting one of those programmable LED signs for the back and one for the front (mirror).

To remove idiot tailgaters (let's say I'm doing 60 in a 65 zone and they want to do 85 in the slow lane) I simply slam on my brakes if the license plate of the vehicle behind me disappears from my rearview because they are too close, after warning repeatedly by tapping brakes. I know exactly how much I can slow down and then reaccelerate and not get hit. In Washington State this resulted in several spilled lattes from idiots tailgating me - but less tailgaters over time because I found that the SAME people would tailgate all over town! Not so much after they'd been warned by taillight tapping, and then had to slam on their brakes and dump their coffee in their lap! Probably too much coffee is why they were so jumpy & tailgating in the first place.

I have been known to stop dead on the freeway to remove idiots (no other traffic and they want to "draft" off me regardless of my speed. Nothing like someone 6'3" swarming out of a little bitty car to get them to speed off. Only done that twice but it worked.

One time I was driving in northwestern WA state, where I lived literally across the street from the Canadian border. It was POURING rain, and in WA semis have to go slower than regular traffic on the freeway. This guy would NOT let me pass for whatever reason. He was limited to 60 but I could do 70, I just wanted to get around. Every time I'd speed up, he'd speed up and swerve in & out of his lane, throwing up so much water I could not see if he was in my lane so I wouldn't hit him.

Finally I flicked my brights, once, to let him know I wanted to pass, as there was zero other traffic around. He turned on his LOADING DOCK LIGHT, on the freeway! Basically a headlight/spotlight that you shine backwards onto the loading dock! I slowed down as it was only about five more minutes to my exit. Had to do 50 because he mandated it.

BUT - at the exit I was able to easily pass him, and go to the Customs checkpoint. I told them EXACTLY what happened - he was swerving, speeding up & slowing down, and he turned on a rear-facing spotlight aimed at my windshield. Now these symptoms to me appear to be those that a drunk driver might exhibit - and I repeated that - he might be drunk or under the influence of some drugs, who knows, maybe even smuggling something.

I pointed it out, gave them the license # (it was Canadian plates, there is only ONE place you go on Interstate 5 at that point of night), and they ran over to him at the truck checkpoint, guns drawn. I bet it was several hours before he got home that night! I just turned around and went home and slept well.

I can't stand tailgaters, I keep at least "three stripes" myself if trying to take advantage of any aero drafting, usually just my own aero and no one elses.

Personally if you want to draft, I have no issue, but if the person indicates (brake lights tapped repeatedly) they don't want you to draft, be safe and find another target. Personal opinion here.

My Saab, a 2001 9-5, and all SAABs of 90's and early 2000 vintage (at least) have rear fog lights. For the American market they ship with only one bulb. But you CAN put a bulb in both sides. When you flip them on, they look like brake lights. It's a nice trick for tailgaters. A fake brake check without losing speed.

Best thing is to ignore them. They eventually go away. Or go around. Every now and then, they cut in front and slow down, thinking they are punishing me. Usually I just laugh and point.

Sometimes if I need a close following vehicle to back off and rather than tapping the brakes I hit the slow moving vehicle warning light button to get all of the emergency lights to flash a few times...usually backs them off fairly quick. If one could tie in a couple of rear facing police blue colored lights into that relay it would probably make those tailgaters back way off, but you might have to support or join a local volunteer fire department
to be allowed those. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbdR7...eature=related

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_vehicle_lighting

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My car is not (yet) very aerodynamic. I have found that tailgaters improve my MPG slightly, so I put up with it :) (if the car is the same size, and I can see that things are 'safe' ahead of me).

Something I did in my old car once by chance, and am tempted to set up in my current car, would be a special switch to cut off the fuel to TWO of the four cylinders, while making the AFM run richer than it should.

Then, drive along. Flip the switch, then press the accelerator fully down (WOT) for half a second. The exhaust will fill with very hot, ENRICHED, burnt mixture, from the two working cylinders which are running rich. It will also be filled with pure air from the two cylinders which have no fuel... :)

Then, when you let go of the accelerator, this mixture will stop flowing in the exhaust, and some of it will be 'stuck' next to hot exhaust valves. There will be a loud bang as the mixture burns from the exhaust valves. The explosion pushes the mixture out of the exhaust as it goes, giving a 6-12 inch flame together with a nice bang from the end of the exhaust :)

I discovered this when experimenting with 2-cylinder running, on my old car (using an LPG switch to disable two of the fuel injectors). The only proviso, is that you shouldn't do this to cars that have a catalytic convertor!

