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Tailgating is dangerous, and could cause an injury accident or worse. Getting out of one's vehicle to express distaste for tailgating is also dangerous, and could cause an injury or worse.
I must say that getting out of one's vehicle to express anger with tailgating is more dangerous than tailgating. If anyone finds themselves getting this angry, they should not be driving a vehicle. If they feel like their actions help the situation, they are wrong.
There are lots of tailgaters here, especially those driving trucks and suv's. There doesn't always seem to be a respect for the left lane as passing lane, and I frequently see evidence of lack of respect, lack of knowledge, poor attitudes, and emotions on the roadways.
For the first time in a long time, two days ago some guy was tailgating me bad on the beltline for a longer time than was acceptable to me. I was going 6 miles over the speed limit in the right lane.
I opened the window and waved as if to tell him to pass me. He backed off. If he's thinking there's a crazy person in the car, that's fine as long as he stops tailgating.
Of course you have to worry about someone an inch from your tail when you're in a large tin can hurtling 65 miles per hour down the road. I am aware of everything around me. Tailgating affects the way you would drive -- it would certainly prevent you from braking quickly for whatever reason.
To the OP--I'm a NC expat living in Philly right now and every time I go home to NC and drive I get nervous. (I don't keep a car in the city because I just don't need it and can't justify the expense.) My permanent home is about an hour outside Raleigh and it's bad even there too. I-40 from the east side of Raleigh to even past Mebane is more white-knuckle to me than the I-76 Schuykill (aka Sure-Kill) Expressway for some reason.
One of the things I do when someone gets too close to me is I'll put on my emergency blinkers. Usually takes care of the problem without causing too much of a mess--the drivers behind me, in my experience, have either sped up and passed me and scrammed or just backed off. Learned this from a tractor-trailer a friend was too close to one time--he put on his blinkers and my friend left more distance.
I grew up in Mississippi where people drive slooooooooowly! We moved to Northern VA and lived there for 9 years before moving here last year. People in NoVA/DC are AWFUL drivers!! The here and there jerk I encounter on the roads in NC doesn't bother me much because it isn't the norm. Now, if people here would use their turn signals, that would be awesome!
I've driven in so many states from FL to Calif. and I can say that there are good drivers and bad drivers EVERYWHERE, much like there are positive people and negative people EVERYWHERE.
I don't speed because usually I have my kids or my clients in the car with me and I take their safety VERY SERIOUSLY. So, I'm typically in the right lane, driving the speed limit or very close to it. I have to pay attention to where I'm going.
If you are paying that much attention to what is BEHIND you, then I wonder about those around you! And, if you feel that you are being tailgated, I wonder how high your blood pressure must be and again, how does that effect those around you? Checking your rear view mirror every 5 seconds is taking your attention away from where you are going.
Perhaps those of you that feel so agitated when you are driving should take a deep breath and concentrate on your driving and don't worry so much about someone behind you. IF there is someone "an inch" from your bumper, slowing down will cause that driver to go around you.
I know this because hubby complains about people tailgating him all the time!
Deep breath...why would you allow a stranger to upset you so???
And for those of you looking for a job, and not finding one on City Data...I can tell you that Lowes Foods is looking for managers!!! Now, put on your happy face, change your attitude and go fill out an application!!! Sorry, DOM...I HAD TO!
The only time I really see bad driving behavior is when some car is in the left lane, and it starts holding up faster traffic. Then you see tailgating, swerving, etc. As long as traffic isn't compressed, people drive much better. The OP never mentioned where in the road she was driving.
Of course, some people just follow too closely - its a bad driving habit. As well, with metro traffic, cars get packed in tighter - any open space is usually filled with merging traffic when you get that many cars - its part of how driving dynamics change as traffic increases. Speeds drop, following distances drop with them.
If someone is tailgating, the proper thing to do is slow down gradually so the following distance becomes safe. Wave the tailgater past if you can, and let them continue on their way. Too many people get upset and do dumb things like slam on their brakes or even worse, get out of their cars in the middle of the road. There was a story posted here a few months back of a driver that was killed when he got out of his car to yell at a tailgater - the tailgater panicked and drove over him to get away.
If someone is tailgating me, especially at night, I simply pull off and let them pass. The aggravation of them right behind me, and the potential cause for harm if I were to have to suddenly stop, is worth the 5 seconds I lose by pulling over.
Checking your rear view mirror every 5 seconds is taking your attention away from where you are going.
Technically you should be checking your rear view mirror every 5 seconds or so - as well as looking ahead and checking both your side mirrors - that is good situational awareness and is good driving behavior because you are keeping yourself abreast of conditions all around you. Your eyes shouldn't rest on any one spot for more than a second unless you need to assess something - next time you get in the car, pay attention to whether or not you're staring at stuff or looking all around you.
Too many people "zone out" and stare ahead down the road, or even worse, down the hood of the car, and become situationally unaware of what is going on around them. Don't get me started on attention-robbing activities such as talking, eating, reading, or worse! These people don't see cars behind them, or next to them, or the red light up ahead, and end up reacting poorly to a surprise situation. Fact is, when you are moving two-three tons of metal down the road at speed, you should be aware of everything around you.
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