Tailgated or Followed and Racers

[6102Perf]

I went for a ride this evening. Very uneventful. Noticed a guy in a black AMG behind me taking photos at a stoplight and had a silver bucktoothed G series m3 tailing me very closely for a few blocks. I hate that more than anything when people get right on your bumper. I will usually just slow down gradually in hopes that they'll pass, but it doesn't always work. How do others manage tailgaters?

 

[REKIII]

I went for a ride this evening. Very uneventful. Noticed a guy in a black AMG behind me taking photos at a stoplight and had a silver bucktoothed G series m3 tailing me very closely for a few blocks. I hate that more than anything when people get right on your bumper. I will usually just slow down gradually in hopes that they'll pass, but it doesn't always work. How do others manage tailgaters?

Tailgaters don't bother me in open traffic. I'm aware they are there, and let it alone. If I come to traffic that is or may slow, I become hyper aware of them and slow prematurely (no brake check) to see if they will back off with impending traffic.
I know some people are wildly trigger by someone following too close. Even though I know the dangers, it has never really bothered me.

 

[Luzifer]

I went for a ride this evening. Very uneventful. Noticed a guy in a black AMG behind me taking photos at a stoplight and had a silver bucktoothed G series m3 tailing me very closely for a few blocks. I hate that more than anything when people get right on your bumper. I will usually just slow down gradually in hopes that they'll pass, but it doesn't always work. How do others manage tailgaters?

I get followed around on almost every occasion, most time it's admirers, racer/ricers or at least twice I've been followed by different outlaw bikers to see where I live, probably to come steal the car or hire teens to do that stuff. Unfortunately or fortunately a neighbor and his wife on the next street ride with outlaw club members. I don't have any trouble with them maybe because they are not into stealing cars, or it's bad business for the car dealership.

Anyway here's what I do when I get followed.

- On city streets, when it starts to get annoying I pull into a store's parking lot and they drive right on by.
- When there are no stores around I take a side street they drive on by.
- When someone follows me near my house I take various side streets real slow, sometimes I park randomly and if they stop too they know damn well I see them in my rear view mirror, they either drive on or wait till I move again. I then go back to main roads go back the way I came from, they never pursue after that.

- On the highway behind me or near my blind spot I just let them be, they are admiring the car. Usually after a minute or two they move on.
- On the highway when they accelerate right beside me then keeping pace sometimes times they buck their car wanting to race or maybe they do hand gestures I don't know I completely ignore them. I keep at the speed limit they get bored, usually 20-30 seconds they have enough and they speed off. If you decide to accelerate to lose them in my experience they always pursue. If a cop sees this he can easily say you were racing and your get your car seized and potentially lose your driving liscence for a long time.
- Again on the highway in a specific area I like to keep at the speed limit to enjoy the long sunset stretch, just me and the machine, no drama just peace. No one ever tailgated me then.

 

[6102Perf]

Tailgaters don't bother me in open traffic. I'm aware they are there, and let it alone. If I come to traffic that is or may slow, I become hyper aware of them and slow prematurely (no brake check) to see if they will back off with impending traffic.
I know some people are wildly trigger by someone following too close. Even though I know the dangers, it has never really bothered me.

It bothers me in traffic because it puts my car at risk of being damaged due to someone else's negligence. If I need to slow down or stop suddenly, it leaves little room for error. On an exotic car if you get rear end damage it's going to be a hefty repair bill and once you have a damage record like that on the carfax, there's a lot of diminished value and it becomes much harder to sell.

I don't get bothered if the odd person comes close just to get a better look for a few seconds, but aggressive tailgating is another issue altogether. That BMW was aggressively matching my pace and riding right up on my rear bumper. I had vehicles in front of me so I just slowed right down but he kept following at low speed for a few blocks. Taking off from every stoplight he was right on me accelerating as quick as the space behind me would allow trying to make as much exhaust noise as he could. Thankfully these experiences are fairly rare for me.

These BMW guys seem to be the worst for this stuff! I've owned a few myself and still have one so I can't say anything, but for whatever reason, the BMW demographic seems to attract these cocky types. Mercedes a close second and Infiniti G35 coupe gets an honorable mention. That's actually a fun discussion for a new thread...

 

[6102Perf]

I get followed around on almost every occasion, most time it's admirers, racer/ricers or at least twice I've been followed by different outlaw bikers to see where I live, probably to come steal the car or hire teens to do that stuff. Unfortunately or fortunately a neighbor and his wife on the next street ride with outlaw club members. I don't have any trouble with them maybe because they are not into stealing cars, or it's bad business for the car dealership.

Anyway here's what I do when I get followed.

- On city streets, when it starts to get annoying I pull into a store's parking lot and they drive right on by.
- When there are no stores around I take a side street they drive on by.
- When someone follows me near my house I take various side streets real slow, sometimes I park randomly and if they stop too they know damn well I see them in my rear view mirror, they either drive on or wait till I move again. I then go back to main roads go back the way I came from, they never pursue after that.

