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Posted: 10/27/2006 8:58:54 AM EDT
[#1]
I do it all the time. If they hit me they were following too close. Their fault, not mine. I saw a bunny in the road and didn't want to hit it.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 8:59:14 AM EDT
[#2]
Good way to cause a wreck that is your fault (if not your responsibility).
shooter p.s. a bright flashlight works at night. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 8:59:33 AM EDT
[#3]
Tailgating is generally a very stupid thing to do. So are brake checks. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 8:59:49 AM EDT
[#4]
I haven't since I had kids and carry them in my vehicle. 16 years now. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 8:59:51 AM EDT
[#5]
Lots of bunnies around here, can't be too careful.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:02:05 AM EDT
[#6]
My leg had a Muscle Spasm... |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:02:21 AM EDT
[#7]
I just slow down to 10 or 15 miles an hour, most of the time they get the hint. I had a dumbass in a semi riding my ass on the interstate in a constuction zone, the limit was 40 and he would not back off. So for the next 20 miles we went 25.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:03:56 AM EDT
[#8]
nope. remember the thread about the lady that was arrested for murder when she did that and the girl behind her ran off the road, flipped her car and died?
never hit the brakes. instead, do what i do. i drive fairly fast when i have someone behind me. i know how much it sucks to be behind a slow driver, so i typically go ~ 5 miles over the limit. sometimes more. ...but for some reason, people still get on my ass. for example, the worst i had was a van from an AC company get within a foot of my bumper when i was already going 75 in a 65. i didn't hit my brakes... instead, i downshifted and let off the gas. i gradually dropped from 75 down to 55 down to 35. keep in mind that this is a single lane country road and it is very difficult to find a spot to pass someone. we went along at 35 mph for a few miles until he finally got the idea and backed off. once he was a good 100 feet behind me, i sped back up to the speed limit. if i had my phone on me, i would've called the number on the van and reported him. i've done this quite a few times. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:05:05 AM EDT
[#9]
I was one doing 10 over on a curvy road with wide dirt shoulders. Some guy in a BMW Z3 with his girlfriend or something was tailgating me (he had the top down). I decided to take all the curves a little wide and sent a bunch of dust and dirt his way. He backed off pretty quick.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:05:16 AM EDT
[#10]
laser pointers work too. but hell yeah I brake check. I say the hell with them if they want to ride my ass they can face the consequences. Though I only do this if it is just me in the car, if I have others then I just keep slowing down.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:05:41 AM EDT
[#11]
My fiancée drives like a bat out of hell most of the time. I always get on her about it. My brother takes it to the other extreme.... I was driving with him riding shotgun. I was probably 3 car lengths behind the car in front and he yells at me "Are you trying to piss that guy off?"  I don't brake check, but I will slow down if someone follows too closely. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:06:28 AM EDT
[#12]
You really want to see the person shit themselves drop a manual tranmission from fourth to second. No brake lights but you slow down fast. Additionally, you can then punch the gas to get out if trouble if dumbass can't slow down fast enough.
Yes, it was stupid, and I wouldn't do anything like that now, but I was young and dumb. SBG |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:07:04 AM EDT
[#13]
Damn, beat me too it.
I don't brake, I downshift. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:07:40 AM EDT
[#14]
It's a bad idea, but I've seen tons of tailgaters who just couldn't take a hint. I've had some in a double lane stay on my tail even when the other lane is empty and I'm coasting. For the heck of it on an empty road (one lane), I decided to see how bad this guy wanted to tailgate. I sped up from 40 to 65. He tailgated me the entire time.
I think they're just lonely.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:07:48 AM EDT
[#15]
 10,000,000 candlepower. Kept in my backseat. Just turn it around over your shoulder and fire away. It'll light up the interior of my car pretty good, but will absolutely blind and keep people off my ass. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:08:15 AM EDT
[#16]
I have felt like doing a brake check but have never done it. I usually try to pick the pace up a bit and if that doesn't work I go the jerk route and slow way down. I give people in major traffic at least a car and a half but some people think that's enough room for them to squeeze into. I hate when people do that.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:09:05 AM EDT
[#17]
I understand the temptation but I think it's a really good way to cause an accident and actually get someone (perhaps yourself) hurt. All kinds of other problems can happen such as if you dont have collision insurance and the driver is one of those uninsured illegal aliens. Then you're fooked. Good luch getting them back in court. Or if the person swerves to avoid you and hits an innocent third party driver in the oncoming lane or a pedestrian. Legally it may still be their fault, but morally you would be at fault.
