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From: rab@cdcvax.UUCP (Roger Bielefeld)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Another way to deal with tailgaters.
Message-ID: <148@cdcvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Jan-84 11:32:18 EST
Article-I.D.: cdcvax.148
Posted: Tue Jan 17 11:32:18 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Jan-84 01:37:26 EST
References: <492@ihuxn.UUCP>
Organization: CWRU Computer Science, Cleveland
Lines: 35

I've been tailgated under all kinds of circumstances: in the
right-hand lane with no other traffic on the road (I generally
slow down gradually until the idiot finally decides to pass),
in the left-hand lane when I'm doing 65 to pass cars in the right
lane going 55 or 60 and the jerk behind me wants to go 85 (my
greatest concern in this situation is that the jerk will pull in
front of the cars I'm passing as soon as he sees daylight just
as I'm attempting to safely move into the right lane), and, of
course, on a crowded highway where everyone is traveling at or
near the speed limit and allowing about 5 feet between cars.

I don't thing that most of these people really know what they're
doing.  They're part of the "me too, and right now" generation.
They certainly aren't even letting the possibility of something
unusual happening on the road invade their little minds.  So
they're unnecessarily gambling with their lives (and with mine)
each time they get on the road.

I'm afraid that I don't think there's really anything that we
can do about this problem.  The tricks involving brake lights
and so forth *may* teach a soon-to-be-forgotten lesson to one
driver on the road, but the problem is much greater than that.
My experience is that the police tend to use tailgating as an
offense to be used against a driver when nothing else will stick,
so I don't see them helping us at all.

I know this is not the type of question to be asked in net.flame,
but does anybody have any ideas as to what can really be done
to help solve this serious problem?

-- 

			Roger Bielefeld
			decvax!cwruecmp!rab
			rab.Case@Rand-Relay