road rage, tailgating, and Big Vehicles

[meep]

I was reading the neighboring post about tailgating solution and the discussion spoke so strongly to me that this tangent had to be mentioned.

THIS IS WHAT DROVE ME TO BUY A BIGGER VEHICLE DESPITE MPG. I cherish keeping a lower blood pressure.

As a conservative driver I was constantly being tailgated by larger trucks and SUVs. Or at least I noticed them more as they are more threatening than sedans and compacts. I'd get so flustered after weeks and weeks that I did become aggressive when tailgated... flashing lights (I actually had rear roof spots on the old car), flashing brakes, stabbing brakes. Even when going 5-10 over in the right lane people just wanted to push me outta the way.

Bought a minivan, greatly improved - apparently big cars don't try to intimidate other big cars as much. now I drive jeeps. The current jeep is new... you'd be surprised how many more people try to tailgate a new GC than a beat up old one.

Statistically, 90% of road rage incidents can be curbed if you keep BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL (per NPR ~2001). That could save your life.

I prefer smaller cars, but this example goes beyond "perceived" safety. In a larger car, I generally experience less tailgating from other larger vehicles.

Mike

 

[c3po]

I have a Mercury Marauder and an El Camino. The Marauder looks like a cop car, its basically the same body style and platform as the Crown Vic Police cars.

When I drive the Marauder I have no problems with tailgating or people getting near me. Sometimes when I am behind a car they slow down because they think I am a unmarked police car. I have even had people see me coming and they could easily have pulled out into traffic and they wait to let me go by.

I cannot say the same thing when I drive the El Camino.

 

[Cutehumor]

Ego does play a part in it. If they are driving a big 4 x 4 truck and come behind my "lowly" sunfire, they ride on my bumper thinking I'll get scared and speed up. I don't play in that behavior. I always drive in the far RIGHT lane. I drive the speed limit. I usually slow down to get them off my car. Then I hear a raucious of horns when they pass me with some flashing lights.

 

[kingrob]

I have had several Crown Victoria's which WERE former cop cars, this does not curb tailgaiting in any way.

 

[Johnny]

Back in the good old days when we use to carry our shotguns and .30-.30's in the gun rack of our pick-up we never had tailgating problems.

This was back in Texas. I don't know what they did in the good old days in Wisconsin.

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: kingrob
I have had several Crown Victoria's which WERE former cop cars, this does not curb tailgaiting in any way.


They will see a regular license plate on the back and know it is not a cop car. I always look at the license plate of a crown vic to make sure it's not a cop car. Then I happily race on by.

 

[Gary Allan]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Originally Posted By: kingrob
I have had several Crown Victoria's which WERE former cop cars, this does not curb tailgaiting in any way.


They will see a regular license plate on the back and know it is not a cop car. I always look at the license plate of a crown vic to make sure it's not a cop car. Then I happily race on by.

My retired PA trooper used to carry a regular plate that he would put over the official one on the Fury III that he got assigned from time to time. He'd fasten it with a pair of rubber bands. He was quite creative. He even had an old TAXI dome that he'd tape onto the roof that plugged into the cigarette lighter.

..but..that was a while back. I thought that true stealth vehicles sported regular looking tags. Demeanor usually indicates whether I think a Crown Vic is the real deal or not. Clean cut or military looking hair cut ..with bolt upright posture ...odds are leaning toward a cop.

 

[kingrob]

Here, the undercover vehicles have everyday plates. It just goes to show you people really don't care if they're tailgating a cop or not, and I have seen unmarked cars slow down as little as possible, wait for the guy riding his bumper to pass them, then flip on the blue lights. I used to wonder if people really were that stupid, and yes, they are.

 

[kaboom10]

I have a 6000lb vehicle. Anything like a 3-3.5k vehicle won't stand up. My wife has an SUV and the use of her left side to get her thru. If she gets hit I want her to have some good protection. I've been hit by a buick and I only knew it because of the thump.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: kingrob
Here, the undercover vehicles have everyday plates. It just goes to show you people really don't care if they're tailgating a cop or not, and I have seen unmarked cars slow down as little as possible, wait for the guy riding his bumper to pass them, then flip on the blue lights. I used to wonder if people really were that stupid, and yes, they are.


Very true!

 

[calvin1]

I'll have to agree with you on your own vehicle having a lot to do with the habits of others.

I have both a '95 Bronco and a 2007 Taurus. The Bronco is the IDEAL brake-check machine as it has metal bumpers firmly attached to the frame rails with a very heft hitch ball extending 6 inches beyond that. Any modern car that merely bumps into that would be lucky to not have the radiator gored through and receive thousands of dollars worth of cosmetic damage while inflicting zilch on the truck.

I don't know how many times when I'm driving the Taurus and I pick up a tailgater and wish I was driving the Bronco instead. For some reason I NEVER have that opportunity when I'm actually in the truck.

