Get off my bumper!

[Imogene]

So, was driving to pick up Primus last night, going the speed limit on that road (45) middle lane, cause I know it's the easiest lane to stay in all the way to my destination, when I suddenly creep my gaze up toward my rear view mirror and realize I can see only the upper half of a set of headlights peering at me through my back window. Horror runs willy nilly up and down my spine. I'm being tailgated at the speed limit, what if I have to brake suddenly? He'd better have a damned good reaction time, or my poor car (which Primus named Betsy after we had an incident with a flooded road and she survived...) is going to be trunk-less for a while.
I continue to drive the speed limit, because, well, that's really the best Betsy can manage, and pay careful attention to the tailgating asshole. He finally, three blocks later, drifts off into the slow lane, along with the truck behind him... and they get to the upcoming stoplight only a few car lengths ahead of me.

[BrenDAnn]

Tailgating is my absolute pet peeve! I always mutter something like "Get off my @$$!" or "This isn't f***ing NASCAR and you aren't at DAytona, so stop drafting me!" Grrrr....Stupid drivers! And, no, I will not speed up or move for them. Those "Slow Traffic keep right" lanes? I ignore them. I'm not doing these arseholes any favors!

Edited to add: I one time was traveling to work, doing the speed limit, and a semi started tailgating me. Scary enough, a vehicle large enough to effectively squash me in one move riding my bumper. Add to that getting behind a school bus, and having said school bus stop to let off some of its passengers a couple of miles down the road. All I could do was pray that the semi stopped, which, thankfully, it did, but I swear my life flashed before my eyes! This is, by far, my worst episode of a tailgater ever!

[fma_fanatic]

Ugh, I dealt with that yesterday driving back from Wisconsin. People driving up and getting as close as they can when they can SEE I'm trying to pass the car/truck they're passing too.

[blas]

Happens to me constantly.

I start to really freak when I can't even see the headlights anymore....

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I thought Red Green did a song about cars tailgating. How did it go again?

"Tailgating, tailgating, kinda like the cars are maaating...." something like that?

[Camry178]

I tap my brakes. Especially if the car is nicer than mine. That'll teach ya to be up my a$$.

[fma_fanatic]

I did that, several times. All it did was earn me a flashing of lights. There were times I was going upwards of 80mph on 55 and they were still going faster than I was.

[mikoyan29]

If I'm on the freeway, I normally do about 5 to 10 over (not enough to get cops to look up from their doughnuts...I kid.....) and if someone starts riding my ass like that, I usually slow down to the speed limit, especially if there is the nice string of cars ahead of me. I rarely go over the speed limit in the city (maybe 5 over) because the lights are generally set up such that it really doesn't matter. I love it when people tailgate me then, pass me in a way that nearly takes off my front end only to stop at the next light maybe ahead of me or with a car between us....Wow, you're little asshole maneuver saved you a whole....Nothing....Good job.

[Stormraven]

I hate tailgating with a passion. Worse, though, for me, is when they want to be two or three feet from my bumper when we're stopped, if that. It just drives me insane.

[mikoyan29]

My most hated tailgating is when there is a string of cars in front of me and the person is in a truck so they can clearly see over my Neon and they are still tailgating.....Yes asshole.....Just raise your staff up so that the freeway will part for you....No really, I placed all those cars in front of me just to slow you down....I would get over...but you know matter can't occupy the same space at the same time...Well, I realize that you are an EW and think that you are above the laws...but noone is above the laws of physics.....Yes, I get it that you are in a hurry, you don't need to flash your lights at me....Screw you pal...You're going to do the speed limit now...

[ADoyle90815]

I hate tailgating, with one of the worst times that freaked me out a bit was during dense fog at night. Eventually, the asshole went around me and got stuck at the red light, so his behavior saved him nothing.

[Zombi]

I get tailgated a lot on the road I take to and from work. It's a narrow, winding road with a LOT of blind corners, so it's really not safe to be doing more than 30-35mph even on a dry, clear day (the limit is 30mph), but I still get people who seem to think I should be doing 50 up there. I just make sure I'm doing 30, no more, no less. If they're stupid enough to overtake on a blind corner, they'd better pray to their deity of choice that the Hummer that lurks around here isn't coming the other way, because you'd better believe that thing can clean up a freakin' Skoda.

[mattm04]

If I'm on the freeway, I normally do about 5 to 10 over (not enough to get cops to look up from their doughnuts...I kid.....) and if someone starts riding my ass like that, I usually slow down to the speed limit, especially if there is the nice string of cars ahead of me. I rarely go over the speed limit in the city (maybe 5 over) because the lights are generally set up such that it really doesn't matter. I love it when people tailgate me then, pass me in a way that nearly takes off my front end only to stop at the next light maybe ahead of me or with a car between us....Wow, you're little asshole maneuver saved you a whole....Nothing....Good job.

I love when that happens. Some moron tailgates (usually illegally) passes me and I continue on. At the next light, who am I behind and sometimes ahead of depending on what lane, the moron.

[crazylegs]

A paramedic phoned into work the other day, they were on the motorway, travelling at upwards of 100mph to an accident on that road and they had some idiot right on their tail even though they had blues/sirens enough to wake the dead. As you can see it's pretty obvious it's an ambulance...

[PepperElf]

drifts off into the slow lane

This i have to disagree with you on. If you're on a regular road, even through the countryside, the left lane is NOT the passing lane / faster traffic lane.

The left lane is ONLY the passing lane on highways and where the signs say "slower traffic keep right"

Staying in the left lane because you have a left turn coming up is a perfect excuse to be in that lane without speeding.