I had just discovered the 'popping' noise when someone tailgated me, I tried it, and they backed off :) Then, later on that day, when it was dark, I tried it out again (with no-one behind me), and I could see huge flashes of light behind the car :D If you hide the switch somewhere, and splice into the injector wiring under the dashboard so no-one can see the modification, then even if someone reports you for it, and the police stop you or something, they will just find your car running smoothly, and there will be no sign of how the flames could have happened :)

I will just go and update my avatar I think to show the effect :)

JC Whitney has LED flashers but they are $79 and not very aerodynamic...

https://www.jcwhitney.com/wcsstore/jc...9909G_CL_1.jpg

Just drift over closer to the shoulder of the road, or even put two wheels on the shoulder. The road debris will start rattling off their windshield and most sane people will back off.

Sometimes it's unavoidable here, bumper to bumper at 3 to 5 car lengths for 40+ miles, in which case I don't do anything to PO the other driver.

regards
gary

That's actually a good idea. It had never occured to me.

:thumbup: :cool:

$10 at Harbor Freight, more aerodynamic, but not a nice modern LED or strobe...
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=96279
https://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...6299/96279.gif

Clean you windshield
Ooops, I forgot to re-aim that squirter last week and it still sprays over the top of the glass...

If you have tailgaters, it's because you have created them. If they are a problem, they are your problem. You figure out how to get rid of your problem that you created.
I wait for a passing zone, put on my right directional, pull closer to the shoulder, slow a bit more, and wave them past. The wave is key. It maintains your assertion of control (passive agression) over the situation. They can't take control of the outcome of this situation by blowing past you, because you have given them permission to pass you.

Thanks for the link! Much cheaper. Now I wonder if they make a clear lens magnetic teardrop housing to hide a rear view mirror in so that I can experiment with placement as a fender mount...

...I would remove the light and rotator motor b4 installing a mirror. Would not want to get dizzy!! :eek:

Relates to mirror discussion thread
https://www.gassavers.org/showthread.php?t=1492


Been trying to engineer a faired bullet mirror without too much optical distortion.

Cameras are fine, but I had an electrical failure once and lost dash lights and power at night but was able to drive with a flashlight trained on the analog speedo. Real mirrors seem pretty foolproof if small, well faired and properly placed.

I'm not too familiar with the optics involved, but what is the nature of the distortion? Can you accept the distortion from the fairing and correct it with an oppositely-distorted mirror?

This is AWESOME! I can't do this on my CRX and don't want to but I sure want to figure out a bolt-on that will do the same thing safely!

My best friend and I are always swearing we want gun turrets for the fronts of our vehicles - this is even better!

Had a 59 Vette, gas pedal stuck to the floor, figured it out at 105 in second. Stomped the pedal three times then cut off the ignition. That old 750 Holly poured a couple of ounces of fuel in the exhaust.

I bent the key 90% when I shut it off. Straightened the key popped the hood and grabbed the linkage and it dropped to idle.

When I cranked it back up it blew a couple of pounds of fiberglass out of the mufflers!

I hope you own a muffler shop ;).

regards
gary

Do NOT drive down the road with a blue or red light like that on your car, especially the red one.

Blue they may not hassle you much unless you have it on but just having the red light can get you nailed for impersonating a police officer regardless of it being on or not.

In Va. Blue is state police you will get nailed to the wall.

regards
gary

Get an old ('72 or '73 would be good) Mazda with the Wankel Rotary Engine...stomp on the foot feed then let off...makes the most satisfying explosions. Loved doing that under overpasses or in tunnels. If you get one, make sure the exhaust system is still up to that. They were when the cars were new...Remember watching one guy fishtail all over the place after I did that!

I've found that rear fog lamps can temporarily dissuade tailgaters, especially at night. When you switch it on, they assume its a brake light and back off a bit. Works nicely if you accelerate slightly as you switch on the light.

Hella rear fog lamps for universal applications can be found here: https://www.rallylights.com/hella/backup.asp#rfog

I like that idea, like 190 db super horn, yea!

I've found that a few pumps of the accellerator from soot belching diesel does the trick nicely. I basically have a switch on my dashboard that says, "Get off me, I'm in front and you can't change that," by adding 140 more horse power. Try that one sometime.

I'd say it depends on the State you live in. In my case its blue. A nice amber light should do it.

The craziest anti-tailgater thing I've seen was a set of train horns pointed rearward in the bed of a mini pickup.

For the most part I don't worry about tailgaters. The major fear is them hitting you... obviously they would if you had to hit the brakes. But they wouldn't hit you very hard as you only have a few feet to decelerate. You could loose control, or hit whatever you were trying to avoid, but the major danger is still in front and mostly controllable by you.