Calvin

 

[sciphi]

People don't tailgate my Buick because it's a large car. And if they do, then I ignore it. The bad offenders I slow down enough where they get the message and back off. That works most of the time.

 

[firemachine69]

Pretty easy to spot an unmarked Vic. The stubby set of antennas from about a fifty yards on the trunk, and when you get closer, the yearly stickers affixed to the plates on a civilian-owned Vic are as all others, numerical and expire on the birthday of the owner.

True CVPI's have black-and-yellow striped stickers, with no expiration date.

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: firemachine69
Pretty easy to spot an unmarked Vic. The stubby set of antennas from about a fifty yards on the trunk, and when you get closer, the yearly stickers affixed to the plates on a civilian-owned Vic are as all others, numerical and expire on the birthday of the owner.

True CVPI's have black-and-yellow striped stickers, with no expiration date.


I look for five things: spot-light, antennas, plates, driving style and personalizations.

*Either of the first two are enough reason to not be the fastest car on the road without any further thought.
*It's rare in Illinois for a state car to not have official tags, but not enough that I'll write-off a vic with civilian tags.
*Fast moving civilians will zig-zag through traffic. Cops don't zig-zag or stalk - they pick a lane and start evaluating targets. If they are out looking for speeders while on the roll themselves they get in the left lane and stay there until they overtake someone or some doofus tries to pass.
*Unmarked Illinois state police cruisers are as plain as they come. Any dealer stickers, dealer plate frames, spoilers, bumper stickers, objects on package shelf, objects hanging from mirror or any changes to the headlights (blue) pretty much guarantees the bogey is a civilian.

The only time I every got a speeding ticket was when I blew the doors off a beat-up second-gen Taurus Indiana pulled out of the back lot - sneaky buzzards. I didn't contest it because the cop only wrote me up for +10. I closed on him through traffic and he lit me up immediately after I got around him so he couldn't have known exactly how much beyond that I really was.

Calvin

p.s. do I need to call my lawyer now that I've outed my methods?

 

[kingrob]

Here, the only indicator would be the tinted windows to conceal the antennas on the inside. These are the "true" undercover stealths, they have normal registration, inspection stickers, no external antenna's (or is that antenni?) etc. But plain local "unmarked" still has the external trunk mount antennas and the blue lights in the inside lower right and left back window. Very easy to spot from behind, but still not enough of a deterrent to tailgaters!

 

[firemachine69]

Yes, some people are that stupid to tailgate someone with flasher lights in the rear windshield...

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: firemachine69
Yes, some people are that stupid to tailgate someone with flasher lights in the rear windshield...


+1 , a big share of tailgaters are just brain dead, not malicious.

I get a kick out of the ones that will come roaring up behind you, sit on your bumper a few seconds, the jump over to another lane and sit on someone else's bumper because he is 50 feet further down the road only to find out that the person they switched to is actually going slower.

A lot of drivers are totally unaware of what is happening any further down the road than the bumper in front of them.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: kaboom10
I have a 6000lb vehicle. Anything like a 3-3.5k vehicle won't stand up. My wife has an SUV and the use of her left side to get her thru. If she gets hit I want her to have some good protection. I've been hit by a buick and I only knew it because of the thump.


But in Mich climate you may not be able to stop such a huge car in the snow, and the chance of roll over....

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: kingrob
Here, the undercover vehicles have everyday plates. It just goes to show you people really don't care if they're tailgating a cop or not, and I have seen unmarked cars slow down as little as possible, wait for the guy riding his bumper to pass them, then flip on the blue lights. I used to wonder if people really were that stupid, and yes, they are.


Here, most only have govt license plates. Your a moron if you think I tailgate when I did not say in my post I didn't.

Most idiots on the highway see a crown vic and drive below the speed limit in fear of passing a cop. Pretty obvious, it's not a cop car when you see an elderly guy driving when I pass by.

 

[01rangerxl]

Around here tags, and even the model of the car, are no indication of if it's a cop car. We have stock looking Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Century, Ford Explorer, and even Honda Element undercover cars. There's no way to tell what they are until the lights come on.

I only ever get tailgated by people in luxury cars, you know the guy in the Acura TL, BMW 3-Series, or whatever that always has to show everyone that they are too important to drive with the flow of traffic. Everyone else tends to leave me alone.

When I do get tailgated, I just keep going the same speed if I am in the right lane or on a two lane road. I don't care, if they hit me it is their fault. If I am in a left or middle lane, I move as soon as it's safe to.

I admit that I sometimes get impatient with very slow drivers who are causing traffic problems. If someone wants to go below the speed limit in the right lane, that's fine. It's when they do that stuff in the left lanes, or when packs of slow drivers block a whole road that I get annoyed.

Honestly, I think most drivers regardless of their speed are brain dead behind the wheel. People with the appliance mentality are the worst I have found...they drive with the same level of attention they give to using the washing machine or microwave, if not less.