Sometimes if my headlights arent already on I just turn them on. Tailgaters will often mistake the taillights for brake lights and slow down. And yes, tailgaters suck. ETA: Sometimes I use my squirts too. That usually gets the message across. -K |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:09:43 AM EDT
[#18]
I do something similar. If I am in 5th on the freeway, I will just check my speed and if I am within the limits of my transmission, I will just drop it into 3rd and dump the clutch. Just as they are about to slam into me, I go full throttle. That usually gives em the hint |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:10:35 AM EDT
[#19]
Deliberately trying to incite an accident is very foolish.
Mid twenties...hmmmm...wonder if she was pregnant and her water had broke? Perhaps there was another emergency like an injured kid in the back seat? Odds are she was just a bad driver, but meeting her bad driving with bad driving on your part isn't too smart. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:13:07 AM EDT
[#20]
I have brake checked once, and it was ended well. Every other time I have just let it ride. However, I have also nearly been involved in an accident from somebody else brake checking somebody three cars ahead of me. Don't brakecheck somebody in heavy traffic.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:16:58 AM EDT
[#21]
I just do it to flash the brake lights... Typically don't have much of a problem after that.
I did have idiots try to draft me TWICE - years apart - while driving on the Ohio Turnpike... Idiots. 
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:19:32 AM EDT
[#22]
State Troopers do know what a "brake check" is. If the tailgater hits you, they might not be the only ones getting a ticket. If you do it, make sure it's somewhere you can say you were turning off.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:20:36 AM EDT
[#23]
Who cares? They are behind you.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:23:05 AM EDT
[#24]
need a button that will activate brake lights without having to use the breaks
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:23:47 AM EDT
[#25]
LOL, I thought this was going to be something about knocking people off the tailgate at a "Tailgate" party.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:23:49 AM EDT
[#26]
My old boss you to do that same trick, he would flick the lights on and off as if he was braking |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:24:42 AM EDT
[#27]
*sarcasm* Wouldn't it be funny if there was a child in the front seat of the car and becuase of the break check caused a bad wreck and killed the mother or child? Wouldn't that be absolutely hillarious! I bet anyone could sleep that off quick. *sarcasm*
Seriously though , a friend of mine did it and he didn't realize that the tailgater was pulling a trailer with several ATVs in it......almost killed a family of 4. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:27:53 AM EDT
[#28]
Yep, it's immature, dangerous, and can get your ass in plenty of hot water. Bye-bye right to own firearms. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:29:41 AM EDT
[#29]
Keep in mind, this is Northern VA... so the standards here are quite aggressive.
If I am the lead car in the pack and already exceeding the speed limit by 40% (i.e. 77 in a 55) which is typical around here, I will lane change if a lane is available. If I am under 140%, I will increase to 145%. If no lane is available or if I am not the lead car, I will tap the break light (without slowing). If the driver persists of tailgating, I will tap break light again but this time slow just a little and then gun it (to avoid being hit). If it still persists, I then call the VA state police, report tag as aggressive driver, and pick up the makerov from under my seat and continue driving. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:30:19 AM EDT
[#30]
As ashamed of it as I am now, I frequently did so when I was younger and less mature...
 ... before I realized that, as much as I hate being tailgated and as much as it might increase the risk of an accident, it does not in any way rise to the level of purposely endangering someone's life (mine or another's) over. (And that, IMHO, is exactly what brake-checking does. YMMV, as always.) |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:30:52 AM EDT
[#31]
I've brake checked a few assholes in my time. Sometimes it pisses them off, sometimes they get the picture...
Years ago, I had a car with a sunroof... I was being tailgated and did something a bit unconventional... I hocked a big ass load up out of the sunroof. SPLAT! right on the guys windshield. He slowed down after that. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:31:44 AM EDT
[#32]
Is it just me.....or does it seem like 9 times out of 10......it's a women tailgating? Why is that?
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:34:07 AM EDT
[#33]
Comment?