- On the highway behind me or near my blind spot I just let them be, they are admiring the car. Usually after a minute or two they move on.
- On the highway when they accelerate right beside me then keeping pace sometimes times they buck their car wanting to race or maybe they do hand gestures I don't know I completely ignore them. I keep at the speed limit they get bored, usually 20-30 seconds they have enough and they speed off. If you decide to accelerate to lose them in my experience they always pursue. If a cop sees this he can easily say you were racing and your get your car seized and potentially lose your driving liscence for a long time.
- Again on the highway in a specific area I like to keep at the speed limit to enjoy the long sunset stretch, just me and the machine, no drama just peace. No one ever tailgated me then.



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Good tips here. I'm always hyper aware when I'm coming home to make sure nobody is following me. Once I hit my neighborhood, car also goes into strada mode and I drive slowly to make as little noise as possible. Luckily I live in a pretty good neighborhood so nobody really notices or bothers me. There's a Ferrari F8 a few houses down from me and I've seen a McLaren 570s drive past a few times but I'm not sure where he lives. There's also a C8 corvette just down the street from me that is always parked on the driveway and never seems to move. Driveway queen I guess?!

 

[Luzifer]

It bothers me in traffic because it puts my car at risk of being damaged due to someone else's negligence. If I need to slow down or stop suddenly, it leaves little room for error. On an exotic car if you get rear end damage it's going to be a hefty repair bill and once you have a damage record like that on the carfax, there's a lot of diminished value and it becomes much harder to sell.

I don't get bothered if the odd person comes close just to get a better look for a few seconds, but aggressive tailgating is another issue altogether. That BMW was aggressively matching my pace and riding right up on my rear bumper. I had vehicles in front of me so I just slowed right down but he kept following at low speed for a few blocks. Taking off from every stoplight he was right on me accelerating as quick as the space behind me would allow trying to make as much exhaust noise as he could. Thankfully these experiences are fairly rare for me.

These BMW guys seem to be the worst for this stuff! I've owned a few myself and still have one so I can't say anything, but for whatever reason, the BMW demographic seems to attract these cocky types. Mercedes a close second and Infiniti G35 coupe gets an honorable mention. That's actually a fun discussion for a new thread...

I would take the first side street or parking lot. Just be aware not to be cornered in case they are thieves or car jackers.

I've had a-holes from another country act up crazily. Like you say BMW drivers are worst. Anyway I wrote about this before but not sure which forum, an SUV was acting crazy and speeding downtown trying to prove something to me, he gassed it hard while turning the corner hitting the curb violently, the front wheel lifted in the air and crashed back down. I hope it damaged his vehicle to knock some sense in place.

 

[6102Perf]

I would take the first side street or parking lot. Just be aware not to be cornered in case they are thieves or car jackers.

I've had a-holes from another country act up crazily. Like you say BMW drivers are worst. Anyway I wrote about this before but not sure which forum, an SUV was acting crazy and speeding downtown trying to prove something to me, he gassed it hard while turning the corner hitting the curb violently, the front wheel lifted in the air and crashed back down. I hope it damaged his vehicle to knock some sense in place.

Yeah, the people who drive like they have something to prove or try to race/show you up are the worst. Think that's worthy of its own thread? Most despised drivers based on vehicle make/model...there's definitely some driver stereotypes based on vehicle type. BMW is probably the worst, but I can think of quite a few others.

And diminished value aside, the idea of my car getting damaged and needing a repair bothers my OCD and makes me extra wary of tailgaters. Even if it's minor, I'm the type who wouldn't be able to live with a car that has any repairs/repainted panels (yes, I take a paint meter to the panels anytime buying a used car haha). I'd find myself always looking for subtle differences in the paint. And if my HP got damaged, I couldn't just go replace it tomorrow as I searched a long time to find my particular spec and haven't seen the same one come up twice. So I'm more sensitive about it with this car.

 

[Luzifer]

A dedicated thread on BMW's trolls?

I'll retitle the thread to include racers.

Other than that BMWs I had many teslas trying to prove they are faster. In my C7 a few years ago a plaid at a red light wanted to show he was faster... The same guy a year later did the same thing. Woohoo a drab zombie looking car, what's the allure anyway?

A random Tesla the other day did tried to show his car was faster on departure. The devil on my shoulder took over the steering wheel.

Best course of action to tailgaters I guess is to toss them a grenade? I think you guys have permits for that.

 

[6102Perf]

A dedicated thread on BMW's trolls?

I'll retitle the thread to include racers.

Other than that BMWs I had many teslas trying to prove they are faster. In my C7 a few years ago a plaid at a red light wanted to show he was faster... The same guy a year later did the same thing. Woohoo a drab zombie looking car, what's the allure anyway?

A random Tesla the other day did tried to show his car was faster on departure. The devil on my shoulder took over the steering wheel.

Best course of action to tailgaters I guess is to toss them a grenade? I think you guys have permits for that.

Not a thread on BMW specific idiots, just most despised drivers by vehicle make might yield some interesting stories!

 

[Luzifer]

Sure if you want to start a thread go ahead.

 

[Sakura]

I change to slow lane and let the tailgaters pass. If they follow me, I do nothing. They are all recorded nicely on my dash cam.

These tailgaters can do whatever they want. But if they hit my car or even scratch it a little, I'll make sure to empty their bank accounts and assets.

Tailgaters, you read this? It's not worth it.