20-30 feet actually seems better than what I get most of the time...

Usually all it takes is to put your left arm straight back with your palm flat facing the tailgater. Most of the time they'll get the message and back off a good amount. If it doesn't work after a couple tries, slow down until they are forced to slow down, then accelerate briskly back to speed. If that doesn't work, go into your jacket pocket, take out your window brick and toss it through their windshield. Remember to replace your window brick at your next stop.

 

The worst one that I can remember was an Envoy on Hwy 287 north of Springfield, CO. I was running a "health pace" nand still had one headlight in my left mirror and their other headlight in my right mirrorn. I finally found a pull out and let them by. I think some people have a real inferiority comlex about motorcycles...or since they paid like $45k for their Stunk Up Vehicle that they should be most important (first)!

 

Yea I was just wondering because I had one couple days ago, riding home after work, dark, foggy, and this guy was about 20 feet behind me. Now I have only been back to rideing for about a month now after not riding for almost 15 years so I am none to comfortable with cars even that far away I am sure there are alot worse than that outthere.

 

Yea I was just wondering because I had one couple days ago, riding home after work, dark, foggy, and this guy was about 20 feet behind me.

I have a route home that can get quite foggy in the winter time, and being above the 45th parallel, night comes around 4:30 PM in January. I've been on this road enough I know there are several good driveways I can escape onto and let them go around. It quite interesting as I usually catch up with them as once they are now in the front, and don't have my lights illuminating the way for them through the turns, they start going even slower than I was originally going. I think I'd like to add to the Unconscious category a subcategory of Clueless.

 

I get that a lot here in the Ozarks. There's absolutely nowhere to pass safely, so they tailgage me, thinking I'm going to speed up. Nope, not going to let them push me past my comfort zone. And, I'm not a squeemish rider. I think most people are just plain unconscious when they drive.

 

I get that a lot here in the Ozarks. There's absolutely nowhere to pass safely, so they tailgage
I think most people are just plain unconscious when they drive.

Man aint that the truth!! I usually ride just fast enough to avoid having someone on my tail,but the wife has the problem all the time. It really pisses me off and I have turned into "ugly biker" from time to time because of it. When I get in their face they seem oblivious to what they were doing.

 

People are pretty cool here in North Louisiana, they watch for you and don't try to kill you too often. I think it's because like 70 percent of the population has a H-D up here. And anyway I'm not really worried about tailgaters, they aren't your biggest problem, its the guy in the oncoming lane that will kill you, just decide he needs to turn left all of a sudden.. and "bye bye biker"

 

People are pretty cool here in North Louisiana, they watch for you and don't try to kill you too often.

Did my iron butt through north LA and would have to agree! I met a lot of very nice people...and one grouchy convenience store clerk.

 

Here's the opposite perspective

Either when I'm on my bike or my truck:
- On one lane street I have no problem with people driving at speed limit. If I want to go fast it's just me, not their fault, so I don't try to "push" them.
- On multi-lane street I hate people who are driving/riding slow on left lane, no other vehicles on right lanes, or they're not passing other vehicles on the right lanes. THE LEFT LANE IS CALLED PASSING LANE, in most cases that is. Of course this excludes one who's turning left.
- I might try to push in the situation above (of course that's NOT legal) if I'm in a hurry and feeling dumb, but it's just a sign to let the driver/rider know to let me pass, and I back off, or pass them on the right (if no vehicles around)

Now, back to if I see a tailgater: if there is a chance I'd let him pass, if not I'd slow down a bit to let him know "Hey there is no way I can get out of your way, so back off!". In fact, I normallyturn my head to look in my mirrows a lot, so they should know I'm looking at them.

I'm not an aggressive driver/rider, I'm just aggressive when need to, so the tailgater might have the same reason (imagine emergency situations)

 

people hug my rear all the time, i dont know if its simply bc im on a bike and they are trying to get me to do something like a wheelie or speed, but the first thing i do is give them a good look'n at and normally theyll back off, unless its a real jerk then if they dont back off i give one more look (and maybe a finger if they were seriously putting my life in danger) then take off.