On the other hand, someone way back and completely spaced out will slam into you at nearly full speed. I've had this one happen, and it sucks, even at way less than highway speeds.

So I normally just ignore them. If they really wanted to go fast, they would pass. I think a lot of people just get so used to tailgating that they don't even think of it as 'pushing' you, just normal driving. I've been passengers with several drivers like this. It doesn't matter if you're 10 over or 10 under, they're just stuck there.

On rare occasions I do stress about it... the last was a semi who flew up on my bumper in the right lane just because he wanted to pass traffic on the right instead of left, and thought I'd make room somehow if he threatened me enough. Even this worst case I just gently slow down until there's room for them to pass, reminding myself that it's not constructive to cause an accident then pull them out of the truck and shoot them with a shotgun at close range repeatedly. The crazier traffic gets, the saner you need to be, as it's the only way everyone arrives home in one piece.

How about the urinating car mod?

https://video.google.com/videoplay?do...46325790254055

Today I was driving my normal route, going into the last 4 mile stretch, in the right lane approaching the Naval Weapons Station where a lot of people turn right. Sure enough the car two cars in front of me turns on his signal.

I was watching the traffic all around and I had a clear left lane to move over to avoid stopping. Speed limit was 45 and I was doing just over 50 moving with traffic. I move over to the left lane, but there is a pickup truck about 150 feet behind me. The problem is he is doing at least 65 trying to pass the group of cars to get into the right lane to get on the interstate.

I guess I pissed him off, so he pulls up on my rear end in his full size Chevy pickup.

Three feet off my bumper at 52 MPH!!!! I could only see his grille in my rear view mirror. Couldn't see the hood or the top of his front bumper.

When this idiot realized he wasn't going to be able to get in front of the car in the right lane he finally slowed down to merge in front of another car, maybe 1 car length between the car in front and behind him.

I get soo tired of idiots that accelerate to try to block your lane change to avoid a huge fuel wasting stop. It seems like they think its a challenge to see if they can cause a wreck.

Maybe one day I will take my spritzer bottle and fill it with a 50-50 antifreeze and water mix to spray it out the window. Windshield wipers wont do much of anything to get antifreeze off the glass. This idiot certainly deserved a shot of that kind of juice.

Around here you don't need to worry about drafting. I see people tailgating at 1 car length 12-15 feet at 70-75 MPH everytime I get near the interstate.

regards
gary

I don't get it, why do you hate tailgators? Is it cuz you have some subconcious personal space thing or because you're afraid of getting hit? In the spirit of this forum they are getting better mpg cuz they're in your draft. If they hit you it will be entirely their fault and if this is the reason you hate them does slamming your brakes on and increasing the risk of an accident really help? If you're in the right lane of a multi don't sweat it. They'll pass when they can. If they're stuck behind you on a 2 lane road and you really want to slam your brakes cuz you're pissed at them just put your right turn-signal on a moment before. They'll get a clean, legal pass and it's off your mind. Part of driving efficiently is helping other cars drive more efficiently. Maybe he is on the brink of making a 5-6 shift and just needs another 5mph. Both of you slamming your brakes hurts the fuel economy of 2 cars.

I routinely go 45 - 50 mph on the Interstate in the 65 mph zones near my residence. I am probably not making much of a difference in the traffic flow though since I only drive for a couple of miles on the freeway.

Just put on your hazard lights/flashers and keep to the far right side of the road. Other drivers should see you and go around.

Exactly, go whatever speed you want. Just try to help other people do the same. Keep it safe and curtious.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the last 3 accidents I have ben involved in were due to idiots hitting me in the rear end.

Maybe its because my present physcial condition places me at serious risk of PARALYSIS due to combined effects of spinal injuries.

In other words they could put me in a wheelchair for life.

Of course the idiot that paralyzes me for life wont have the financial resources to pay for the permanent disability they could easily inflict when their 4500 pound battering ram hits my 2084 pound car.

Maybe its the fact that if they seriously injure my wife the consequences could be the termination of their life.

Its proven that tailgating at 3 feet behind someone reduces the benefits of drafting.

Drafting a Honda Civic in a full sized Chevy truck wount make any significant difference in your fuel mileage anyway.

In heavy traffic that kind of stupidity only results in the brake light whiplash scenario where most of the accidents here are the result of dumb a$$ drivers. They are almost invariably driving large vehicles and even if you pull over and get out of their way there is another vehicle in their precious way 100 feet ahead of you.

regards
gary

I'm not saying that tailgating is safe or not rude but aggressive driving in response is the worst thing you can do. You think you can make them stop tailgating. I say get them by you and you can stop worrying. I wonder why you've been in at least three accidents and I've been in none.