Attempted murder, or at least vehicular assault. If you were in the right hand lane or it was a two lane road I would let you off with a couple years in prison for a first offense. If you were blocking the left hand lane then you were committing the crime of impeding the flow of traffic. Then I would recommend life in the general population of a maximum security prison. (You like rear end collisions, enjoy that rear ending.) Seriously… You tried to cause a wreck because you didn’t like the way someone was driving. That wreck could have killed someone. And you ain’t a traffic cop. You probably don’t have any actual training in how to operate a motor vehicle except maybe for perhaps a worthless semester in high school. I guess you think that health class you took back them makes you a medical doctor too. And the woman obviously was an excellent driver, or she wasn’t really tailgating you either way. You skidded to a stop and she still didn’t hit you? Either she was paying close attention (With drug free fast reflexes.) or she really wasn’t all that close to begin with. And what do you care how close she drives to you anyway? Afraid she might tap you a little if traffic slows up? So, you prevent it by trying to make her crash into you? Rear end collisions are usually not caused by tailgating. They are cause by people not paying attention. When someone’s a few feet from your bumper they know they have to watch for your brake lights and look at the road ahead to anticipate you having to brake. But when someone’s leaving several car lengths they aren’t as attentive, these are the people that cause wrecks. Oh, I guess that the “two second rule” might be enough to stop anyone but the most inattentive driver from hitting you. Unfortunately that rule doesn’t work on anything but lightly traveled roads. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:34:11 AM EDT
[#34]
As for the 'morally responsible' if something adverse happens if the tailgater loses control of their vehicle..
IT'S THEIR FAULT. PERIOD. THEY SHOULD KNOW NOT TO FOLLOW CLOSELY. THEY SHOULD KNOW IT'S ILLEGAL TO TAILGATE. THEY SHOULD SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS. TAILGATING IS STUPID AND ILLEGAL FOR A REASON. *appended* The above applies only when the tailgated is NOT doing something stupid, like impeding the flow of traffic, etc. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:35:40 AM EDT
[#35]
  Right! Let us know how that works out as a defense in court for you. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:36:15 AM EDT
[#36]
Back when I was a young and stupid teenager, the following happened...
I was driving over to a friend's house with another friend as passenger. It was at night and a tailgater came up on me. I was driving the speed limit and he was pissing me off. I didn't do a full fledged break check as you guys call it, just lightly tapped the brakes once or twice so the brake lights would flash. Well, he didn't get the hint and stayed on my ass. I turned to my buddy and said watch this. I put on my blinker and started to pull over to the side of the road. He took his cue and made the pass. Then the fun began. I should probably mention I was driving a heavily modified Firebird which I had built the engine for. Holley, aftermarket cam, Edlebrock, dual exhaust...you get the picture. Well, as soon as he passed with his POS Dodge Daytona I was on him like stink on a monkey. Turned on the high beams and stayed a few feet off his bumper for about 4 or 5 miles. This was out in the country, so there weren't many people on the road. We hit well over 100 but he couldn't break away from me. We hit an intersection where he turned and I did as well since it was on the way to my friend's house. Shortly thereafter, he turned onto another road and I just kept going. Looking back, he had stopped. No need for physical violence that night, he got the point. Now, in hind site, this was a very foolish thing to do. Now, I just pull over into the right hand side lane and let them pass. If I'm lucky, I see the highway patrol with them pulled over a few miles down the road. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:37:32 AM EDT
[#37]
Statute of limitations have expired, so it is safe for me to talk now.