2 lanes is a different story, like on the highway i just switch lanes and let them pass but again theres those jerks which will either switch lanes with you or pull up next to you and try to mess around (which i find very dangerous and not fun most of the time) thats when i pull off the take off and weave through cars where they cant follow

 

The other day, while stopped at a red light, I look in my mirrors and all I can see is a huge silver crown vic with an approximate mid-60's female at the helm. She's probably one foot or less from my back tire!

I turn completely around and look at her for a good 10 seconds, then ease up a little; she eases up a little as well!!! Once I get a green light, I take off (not very slowly), she just doesn't back off! I'm getting really pissed at this point, and decide to turn off a couple of blocks early. But first, I put my signal on, she is still glued to my back tire! Finally, I get on my brakes kind of hard to force her to slow down (prepared to speed back up if necessary). Her maneuver is to swerve over into the right lane a couple of feet and go around.

This REALLY PESHES me off, so I kick it in and accelerate so I'm right beside her. I then extend half of a peace sign to her (which is only about 2' from her driver's side window), hold the pose 'till I reach the next turn lane, where I normally turn to..... uh..... go to work-as a paramedic. That's when I realize that I've just flipped off this woman while I'm in my uniform. I felt bad for maybe 3 seconds, then just started laughing.

I really like the idea of the window brick!! The only problem is that I'd then have to haul them to the hospital.

 

Best Tailgater advice while on a bike.

You've got basically three kinds of tailgaters:

1. Unconscious

2. Opps I'm sorry

3. Malicious

Courteous hand signals work for 1 and 2.

For #3: Get out of their way in manner that doesn't endanger you or your passenger! We are riding a motorcycle! The more communication you have will only escalate into road rage! Your life is not worth it!

Keep your head on straight. That tailgater doesn't care about your life at that particular moment. In case of a fatal accident do you want your last thoughts to be about some nitwit you don't know? Who really cares what that tailgater thinks, believes, assumes, etc.....at that particular moment? The only thing and I mean the only thing that should concern you is to get out of that person's way NOW!!! Safely!!

Yelling at them, giving them the finger, etc.....will not teach them anything. It only puts you on the same level as them. Is that who you are?

 

CJ, you have a good point. I just drive on or get out of their way. It's not worth getting run over.

 

It's not normally who I am, but it made me feel better

 

spark plugs & miscellaneous nuts work really well. just casually toss over the shoulder and they get the idea quick.

 

Hmmm. I can always solve this problem with my right wrist.

 

haha I had a tailgater today on a long, straight, empty stretch of state highway. I got over to the right and she just stayed there, riding my bumper so I slowed down. She stayed there.

I mean I'm right on the shoulder line and slowing down and she has a clear view of the other lane for about 1 mile and she won't pass me.

After about 1 more minute, I waved her around me and she finally passed me. I have no idea what took her so long....I was being really obvious...or so I thought.

 

Tailegaters are evrywhere. (duh huh? ) I normally dont have to many problems but i get em just like every one else.
An idea i have had but never tried was to rig up a pouch.. parachute style that uses a pull cord to pop out a pin,,,allowing the smal pouch to open fully.. what would i pack inside? the popcorn stuff used in shipping packages. I dosent cause any damage and is light enouph to easily become airborn,, my thought is that the sight of flying debris will get their attention...quickly
Honestly I dont think I have the guts to try it because I dont want anyone getting in a wreck. But I have had the thought cross my mind more than once.

 

I know how you guys feel about the tailgaters. Last summer after helping a friend work on his bike, I was headed home on a narrow, two-lane road. The traffic was bumper to bumper and I had a vehicle right up my exhaust pipes. I tried several times to get him to back off by using hand signals and even looking over my shoulder hoping he would get the idea to back off. I even tried hand signals with quick taps of my brake light, nothing worked. I then did a very nasty thing. In my back pocket I had two screwdrivers. I lobbed one after the other over my shoulder bouncing them off the hood of his car......he got the message.

 

I'll tell you how you can stop this....... seriously.

