Are you a better than average driver?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by recluse

Driving tailgaters crazy is a hobby of mine.
You want to ride my bumper, that's fine.
I want to go 10 miles an hour. That's fair, right?
I had one jerk get so mad, he tried to pass me on the shoulder.
He was so busy screaming at me, he never saw the guardrail.

ooohhh! I always try that, but it never works for me! But often I find that simply removing your foot from the gas (no braking, simply brake on the engine) works perfectly, as they don't get a visual clue and suddenly are only cm's away from the car in front... That often scares them enough to keep a distance

[beppe]

seriously. when this happens to me, I realize that I am arrived at my destination, even if it is in the middle of nowhere on a mountain road, under pouring rain. I carefully and prudently stop the car and let them go toward their luminous destiny

[beppe]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

ooohhh! I always try that, but it never works for me! But often I find that simply removing your foot from the gas (no braking, simply brake on the engine) works perfectly, as they don't get a visual clue and suddenly are only cm's away from the car in front... That often scares them enough to keep a distance

I might be very wrong, better, I am practically sure that I am almost totally wrong. But in any case, I got the impression that when you remember to release the hand break, you might need something more direct than the engine break. Unless you belong to that school of thought that believes that shifting gears is a male chauvinists trick to sneakily caress a nearby knee.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by beppe

I might be very wrong, better, I am practically sure that I am almost totally wrong. But in any case, I got the impression that when you remember to release the hand break, you might need something more direct than the engine break. Unless you belong to that school of thought that believes that shifting gears is a male chauvinists trick to sneakily caress a nearby knee.

Who is talking about the hand break? You can break by pushing that paddle next to the gas and that third one, you can break by simply releasing the gas paddle and you can break by using the handbreak (but I'm not sure if you'll be able to keep the car on the road then...)

The advantage of releasing the gas paddle is that you don't show you're slowing down, so the car behind you can't react to it by pushing his break to the limit, but he'll crawl towards your rear faster than he probably likes...

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Ea

Flattery can take you far

As far as a bar of luxurious dark chocolate ?

Originally Posted by beppe

next in my preference list are those that travel just a foot or two (half a meter if you like metric) in my back.
This is so generous. It protects me from being bumped by some incompetent driver, it occupies less of the road, which is generally a very good thing, and last but not least, it feels so cozy.

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

ooohhh! I always try that, but it never works for me! But often I find that simply removing your foot from the gas (no braking, simply brake on the engine) works perfectly, as they don't get a visual clue and suddenly are only cm's away from the car in front... That often scares them enough to keep a distance

I am so terribly sorry Sir, am I driving too close to you (says the one in front!)

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Who is talking about the hand break? You can break by pushing that paddle next to the gas and that third one, you can break by simply releasing the gas paddle and you can break by using the handbreak (but I'm not sure if you'll be able to keep the car on the road then...)

No, I agree. Let's just hope that beppe has remembered to release the hand brake before actually going anywhere...

[Ea]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

Once upon a time I lived where -30 and -40 (-34.44 to -40.00 celsius) was not uncommon.

I parked indoors at work. But when I drove home I had to plug in a radiator and engine block heater.

The point is, Beppe, Ea may drive on a flat tire in the morning as it takes a while for the "flat" area, where the tire sat on the ground, to warm up and become round again.

The first few times it happened I got out of the car and checked the tires.

I think we will have to go back to the last ice age for those kind of temperatures in Denmark Besides, I keep my bicycle indoors at night so that should keep the tyres well rounded

[Ea]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

As far as a bar of luxurious dark chocolate ?

Why, do you want one?

[TGS]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

ooohhh! I always try that, but it never works for me! But often I find that simply removing your foot from the gas (no braking, simply brake on the engine) works perfectly, as they don't get a visual clue and suddenly are only cm's away from the car in front... That often scares them enough to keep a distance

The other thing that's quite fun is to put your foot on the brake pedal very lightly - just enough so that the brake light comes on - and at the same time put your foot on the gas pedal so that your tailgater thinks you are slowing down but you in fact accelerating. Alternate this with braking on the engine and they get very confused.

Anther thing that works to get people from up your backside is to get your passenger to pretend to take a picture of the the tailgater with their mobile phone.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by TGS

Anther thing that works to get people from up your backside is to get your passenger to pretend to take a picture of the the tailgater with their mobile phone.

Must remember that!

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by TGS

Anther thing that works to get people from up your backside is to get your passenger to pretend to take a picture of the the tailgater with their mobile phone.

[astra]

Originally Posted by TGS

Anther thing that works to get people from up your backside is to get your passenger to pretend to take a picture of the the tailgater with their mobile phone.

Cool!

[beppe]

Risky, very dangerous in certain parts of Mexico and Southern Italy.

[Sweetpea]

I tried the braking thing this morning... Didn't work. He did fall back a bit, but then, just as quickly, he crawled up my tail again!

[beppe]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I tried the braking thing this morning... Didn't work. He did fall back a bit, but then, just as quickly, he crawled up my tail again!

very good. An experimental approach is highly appreciated. karma on your way