How to deal with a Tailgater

Closer you get, slower I go. If you're in that much of a rush, you can overtake me.

I am legitimately the 1 in a thousand of the people who actually drive the correct distance from the car they're following. And I drive a BMW. Must make me one in a million! I Just don't understand why people drive so close to the car in front of them; all it does is limit your view of the road and mean that if anything does happen, you're a lot less likely to be able to get out of it.

I had a tailgater driving behind me earlier this week, I got him back when I catch him running a red light with my dash cam and submitting the footage to the police. The next day I got a call from the police station telling me that the driver has been charged.

Who tailgates a learner car lol. What's the thinking process behind that...

I always just wash my windscreen a lot.

I had a tailgater one night when I was driving home on the country lanes. Each village I passed through has a 30 mph speed limit, which I observed, to the noticeable frustration of my tailgater! At one village, but took his chance and overtook me at high speed. Immediately some blue lights appeared from behind, and pulled him over! It was a great feeling, I'm not going to lie!

I always stay way back from learner drivers (and keep a good distance in general), nothing worse than a tailgater

Been driving ten years however i've watched several of your situational videos just to remind myself as drivers we never stop learning. Keep up the great work!

My attitude has always been, if you want to push me to go faster then I will only push you to go slower. Don't push me and I wont push you.

I passed my driving test months ago, yet I still can’t stop watching these videos!

Tailgating is bullying, especially behind a learner, I mean the learner could be your daughter, son - everyone has to learn

Tailgating is a daily occurrence. Often many times a day. It really does ruin any fun in driving. I can't imagine how it must feel to be an elderly driver nowadays, they must be petrified at times.

Excellent videos Ashley. As a retired ADI, I would add, for Tail gaters I would stress that when slowing down to reduce risk, the driver does so very gradually and definitely not use the dangerous 'brake checking' illegal practice.

Cheers for the video Ashley, I got tailgated on a national speed limit road with ice on it on my first driving test and I panicked and failed. I'm passed now but I still think about that guy whenever someone tailgates me, they grind my gears a lot and this advice had helped me try to get over that hump. 👍

I’ve been in the situation of being tailgated doing about 25+ in a very quiet 30 area, no other traffic, I won’t say I pulled in as such just slowed so much and moved a little to the left that I ended up stationery next to the kerb, and the tailgater stationery behind me! They even got out of their car to remonstrate with me, demanding why I stopped.

As a motorcyclist I get very concerned about tailgaters as they often put me in a lot of danger without them realising. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable pulling over (as I've had a couple of people needlessly road rage over me filtering and I wouldn't want to end up in a confrontation if that's the reason they're tailgating) but I may consider taking a detour. Great video and helpful as always!

I get people so close behind me that I can’t see their number plate in my rear view mirror

I had a guy tailgate me the other day and he was so close I could not even see his registration plate and I was doing 5 over the speed limit. I don't understand these idiots. Getting so close is pointless, all it does is stress them out! I also don't understand why people park inches behind you at a red light. If I break down, that means extra reversing and steering for them. I think these people are just abusers and are probably assholes to everyone else in their life. I also don't understand why they just don't overtake? I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a dual carriageway and some loser just wants to sit behind you when the right lane is free.

I drive my wife to work, I can pretty much guarantee getting at least one tailgater every time. It does seem to be getting worse, or I notice it more!

I dealt with one differently (a BMW driver). I pulled to a slow stop, forcing them to stop at the correct side of an island with nowhere to go. Then I popped my boot latch, got out of my car, opened the boot fully, and invited them to climb in. Suffice to say, they kept a respectable distance after that. To be clear, there was no other traffic behind them, and so I didn't hold anyone up, except the tailgater.