To be clear, I don’t ever break check, as that’s dangerous as fuck - I’ll just drop a mph every few seconds until they fuck off. Idk if I’d call that rage… my safety is compromised by them riding that close to me, so finding ways to get them off is a defensive move. I also don’t want to be the one to change lanes, since collisions tend to happen during transitions, so that’d just be switching from one unsafe situation to another. If I tactically annoy the other driver until they move, then it ends the risk to me without increasing the odds of hitting someone or something else… and since they’re already putting my safety at risk, I don’t really give a damn about theirs.
As for the debris situation, yeah I got nothing - that was rage, lol. But damn did it feel good! Thankfully there’s not enough shit on the road to make that a go-to option, but I’ll definitely scope the road out ahead juuust to be sure before starting the slow-down thing. Cuz, and I can’t overstate this: fuck tailgaters.
Unless you live in a country with gun control. Then you can be slightly more passive aggressive as long as you’re not creating an unsafe driving scenario.
Even with some gun control, you never know if the asshole is a cop on break. Fuckers love to carry and threaten others with weapons and will shoot to prove their point (at least in Brazil)
Luckily not all cops in other countries start working after a 2 week course. In Finland, for example, it’s a 3 year school, comparable to a bachelor’s degree.
Isn’t brake checking just pressing on your brakes slightly to turn on your braking lights but not engage braking? So you’re not actually braking. I did it several times when someone’s tailgating really close and it’s pretty funny to see them immediately slow down. Usually after a couple of times of doing it they got the memo and increased their distance.
Okay I don’t get the not switching lanes part, maybe I don’t drive enough. Why are people tailgating when there are multiple lanes, unless you’re in the leftmost lane for too long?
Not switching lanes thing - this goes back to the driver’s ed course I took like 50,000 years ago, but the gist was auto collisions pretty much never happen when everyone is just cruising and staying in their lane; collisions happen during transitions like lane changes, merges, accelerating/decelerating etc. So, best practice in multilane highway situations is to get established wherever you’re comfortable among the ‘pack’ of cars cruising around you, and then maintain that position relative to the other vehicles. So when douchebag decides to ride my ass, me changing lanes to get out of his way compromises my own safety. Tailgaters tend not to be very patient, so responding to their behavior by instead decelerating (slowly), they usually don’t make it more than a few mph before they give up and go around.
Why are people tailgating when there are multiple lanes, unless you’re in the leftmost lane for too long?
Power move is my guess. I personally live in the cousin-fuckingly deep US south, and I drive a tiny car. 90% of the time someone wants to tailgate me, it’s some lifted monster truck… I think rednecks are actually offended by little cars. The other 10% are fancy sports cars. In either case, it’s the kind of vehicle that screams insecurity, so trying to impose themselves on other drives fits the M.O.
I tend to cruise in the middle lane - that way I don’t need to worry about people merging on the right, nor pay much attention to traffic behind me to ensure I’m not impeding the left. So, it’s usually in the middle lane that I have issues with tailgaters. If I’m cruising in the left lane, it’s usually because EVERY lane is jacked up, but in that situation I’m not getting ‘out of the way’ of the people behind me cuz I’m stuck in traffic right with em. People still tailgate in that situation and it’s like… bro I get it, I wanna go faster too, fuck off.
To be clear, I don’t ever break check, as that’s dangerous as fuck - I’ll just drop a mph every few seconds until they fuck off. Idk if I’d call that rage… my safety is compromised by them riding that close to me, so finding ways to get them off is a defensive move. I also don’t want to be the one to change lanes, since collisions tend to happen during transitions, so that’d just be switching from one unsafe situation to another. If I tactically annoy the other driver until they move, then it ends the risk to me without increasing the odds of hitting someone or something else… and since they’re already putting my safety at risk, I don’t really give a damn about theirs.
As for the debris situation, yeah I got nothing - that was rage, lol. But damn did it feel good! Thankfully there’s not enough shit on the road to make that a go-to option, but I’ll definitely scope the road out ahead juuust to be sure before starting the slow-down thing. Cuz, and I can’t overstate this: fuck tailgaters.
I’ve had another driver brandish a gun at me for doing that. Be safe out there! Making a point isn’t worth your life.
People be crazy.
Unless you live in a country with gun control. Then you can be slightly more passive aggressive as long as you’re not creating an unsafe driving scenario.
Even with some gun control, you never know if the asshole is a cop on break. Fuckers love to carry and threaten others with weapons and will shoot to prove their point (at least in Brazil)
Luckily not all cops in other countries start working after a 2 week course. In Finland, for example, it’s a 3 year school, comparable to a bachelor’s degree.
Very different story in countries like Germany tho
I too employ the artful tactics of passive aggressive driving. It works. Hopefully it works well enough that people learn long term.
Isn’t brake checking just pressing on your brakes slightly to turn on your braking lights but not engage braking? So you’re not actually braking. I did it several times when someone’s tailgating really close and it’s pretty funny to see them immediately slow down. Usually after a couple of times of doing it they got the memo and increased their distance.
A “brake check” in the context of road rage isn’t checking your own brake lights, it’s checking the brakes of the person following you.
You slam on your brakes, forcing them to slam on their brakes even harder, scaring and angering the trailing car.
Hmm, looking at the Wikipedia article seems like both of our definitions are correct.
Okay I don’t get the not switching lanes part, maybe I don’t drive enough. Why are people tailgating when there are multiple lanes, unless you’re in the leftmost lane for too long?
Not switching lanes thing - this goes back to the driver’s ed course I took like 50,000 years ago, but the gist was auto collisions pretty much never happen when everyone is just cruising and staying in their lane; collisions happen during transitions like lane changes, merges, accelerating/decelerating etc. So, best practice in multilane highway situations is to get established wherever you’re comfortable among the ‘pack’ of cars cruising around you, and then maintain that position relative to the other vehicles. So when douchebag decides to ride my ass, me changing lanes to get out of his way compromises my own safety. Tailgaters tend not to be very patient, so responding to their behavior by instead decelerating (slowly), they usually don’t make it more than a few mph before they give up and go around.
Power move is my guess. I personally live in the cousin-fuckingly deep US south, and I drive a tiny car. 90% of the time someone wants to tailgate me, it’s some lifted monster truck… I think rednecks are actually offended by little cars. The other 10% are fancy sports cars. In either case, it’s the kind of vehicle that screams insecurity, so trying to impose themselves on other drives fits the M.O.
I tend to cruise in the middle lane - that way I don’t need to worry about people merging on the right, nor pay much attention to traffic behind me to ensure I’m not impeding the left. So, it’s usually in the middle lane that I have issues with tailgaters. If I’m cruising in the left lane, it’s usually because EVERY lane is jacked up, but in that situation I’m not getting ‘out of the way’ of the people behind me cuz I’m stuck in traffic right with em. People still tailgate in that situation and it’s like… bro I get it, I wanna go faster too, fuck off.
Tldr, people are assholes.