My wife brake checked an asshole. He was tailgating her, flashing his hi-beams, swerving around her. He felt as though she cut him off, but it was an accident. She was following me, so I got to see it all happen and feel pretty helpless. (it all happened in less than 30 seconds) We were on an interstate doing about 70mph. She was in a Honda Civic. He was in an SUV. She hit the brakes for half a second, then punched the gas. I taught her how to do that. Scare the bejesus out of the tailgater, but it doesn't put you at risk because you are out of the way before a collision could happen. The guy thought he was going to eat her bumper, and swerved, overcorrected, and rolled his vehicle onto it's roof as he slid into the ditch. She wanted to stop, but by then we were talking to each other on our cell phones. I told her it was well worth any criminal prosecution to stay the hell away from the asshole, so we drove on to work. We never heard any more about it. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:38:55 AM EDT
[#38]
I'm seeing alot of aggression from all sorts of people. I drive the speed limit. Don't like it, petition "The Man"... theres no reason to ride my ass, or worse, start the road rage shit. You won't be the one paying my speeding ticket and insurance hikes for the next two years. A big Fuck You to people who press on those who abide by the law. They are not enjoying it either... they just happen to be smarter than you. This is one area I really wish there was a great deal more enforcement, and alot harsher penalties. If you can't drive, and do so respectfully, you should be taken off the road. I would say brake checks are a bad idea. They can cause fatal accidents, like 3 cars back. They can get you shot, too. I just slow right the fuck down. Driving in a 40mph and you press my ass? Now we're driving 15mph. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:40:20 AM EDT
[#39]
So when you shoot an intruder in your house, it's not his fault, is it? Same logic applies. My actions would have been a direct result of the other persons ILLEGAL actions. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:41:45 AM EDT
[#40]
Hell ya. Especially if I'm doing "xx" over the speedlimit and they still on my ass.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:46:10 AM EDT
[#41]
I slow down and let'em figure it out,,,,been flipped off,ranted at so many times I don't care and thats motoring in the slow lane too,I'm waiting for the day some shitbird has a case of attitude
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:46:34 AM EDT
[#42]
I've had several people in the last month pull into my lane without looking on the interstate. The only way I avoided them was braking and swerving onto the shoulder.
It leaves me wondering if you can safely perform a pit maneuver at 70 mph. FWIW, I think people that cause an accident and use the excuse "I didn't see him coming" should be shot. Pull your head out of your ass. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:46:48 AM EDT
[#43]
Like I said, try it out. See you in 3-5. Calling your thought process logic is being way too generous. You really think you are justified employing something likely to cause great bodily harm because someone is tailgating you? I hope you don't have a carry permit, you're not mature enough for one. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:46:50 AM EDT
[#44]
Are you guys serious? What is the matter with you?
Help me because I'm trying to understand, but I am stupified by the logic (or lack thereof). You don't want to be in an accident because someone is following too close so you slam on your brakes. Tell me I've got it wrong, please.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:47:19 AM EDT
[#45]
Brake Checking is illegal, and is considered a form of reckless driving. Also, most if not all states also mandate that you may NOT use hard braking or evasive maneuvering to avoid small animals.
That Swoop & Swat scam that people would pull on truckers is brake checking. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:48:38 AM EDT
[#46]
No, for several reasons. The first being my brother was hit in the rear by a rental car and it took months to resolve the situation due to bickering between the rental companies insurer and the drivers insurer as to who should pay. In the meantime he had a totaled car and no replacement. Second reason it could escalate a situation that does not need to be. I generally tend to avoid roadrage drivers because it is not worth it to me to get into a fight or an armed conflict over something as stupid as tailgaiting.
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:49:33 AM EDT
[#47]
WAIT A MINUTE!! Yeah, brake checking that guy was not a good idea, BUT AND GODDAMN IT ARE WE FORGETTING THIS...... What if the car in front HAD A REAL EMERGENCY and had to slam on their brakes and Captain DumbFuck with the Family of Four DID have an accident trying to avoid and KILLED HIS WHOLE FAMILY. He should NOT have been tailgating. Tailgating is the cause of traffic jams, accidents and road rage. If people just backed the fuck off these three things would happen less. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:52:27 AM EDT
[#48]
I flick the lights on and off a couple times. If that doesn't work, I slow down and they pass. Life goes on.
 Brake checking is stupid and the harder you do it, the more unwise it becomes. |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:53:08 AM EDT
[#49]
Alright, understand this - someone tailgating me IS ENDANGERING ME. If I HAVE to maneuver to avoid something, say another vehicle, an obstacle in the road, etc, a tailgater IS ENDANGERING ME and themselves. They are GREATLY increasing the chances of a collision, AND INJURY OR DEATH. Did you not think about that? If not, please do. When an asshole in a HUGE truck with a brush gaurd is on my ass at 80mph, and I have no where to go, how would that NOT be ENDANGERING me and THREATENING me? (as an aside, I remember driver's ed. I remember them TEACHING you to tap your brakes when someone tailgates you. Yeah, it doesn't say 'slam on your fucking brakes as hard as you can to make the other person lose control of their vehicle'. But then, you assume I'm 1. advocating such a drastic manuever 2. actually doing it myself to tailgaters. You know about assumption. It makes an ass out of you and umption.) |
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Posted: 10/27/2006 9:53:50 AM EDT
[#50]
You carry a flow chart and a calculator in your car with you to get you all that? |
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