Tailgating

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

I don't know if I just noticed it because I'm driving a toy car, but, lately it seem like everyone who passes me comes right up behind me before pulling around me. 

Do they have Mass or RI plates?  Now that I'm a reformed/recovering tailgater (and I'm NOT from MA or RI by the way), I notice that when I'm on the highway cars will come flying up behind me before pulling out to pass, then pull right back in front of me and nearly cut me off.  Invariably the license plates are from MA, smaller percentage from RI.  Am I profiling here?...

[CNHT]

Well sometimes it's just human nature -- people seem more polite when they have more space to themselves...we have more space here in NH so we get along better on the highways!

The person who tailgated Lee and rammed into him, causing his death, was a young Kerry worker, up from Mass. The papers did not want you to know that though, lest they seem a little sinister in mentioning it.

[Rosie the Riveter]

Most NH natives call them Massholes. Drivers from MA that do not understand the concept of -- Drive in the right lane -- Pass in the left lane. Only massholes drive slow in the left lane on the highway and only massholes pass fast on the right and cut you off rather than wait for you to move over when you can.

Most of us lifetime NH drivers hate drivers from MA -- that is just the way it is -- NH drivers are usually respectful on the road -- letting you go at an intersection, yielding, merging and stopping for pedestrians. MA drivers have no idea about any of these things. 

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

I'm a NH native, but for some reason I started behaving like a Masshole when I got behind the wheel.  I think it was survival of the fittest.  I had to adapt or be killed.  Once my oldest started driving, I realized I better clean up my act or he would be a victim of a future road rage incident.

You know what really ticks me off now?  My daughter is learning how to drive and, of course, drives the speed limit.  Her boyfriend just got his license and, of course, drives the speed limit.  I am shocked by the number of people (with NH plates, by the way) who speed up behind her or him when they are doing the speed limit, tailgate, and flash their lights incessantly wanting them to speed up or pull over.  Even neighbors on our very rural, hardly traveled street.  It's scaring the bejesus out of them and making my daughter not want to learn how to drive.  Grrrrrr. 

[Raineyrocks]

I have had people pass me on I-93 and they are half in my lane while passing  me so I have to quick move over towards the shoulder.  I drive the speed limit too and am always getting passed.

I do like it that I-93 is a double lane highway back in Maryland I drove on Rte. 12 and it's  a single lane so people would constantly give me the finger as they passed me up because they had to wait for passing zones..

[aworldnervelink]

Most NH natives call them Massholes. Drivers from MA...

Drivers? I use that term for everyone from Massachusetts. 

[Pat K]

I now stand on the side of my shopping cart.
After so many people hitting me from behind,
I had an uh incident with one particularly snotty
Lady and now stand on the side so as not to end up
doing life, with out parole.

[CNHT]

I now stand on the side of my shopping cart.
After so many people hitting me from behind,
I had an uh incident with one particularly snotty
Lady and now stand on the side so as not to end up
doing life, with out parole.

I think this is funny because, I used to use this situation as an example when trying to get the school kids not to push each other in the hall.
I used to say, "When you go to the market with your mom, do you ever see adults pushing each other in line? No they wait their turn politely and if they accidentally bump someone they apologize"...

But I guess times have changed! Since it seems to be politically incorrect to teach manners in schools anymore, I guess those kids are bound to grow up to be bratty adults. 

[Quantrill]

I try to be aware of my surrounding environment.  I stay in the right lane unless I'm passing someone.  When someone is coming up behind me I try to get over and let them pass .  No need to be a jerk to them, it won't do anything to change their tailgating habit and I'd rather not have some tard try to run me off the road cuz he's an impatient jerk...

[Russell Kanning]

I think people that are used to heavy traffic start losing the ability to move to the left for passing and more to the right for travel. It is particularly bad in California.

Speaking of California driving habits .... I was driving on 93 in Manchester and Kira looked up from a book and informed me that "people are passing us". I guess that was a new experience for her.

I recently had a bigrig tailgaiting behind me in a long line of cars on route 9 near Sullivan. I coasted until I got down to 25 ... and he would just give me horns and lights. What a nice guy. If I was having car trouble ... he would have just gotten closer and closer. When I got to a place with a shoulder, I just pulled over and let him pass. He is an accident waiting to happen.

[eques]

Oh man... that's one thing I certainly do not miss about living in NJ: the overly aggressive bigrig drivers.  Yeah, they've got to make good time and got quotas, yadda yadda... but I'd like to stay alive, thanks!

[MaineShark]

I've been noticing this even more than usual, since I'm doing most of my driving in a company vehicle, which happens to be a low-cab-forward truck.  People will get right up behind me, to the point that I can't even see them.  The old rule still applies: if you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you.

But people will get right up there.  I wonder what those Hondas and Geos and Scions and such think is going to happen in the even of a collision?  The deck of my box will go right over their hoods as they drive up under the rear of my truck, they they are going to get an excellent idea of what the rear end of a truck tastes like.

Kinetic energy and momentum still apply, and when a 3000-lb car drives up under the rear end of a 14,000-lb truck at any appreciable speed, the front seat passengers of that car are corpses.

We just had one of our trucks hit by someone running a stop sign, actually.  Apparently the giant, brightly-colored truck wasn't easy to see, or something...

Yes, tailgating is a threat of assault.  If you point a gun at my head, you are endangering my life, regardless of whether you intend to shoot me.  If you are close enough that you cannot safely stop your car if I need to slam on my brakes, you are certainly endangering me, as well.

Now, as far as shooting them, you might attract a bit too much attention.

I know a lady who got sick of people creeping right up behind her Corvette at stop lights, so she installed spark plugs in the exhaust pipes.  Flip the switch to the extra coil to light up those plugs, then pull the choke to make it run rich, and watch the fireworks.  Anyone too close to her risked getting a melted front bumper...

Maybe just rig something to add some oil to your exhaust?  I know I wouldn't tailgate a car that was spewing oily smoke...

Joe

[Russell Kanning]

how do you ride the bumper of a corvette?

[davek]

With the right number of rare-earth magnets you can fasten a briefcase or something similar to the trunk so that it will appear to be unattached and about to fly off any moment.  You will never be tail-gated again...


Like drunk driving, tail gating is definitely a threat of violence.