How to Deter Tailgaters and Bully Drivers from Tailgating

To be tailgated is never a pleasant experience. When you are driving, you need to have full concentration on the road in front of you. When another car is following too close to your car, you can already visualise what is going to happen if you have to slam on the brakes in an emergency. You find yourself glancing at the back view mirror every few seconds and checking on how close your tailgater is closing in on you. Having to worry about the car behind you and the road in front of you will turn your pleasant journey into a driving nightmare. It is as dangerous as driving and texting on your mobile phone.

You cannot stop a rude driver from tailgating, well, unless you are the traffic police and you happened to be in the right place at the right time. And, that does not happen most of the time anyway. As an ordinary road user, you do not want to take the law into your own hands either unless you want to be beaten up by the other driver who happens to be a road bully. However, you can take certain measures to continue your journey and arrive safely at your destination.

Who are the tailgaters and road bullies?

Road bullies

You hear of people being bullied in the streets, in the schoolyards, at work, in the shopping malls, there are bullies on the road as well. Some people are bullies by nature. For some reasons, they lack a sense of security. They intimidate others and by doing that, they feel better about themselves. If they can pick on somebody in the streets, they can also pick on somebody on the roads and get a thrill out of bullying.

Person having a bad day

Some people do not know how to control their anger. They vent it out on anybody who comes in their way. If a car cuts into your lane, sometimes you might be caught by surprise and will slow down immediately, and you might mutter a few swearing words to yourself. Is it enough to spoil your day if you hold a grudge against the other driver? It all depends on how you handle the situation and control your anger. However, it is no excuse to start tailgating the car in front of you.

Someone in a hurry

All of us have hectic schedules everyday, we all want to go from one place to another in the shortest possible time, or we are just running very late for every appointment. Tailgaters are probably in a hurry to get somewhere and they let you know by driving up so close behind you. It is a way of telling you to hurry up and drive faster or get out of the way so that they can do some real driving.

People with no manners

We cross path with people with bad manners all the time, so tailgaters are probably those people who lack proper road etiquettes. You cannot hear them yell or swear when you are driving, well, sometimes you can if your window is wound down. Their actions say a lot about not only their road etiquettes, but also their basic manners.

What should you do to deter tailgaters and prevent road rage?

Next time, if you have a tailgater while on the road, think of the types of tailgaters mentioned above and observe the following:

• You do not have to confront tailgaters, they could be dangerous people (road bullies). You do not want to be the next victim of a road rage incident.
• Change lanes but make sure you signal first before changing lanes. You do not want to have another tailgater following you simply by changing to another lane too abruptly.
• Slow down to let the tailgating driver know you are not intimidated into driving any faster than you already are. If he really is in a hurry, he will most likely change to another lane or overtake you and then speed off.
• There is no need to answer back or retaliate if a tailgater yells at you. If he does not get the attention he wants, he will drive off and leave you alone.

Drive safely.

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