Tailgating

+1. Easy and 100% effective.

too many angry people out there armed with 4 wheel bike killing machines...
too many clueless people not paying attention....

personally I don't think pissing them off (if they are the angry variety) would be in my best interest, so no pennies for me thanks.

letting them by is as many have said, easy & effective.

Pocket full of small rocks. Don't toss them over your shoulder.

Posted speed limit doesn't matter to the one behind you. You're still too slow.

I said "pull over", not "slow down" or "brake check" or "turn around" or "be an asshat in some other way".

Great, really great, you're sooooo grown up... You get what you give.

I agree lots of angry people out there. I figure it's never a good idea to get in a road rage incident while on a bike. I found that slowing down or brake checks seldom seem to work. In fact they normally piss people off and they get closer. What does seem to work is just a friendly back off kind of gesture. Just take my left hand and make kind of a pushing back motion. If the person just wasn't paying attention it normally wakes them up and they back off. If they are jerks it doesn't work. Then I just take some action to not be in front of them anymore.

Our society is completely fucked up. And, disappointingly, you are still not allowed to just shoot people like that even if it would be doing a great service to others.

I try a few different things.

if possible, get another car in between you and them.

Turn your head and give the a good look and maybe a back off wave (friendly style)

Stand up ( I've had great results with this one)

And finally just get out the way and let them go.

gastone says " I braked checked a tailgater only to have him pull up beside me and swerve into me and make contact with my bars...twice. Now I'm inclined to let them go by."

Some of the idiots who tailgate have no understanding of the danger and the life threatening risk they create. I don't mess with any of them when I'm riding. Either pull over and let them pass or leave them behind in the dust. Just get clear.

And for the record, drivers in the US are far more respectful then in my Canada. Tailgating is the normal way of driving for many here; I've rarely been followed too closely in the US. Our highway #401 between Montreal and Toronto is to be avoided on a motorcycle.

road rage is not the answer for tailgaters, your a moron

Personal attacks are the refuge of those who cannot argue effectively!

Jim

PS They belong firmly in CSM!

nothing personal, ANYONE that responds to poor driving of others with road rage is a moron

If you find yourself getting pissed off when you ride YOU are doing it wrong.

Ride faster or get out of the way.

When you point to a specific person and call him a moron, it is personal.

Read the rules.

Jim

If you really do this you are a fucking idiot and worse than the tailgater. Not only could it escalate the situation and get you killed it is also considered to be a felony assault in almost every state.

There is no win in retaliation to stupidity.

Causing road rage (even if they started it) is a good way to get killed on a bike.

The best ideas I have heard on threads like this one are"

1. Stand up. Nobody really knows why it works, but all that have tried it says it does the job. Makes you seem crazy and unpredictable maybe? It might also get you a ticket for "stunting", however, so don't do it around police.

2. Slowly raise your left arm, and wave them by, while pulling to the right. It makes the tailgater feel like an ass, but doesn't bring on road rage. This is good, because it has a longer lasting impression, and might make them back off for a day or two.

This works especially well if you wear chaps (assless of course) and go "commando":eek1

Don't do as some may do

Funny you should mention that, because I was about to add 2 rounds of .45 should get their attention, I need rear facing sidewinders!

doing 70+ in heavy traffic, about 2 seconds off the car in front of me (a little closer than I personally like- but close enough to prevent some idiot cager from pulling in between) and had a Ford Expedition, driven by a female who kept checking her damn phone, riding about three feet off my rear fender. I could not move right- because of heavy traffic- and no moving left, as I-35 south of Waco has been under construction since 1975 I think. I tried hand signals, but no reprieve from the ass-riding. I got lucky, and my thrift store cup holder (yeah- I had one... ) decided to commit suicide (the rivet that held the "cup" part on snapped) and it bounced off the road. I could hear her left front tire run over it. I could also hear that she REALLY needed to add power steering fluid, at the distance she was following lol. A few seconds later she slows suddenly and pulls to the right shoulder. Yay Karma.

As for the "road rage" accusations- When someone is acting in an unsafe manner, and you have no recourse, would that not constitute self preservation at that point? It is not like we deliberately go out to impede the flow of traffic by only speeding by 10 over the limit- and there are people who will follow you to the slow lane, Hoping to "shove" you through traffic. Should these idiots be allowed to play with people's lives like this? I have personally never done the penny/ ball bearing thing, but do carry washers (cheaper... and besides, I am out of cupholder) just in case. I have seen people use a Mag-Lite at night to get someone to back off (turned on and pointed back... not thrown, although that would also be effective). That ended with the driver chasing us off the interstate and into a gas station. The guy was pissed, but after buying him a cup of coffee, he calmed down and understood our point of view. There are some people who refuse to learn anything until they do it the hard way, or at the expense of someone else. It is for these people- I am buying another cupholder.:eek1