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So, you mean to tell me that all of those 25-40 year old women driving Beemers about 6 feet from the rear bumper of the car in front of them are not safe drivers? Who knew?
Seriously, however, I couldn't agree more with what you stated.
And, also seriously, over the past 3-4 years or so, I have observed that (in my area) the vast majority of drivers who tailgate are younger women in luxury sedans and luxury SUVs. If a man drove this way, he would probably get his lights punched out at the next stoplight, but--because they are women, these miserable, unsafe drivers are given a pass by most folks.
I have pointed out my observations to a few friends, and while they were initially skeptical, after a few days they have all agreed that about 85-90% of the drivers who tailgate EXTREMELY closely are younger women.
My theory is that most of them are in the business world, and are "driven" for success, which makes them try to do everything in a very aggressive manner. That, coupled with ZERO mechanical ability and very little savvy about safe driving, causes them to drive dangerously close to the car in front of them.
And, this situation exists in an area that is quite literally infested with deer. Clearly, these dames have never considered what happens when the car in front of them slams on the brakes in reaction to a deer in the roadway.
One of my female friends consistently tailgates other vehicles so closely that I can no longer ride in her CR-V with her. I have tried suggesting that she "back off" a few car lengths, and she vehemently insists that she is NOT tailgating. So--when we go anywhere, it is just so much easier to take my car than it is to ride with her.
Incidentally, I have not had an accident since 1971, while her vehicle looks like a losing entry in a demolition derby. I am just waiting for her to--inevitably-- total her vehicle, in order to see if this changes her driving style.
Probably not.
I had a 20yo gal *AGGRESSIVELY* tailgate my Z06 with her ****-box on a 30mph street near my house. I was going 34ish and the road is a notorious speed trap. Ditto for several other young gals in my area....and again...driving my Z06in a situation where I cannot reasonably go faster. One damn near climbed in my trunk on a highway with 3-4 cars visibly in front of me...my car is maybe 4 feet tall at the roof so that's just rude. I've had guys do stuff too but for aggressively tailgating (the stuff that gets you shot or teeth knocked in)....its young gals 90% of the time around here.
Got passed and nearly side-swiped a few weeks ago by another gal driving a crap-box up around 85mph in a 55mph construction zone with barriers...no shoulder. Swerving like crazy...then I noticed she was doing this on a donut spare.
Hmm, I am typically tailgated by men. Rarely women.
It seems like when I do something crazy, like leave 2-3 car lengths, some loser always goes in between.
I suspect it's a regional thing and also tied to what times of the day you might drive and so forth.
In my examples I'm not talking about the normal packed in driving but rather highly aggressive tailgating of the variety designed to intimidate. In 10+ years here I can remember 4-5 guys doing this and a few dozen gals. One of them STILL WORKS AT THE COMPANY I WORK AT and I spoke a few words to him in the parking lot that day arriving about 15 seconds behind him lol. He looked like he was gonna poo his pants since he knew he'd been a complete dbag and could have made work life suck for him but never said anything to his boss or anyone else.
Truth be told, the guys almost all tailgated me while driving my toyota corolla. The gals have been tailgating my Z06....which REALLY ticks me off because it stops 60-0 in about 110ft. which means they will total my ass if the traffic stops abruptly.
I had a 20yo gal *AGGRESSIVELY* tailgate my Z06 with her ****-box on a 30mph street near my house. I was going 34ish and the road is a notorious speed trap. Ditto for several other young gals in my area....and again...driving my Z06in a situation where I cannot reasonably go faster. One damn near climbed in my trunk on a highway with 3-4 cars visibly in front of me...my car is maybe 4 feet tall at the roof so that's just rude. I've had guys do stuff too but for aggressively tailgating (the stuff that gets you shot or teeth knocked in)....its young gals 90% of the time around here.
Got passed and nearly side-swiped a few weeks ago by another gal driving a crap-box up around 85mph in a 55mph construction zone with barriers...no shoulder. Swerving like crazy...then I noticed she was doing this on a donut spare.
I noticed people sometimes like to drive aggresively around me (I have an 01 torch red C5Z) when I'm just driving around not speeding or anything. I mean people in minivans and SUVs I guess something about a sports car can set some people off.
However my dailer driver is a Ford Crown Vic (an ex-CHP cruiser) and people tend to drive a lot more nicely around that
I suspect it's a regional thing and also tied to what times of the day you might drive and so forth.
In my examples I'm not talking about the normal packed in driving but rather highly aggressive tailgating of the variety designed to intimidate. In 10+ years here I can remember 4-5 guys doing this and a few dozen gals. One of them STILL WORKS AT THE COMPANY I WORK AT and I spoke a few words to him in the parking lot that day arriving about 15 seconds behind him lol. He looked like he was gonna poo his pants since he knew he'd been a complete dbag and could have made work life suck for him but never said anything to his boss or anyone else.
I was thinking about agressive tailgating, mostly men for me.
Hmm, I am typically tailgated by men. Rarely women.
It seems like when I do something crazy, like leave 2-3 car lengths, some loser always goes in between.
Generally speaking, I try to follow the 2 second rule.. leave at least "2 seconds" of space ahead of me regardless of how tightly packed everyone else is traveling. If I'm in an area on the highway I know will likely slow down ahead, I may leave more than 2 seconds.
If there's less than 2 seconds of travel distance to the car ahead, I'll drive a little slower than the flow of traffic but not slower than 5mph slower than the flow of traffic.
I've found, especially when I'm in the middle lanes, if I leave a large gap ahead of me but still drive at the speed of traffic, a lot of people will try to merge into that spot only to merge to another lane a minute or two later. See the video I posted at the beginning of the thread if you want to know what I'm talking about (and no, I'm not the guy in that video.)
Occasionally, I'd have some douche behind tailgating aggressively and then try to pass only to then attempt to squeeze into the spot ahead of me. In THAT case, I'd purposely speed up to not let you in.. what's the point of passing just 1 car unless there's a wide open spot ahead?
I had a 20yo gal *AGGRESSIVELY* tailgate my Z06 with her ****-box on a 30mph street near my house. I was going 34ish and the road is a notorious speed trap. Ditto for several other young gals in my area....and again...driving my Z06in a situation where I cannot reasonably go faster. One damn near climbed in my trunk on a highway with 3-4 cars visibly in front of me...my car is maybe 4 feet tall at the roof so that's just rude. I've had guys do stuff too but for aggressively tailgating (the stuff that gets you shot or teeth knocked in)....its young gals 90% of the time around here.
Got passed and nearly side-swiped a few weeks ago by another gal driving a crap-box up around 85mph in a 55mph construction zone with barriers...no shoulder. Swerving like crazy...then I noticed she was doing this on a donut spare.
I was driving to work yesterday, this VW Jetta crosses 3 lanes and almost runs right into the side of my car, I hit the horn and sped up to make a spot for her. She had no clue, the side windows and mirror was completely covered in frost so she was switching lanes completely blind.
1 mile up the road she passes me and yes, was texting as well. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of bad male drivers, but man every single day I see a young woman texting on her phone and doing stupid things behind the wheel.
The basic issue here is the Road Hog. Most of the problems encountered in driving result from a driver who thinks he is competing with other drivers, to get somewhere sooner, and the other drivers are obliged to stay out of his way and make room for him. Whether the road hog is in the merge lane, or in the traffic lane, things will not go well with his aggressive selfishness.
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I've had guys do stuff too but for aggressively tailgating (the stuff that gets you shot or teeth knocked in)....its young gals 90% of the time around here.