Edit: Didn't mean that last line as an insult I'm just saying you can act to avoid being hit from behind if you have the skills and awareness.

Lets see

One time I pulled off the road instead of letting an idiot ram me in the arse in my 59 Corvette. The other driver actually thanked me for anticipating his stupidity and getting out of his way.

Another moron in a SUV pulled over right on top of me on a motorcycle. He apologized also, I saw it coming and moved over.

Three other times I have pulled into intersections to keep from getting hit in the rear end when I was stopped at a light.

Maybe the reason I have been in many near accidents, is because I have driven over 1,000,000 miles in 42 years in an area known for its congestion, tourists, school kids, and people who think when you get hit in the rear end its your fault.

I have put my car in gear and accelerated when I saw a car sliding sideways coming at my arse (4 high school girls yakking away). I managed to reduced the impact, couldnt get in first gear fast enough, and for my efforts to avoid injury the insurance company refused to replace the transmission in my car after their customer knocked it 100 feet across a busy 4 lane highway. In exactly the same spot a woman was rear ended in a corvette that ignited the gas tank and fired her in the drivers seat.

No one who travels with me wants anyone else to drive. My father told me once I was the only driver he had enough confidence in to fall asleep while I was driving. He has been married for 62 years, and he doesn't trust my mother.

And your level of skills and awareness?

And no person has ever been injured in a car I was driving for 42 years.

regards
badger

So that's what those lights are. I was drafting a truck too close (before I find out about "3 stripes" and he turned on those lights.) I now am very careful not to get any truckers upset at me--and drafting is working find with no issues except the occasional car that goes between me and the semi I'm drafting.

Everyone,

I really had no intention to cause a heated discussion when I bumped this thread, I just wanted to see if anyone would laugh at my urinating car mod. :)

Gary,

You have a particularly unique set of circumstances that I believe calls for some different priorities than many others on this forum. Based on what you've written in this thread, I think I see these data points:
- You are one small bump away from permanent total paralysis
- A life paralyzed would be rather unpleasant as well as even more financially burdensome than the same life able-bodied
- You spend a lot of time on the road
- The roads you drive tend to have heavy traffic, possibly more dangerous traffic than other areas
- Most or all collisions you have are rear-end collisions with you in front
- You drive a 2,000 pound car made in 1994

I commend you on your contribution to energy shortages and environmental concerns. However, if it were me in your situation, I would make the choice to protect myself better by driving something that has more mass. You surely know the physics involved; with more mass, the collision will cause less acceleration, less shock on your body. Additionally, a more modern vehicle has better safety technology. I'm not saying that I think you're wrong for driving what you drive, just that it may be worth some additional thought -- because if it were me, it'd be well worth doubling, tripling, or quadrupling my driving cost to buy a reduction in the chance of such dire consequences resulting from such a common occurance.

Good point holycow.

I rebuilt a 77 Accord that had 13 k miles on it when it was totalled. Sold it to my dad who used it to cover the Florida Keys as a voulenteer for the American Cancer Society.

My mother was driving the Honda on US1 one evening when a drunk in a Cadillac came across the road in their lane. Good old mom did a nice swerve into the other lane to avoid the collision. Pop told me later that if they had been in their 73 Montego tank they would have never benn able to avoid the head on 100 MPH impact. I actually swerved across the oncoming traffic lane into a parking lot one night when another drunk came across the lane within 100 yards of the exact same place where it had happened to them before.

That was 30 years ago. Last night we had a get together for fathers day. Mom was born in 1925 and Pop was born in 1921. They drove her cadillac Elodorado to the Texas Roadhouse where their 4 sons, wives, and grandchildren had a blast, a great fathers Day. 13 people at the table.

Maybe I should drive a tank, but then I would sacrifice manuverability to avoid an wreck.

Anyway you point is valid and well considered. At this point in my life I still prefer to have the tools to avoid a collision. I just dont care for fools who don't even know what tools they have much less use them.

Situational awareness is the key, as well as always assuming any other driver will do the stupidist thing you could imagine.

Driving is therapy for me. The vibrations help to ease stiffness and discomfort.
There are not many more things I enjoy more anymore, and my vehicle choice could indeed end my lifestyle. The other side is it could save my lifestyle.

Choices you have to make, typically I just let them pass and go tailgate the car in front of me. I actually give them more distance to avoid being involved in an accident.

In the thirty years since the incident in the keys 1.4 million people have died on US highways.

regards
gary