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Why Do People Tailgate?
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Why Do People Tailgate?
I've got to say that one of my biggest concerns while riding on two wheels is being followed too closely by another vehicle, especially at night. It appears that there are some people who don't grasp the concept of properly sharing the road. Perhaps they are borderline sociopaths. I do find it useful however to try and get a glimpse of a tailgater's license plate number at a stop sign/light just in case something does happen further up the road and they do a hit and run routine. There's a lot of wildlife in my area (coyotes, turkeys, deer, possum, squirrels, rabbits) that can pop out into the road at anytime and if you have someone right on your back and you have to stop or slow down quickly they may not be able to compensate accordingly and thus run you over. Oh. . .and I forgot to mention the added delay for them to react if they are on the phone or texting. I can't believe how often I see people using devices while driving despite all the pleas by the media to stop doing it. I could go on but I just wanted to bring up the subject since the roads seem to be more crowded than ever and stupidity abounds. That being said I continue to use both the turn signal indicators and hand signals when I ride during daylight hours. Although there are some drivers out there who still don't understand (or never learned) what hand signals mean. . .believe it or not. ![helmet :helmet:](./images/smilies/icon_openhelmet.gif)
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Re: Why Do People Tailgate?
Since the RH 50 is at best a 40 mph vehicle if you're riding on roads with a posted speed limit of 40 mph, this could be why motorists are tailgating you.R50Rider wrote:I've got to say that one of my biggest concerns while riding on two wheels is being followed too closely by another vehicle, especially at night. It appears that there are some people who don't grasp the concept of properly sharing the road. Perhaps they are borderline sociopaths. I do find it useful however to try and get a glimpse of a tailgater's license plate number at a stop sign/light just in case something does happen further up the road and they do a hit and run routine. There's a lot of wildlife in my area (coyotes, turkeys, deer, possum, squirrels, rabbits) that can pop out into the road at anytime and if you have someone right on your back and you have to stop or slow down quickly they may not be able to compensate accordingly and thus run you over. Oh. . .and I forgot to mention the added delay for them to react if they are on the phone or texting. I can't believe how often I see people using devices while driving despite all the pleas by the media to stop doing it. I could go on but I just wanted to bring up the subject since the roads seem to be more crowded than ever and stupidity abounds. That being said I continue to use both the turn signal indicators and hand signals when I ride during daylight hours. Although there are some drivers out there who still don't understand (or never learned) what hand signals mean. . .believe it or not.
Bill in Seattle
'15 RH Sport 50 Matte Red
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I see your point. The thing is the roads I'm traveling on have speed limits of 25 to 35 MPH around town and beach areas and I am in no way holding up traffic. . .technically. We get tourists and seasonal travelers coming into our town who add to the mix of drivers as well. Passing zones are far and few in between. So when I'm on my RH I'm definitely meeting the posted speed limit where I use it. That being said when I'm on my 1200cc sport touring bike I still get the same results on a 50 MPH road by some drivers who seem to need to go much faster. Maybe it's me but when I travel on the Interstate Highways now I have a constant line of people passing me when I'm doing the speed limit. I travel the speed limit in case a deer does jump out (or I have to swerve to avoid a carcass) or there may be tire retread, or chunk of muffler pipe, or some item that fell off a truck in the road. It does seem that a lot of drivers now just cruise at close to 80 MPH. . .or so. Just last night someone got killed in my state trying to cross a road with their bicycle. It's not like it was 40 years ago when the roads were much less occupied by traffic than they are now. I firmly believe that leaving an appropriate distance between vehicles is being respectful of other peoples safety. Putting one's own "need for speed" on hold is the key to avoiding further fatalities on the highway. I agree it's fun to go fast but you've got to keep it in perspective and not create a situation where if something unexpected occurs that impedes the flow of traffic then a disaster could occur. I remember seeing a bumper sticker not too long ago that read "The closer you get. . .the slower I go". I thought that was great. . . ![helmet :helmet:](./images/smilies/icon_openhelmet.gif)
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