Some people are just born tailgaiters it seems. A problem for car drivers being tailgated , but when a biker is tailgated, it's even more worrisome, how about downright nerve racking and scarry. So what can you do about it?
The Ohio motorcycle operator manual has this to say:
Speeding up to loose someone following too closely only ends up with someone tailgaiting you at a higher speed. A better way to handle tailgaters is to get them in front of you. When someone is following too closely, change lanes and let them pass. If you can't do this, slow down and open up extra space ahead of you to allow room for both of you and the tailgater to stop. This will also encourage them to pass. If they don't pass, you will have given yourself and the tailgater more time and space to react in case an emergency does develop.
The suggested solution of slowing down doesn't seem to me you to solve the problem of getting the cager from behind you to a position in front of you. So i'd like to share a solution I've cut and pasted from a dynamite biker law blog.
What follows is a solution from the blog of Norman Gregory Fernandez, a real life biker and lawyer from California.
The first thing that every motorcycle rider knows or should know, is that no matter how big, tough, muscle bound, and bad assed you are, grandma driving her 1980 Buick can easily take you out with just a slight press of the gas pedal or a flick of her wrist on the steering wheel. This also goes for the 16 year old school girl on her cell phone. If you do not know this fact, than you should not be riding a motorcycle. The bottom line is that any time there is a situation where a car meets a motorcycle in an accident, the car will always win. This fact should be self evident.
Your goal as a biker and a motorcycle rider is to avoid impacts with cars at all cost, even if your ego is bruised, and even if you have to give way.
If you are being tailgated by a car, the first thing that you should do is to put your turn signal on, switch lanes, and get the hell out of the way as fast as reasonably possible. This is not rocket science, this is common sense. When the car passes, you just let it go. I will talk about this more later.
If you are on a one lane road, I suggest putting on a right turn signal, and then tapping your breaks to get the cars attention. In some cases this will cause the car to back off if they are simply not paying attention while driving. If it is an intentional tailgater behind you, this maneuver hopefully will not piss them off because they will see that you are trying to get off of the road, and they will back off and give you time to pull over to let them pass. You should then try to pull off of the road at a place where is safe to do so and let the car pass. When the car passes, you just let it go. I will talk about this more later.
Remember, I am talking about life threatening tailgating here, and not simply a car that is a safe distance behind you.
The reason why you want to get out of the way, and let a tailgater pass you is obvious; it is to avoid being rear ended if you are forced to stop or slow down suddenly; if you have a mechanical problem which causes you to slow down suddenly; if you have to switch to your reserve tank if you run out of gas on the main tank, etc. There are voluminous reasons that could cause you to have to slow down suddenly, and your job is to not get hit by the tailgater so you can go home and ride another day.
With respect to the legal ramifications of letting a tailgater pass, there are numerous reasons why it is better to let them pass, and let it go. The number one reason is that you do not want to end up in the hospital or lose your life, just to prove a point that you own the lane and have the right of way. Your job is to ride your motorcycle, and to not get jacked up in the process, so that you can live to ride another day!
Car v. Motorcycle injury accident cases are not pretty, and you sure don’t want to be the victim in such a scenario just to prove a point.
With respect to the options of throwing ball bearings, hitting the other car with a gauntlet, or chasing them down and beating them up, come on; you will either go to jail, or get hit by the cager who is now the victim of an assault and battery or attempted murder. Why would you want to do something so stupid? Do you really want to either give up your life, or your freedom, for some idiot cager who was tailgating you? No way! Chasing a tailgater could also result in an accident where an innocent victim is hurt or killed in an accident. Is it worth it? No! In the above scenario, you now become a criminal and not a victim. I am not willing to give up one day in jail for a stupid tailgater.
With respect to flipping the cager off, why would you want to potentially provoke an incident where the cager in a road rage, decides to take you out with their car on a spur of the moment impulse, or even worse, pull a gun and shoot your ass. It happens! Remember; car v. motorcycle = motorcycle loses. Let your ego go, and just enjoy your motorcycle ride.
With respect to the turning your head to get their attention and/or stare them down option; what if there is something in the road ahead of you? Imagine turning your head back around to discover the horrible scenario of stopped traffic in front of you, or an obstacle in the road ahead of you that you cannot avoid. It takes much more room for a motorcycle to stop than a car. We only have two wheels on a motorcycle. Turning your head would be a stupid thing to do. When you turn your head all the way around on a motorcycle you are putting yourself in extreme danger. This is not recommended because there is a significant chance that you will end up becoming an accident victim. You could also provoke a road rage incident with the tailgater. This is all common sense folks.
With respect to the throwing pink confetti option; come on, you could potentially get dinged for a 2 thousand dollar littering fine, or worse, a criminal charge for assault and battery on the tailgater. You could even provoke the tailgater into hitting you in a road rage incident.
Remember, the tailgater is either not paying attention, or intentionally tailgating you, and is in a rush to get to where they are going. In either case, your best move is to get the hell out of the way as fast and safely as possible, and to let the incident go. This way you are safe, and not yourself facing criminal charges for doing something stupid.
If you are riding your motorcycle and you yourself experience road rage, pull off of the side of the road, take a deep breath, and chill out. Road rage and riding your motorcycle are not compatible! You already have enough problems just riding your motorcycle on the road. The last thing you want to do is to have anger cloud your judgment.
If you are really upset and pissed off try saying this prayer to yourself:
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
This prayer works for me everytime!
By Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2007
You can read more of Norm's excellent down to earth writings at
www.bikerlawblog.com
Anthony Castelli motorcycle attorney www.castellilaw.com/motorcycle-accidents.html
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