I keep a dozen or so 1" steel ball bearings in my tank bag for this very reason. If someone is tailing me, I'll pull a couple out and toss it straight up from right over the bag, only up about 2, 3', just enough so it goes over my head. About a half second later, you hear a BAM! You might have to do it a couple times, but invariably, they think you are kicking up rocks and back off with their cracked windshield and busted out headlights.

Whenever I go on a long trip, three things go in the bag. A Glock, a handful of bearings, and a handful of these.... http://defensedevices.com/caltrops.html

It's all about the escalation of force. First they get the bearings, then they get their tires shredded, and finally, if I think they mean me harm, they get a supersonic ball of lead through their windshield.

 

The problems with this, you're going to affect other innocent and potentially bike friendly people. Your bearings will cause many more problems for the other motorists on the road....some of whom may either be biker friendly or fellow bikers.

 

With the advent of cell phones, if someone saw you throw those over your head, they could have HP on you before you could get to the next turnoff. I sure don't want to spend months in jail just because of someone else's stupidity.

 

The thing I can't figure out is why does everyone feel that they have to be in such a big hurry to get everywhere anymore? If you could ask most of those people where they are going they would say home or work, can't figure why would would be in hurry to get to work unless your late. Plus with gas being $3.50 and up you would think they would want to slow down to save on gas. But I guess thats how people are today hurry, hurry,hurry.

 

I purchased the brakelight modulator and that seems to keep most people off my back. However, when they get too close, sometimes I roll back just to get their attention, or I just get the bleep out of their way. Modulator seems to work alright for me.

 

Tailgaters piss me off to no end. I'm going as fast as I am. Your little Civic being so close to my car that I can't see you with my side mirrors isn't going to make me go any faster. You're annoying and needlessly endangering my safety. Sod off!

Here's a fun thing I like to do with tailgaters on country roads. I call it the turning game. Basically I just flip my signal on and slow way down at every intersection then speed up again like it wasn't the street I was looking for. Oh man does it ever make them mad!

What really gets me are people who come up behind me on the interstate knowing they're going to have to get around me at some point. I'm cruising along in the right lane and the left lane is completely empty. So what do they do? They get right on my bumper before switching lanes. Why??

 

What really gets me are people who come up behind me on the interstate knowing they're going to have to get around me at some point. I'm cruising along in the right lane and the left lane is completely empty. So what do they do? They get right on my bumper before switching lanes. Why??

Gas is expensive; they are drafting. Go NASCAR!

 

Ok...wow...I just had a first. I literally almost got knocked off my bike by an SUV.

So I'm cruising down the highway, enjoying a nice ride. I'm doing 10 MPH over the speed limit and there are very few cars around. Out of the blue, an SUV passes me and immediately changes lanes right into my lane and damn near clips my front wheel when he does. I slow down and flash my brights.

Then I thought....meh...screw him. So I pass him, get in his lane and slow way down. Man he keeps the brights on me so I just slow down more.

Then, holy ****, he starts to pass me but he's still 1/2 way in my lane when he does this. I could have literally reached out my arm and touched his hood.

I look at him but he's got tinted windows and I can only see shadows. He never rolls down his window. He speeds off and I'm doing 80 to catch him and he's still pulling away.

Ok...so I know pulling in front of him and slowing was asking for trouble but I was upset. Anyways, it's amazing how calm I was throughout this. I mean it could have really ended badly for me but thankfully, it didn't.

I mean I literally didn't know he was THAT close to me while he was passing me. If I had swerved to miss something, he would have plowed right into me because I didn't know he was there. That's kind of spooky.

 

STAY AWAY FROM MANIACS!!!
Yeah that's top of my safety list, because the more you get into it the more pissed off you are, and it might end up badly (which you all already know that), that's why I stay away from tailgaters as well as other bad signs

Cheers,

 

Again.....spark plugs over the shoulder. but use only when warranted....

 

How about small clear glass marbles? And the fact that the marbles are clear glass means they won't actually see them, only hear them. Just pop it straight up in the air with your thumb so it doesn't look like your doing it. The tailgater will think that he or she is just catching pebbles off the road from your back tire and back off with little or no damage done.
Of course, this is only if you have no other option. If you can pull over and out of the way of the tailgater, then do it.