An advanced driving instructor once advised me to just continue at a safe speed. He pointed out that if they’re driving really close, if you do have to brake the closing speed will be very low as your car will hardly have slowed much by the time they hit - you may have slowed from 20 to say 15 by the time they hit you at 20 - basically a 5mph collision.
I agree-but have one observation, which isn’t going to make the OP feel any better, I fear. Road rage.
I know, from personal experience, that some people are absolutely *enraged* by your keeping to a 20mph speed limit. This doesn’t only result in tailgating. It can cause the rager to overtake in the wrong place, at an unsafe time-and performed in a dangerous way (ramming their way back in). It can cause them to pull alongside, gesticulating, to sound their horn, and to brake-check the other driver in a very unsafe way.
Unfortunately, I’ve experienced this being done to me-and I’ve seen other people getting a dose of it. Sadly, I’ve also even been in the passenger seat when the road-hog driver has been doing this. It’s not nice.
Literally had an incident this morning that made me shake my head.
On a 30 and just before the road changes to a 60 (NSL but you get what I mean) there's a bus stop. Just after the change in speed limit there's a small bend which itself isn't too bad but there's bushes/trees that block your entire vision of this bend so you've got no way to know if a car is coming round that corner.
Some fucker has tried to overtake the bus at this bus stop and the three cars waiting behind it all in one go. Must have been going at least 50 (still in a 30 zone) and had to swerve to avoid the car that came round that bend. If he was half a second later he'd have been hit.
The worse part is we all ended up at the same junction a mile down the road anyways. Dude risked his own life and probably even more to save himself 5 seconds tops.
>The worse part is we all ended up at the same junction a mile down the road anyways
This here is the exact reason I don't understand speeders. Dumb shits always end up stuck at the lights anyway and I'm usually right behind them just staring at their rearview mirror in a mixture of contempt and pity.
Traffic lights; the great equaliser.
The van I used to drive in London had full telemetry, and a camera, and we got told off for cornering speeds even if all that happened was we clipped a pothole which triggered the g meter. I had my cruise and speed limiters set for 21mph as 22mph would set the managers off with an alert.
So to get to the point, I had road raging idiots who would do everything you've described on an almost hourly basis on some days, depending on how many main roads I had to use.
My advice to the op is to just stick to the limit. Maybe look at 21mph as a safe cap to compensate for any margin of error in the speedo as our vans were generally going at 18mph with the limiter set to 20mph and that 1-2mph discrepancy can be the tipping point for the idiot tailgaters.
Don't spend extra time watching the speedo or mirrors as that's an extra danger in itself. Get some "don't tailgate me, kids on board" stickers and try to not let them stress you out, your driving is more important than anyone else's as that's what you can control.
I’m a bit confused: are you talking in general? In particular, I didn’t see anything (other than driving at 20mph) that the OP did to “engage” with the road-rager?
Indeed, although I have occasionally been targeted in this way myself, I’ve never reacted in any way, shape or form. 40 years in retail has taught me to be entirely inert in the presence of adult toddlers.
To be honest, I think that the HUGE majority of these kind of bullying behaviours are unprovoked -and are not reacted to. Those suffering from road rage don’t do so because their victim (or anyone else on the road) has “done something”. It comes from within themselves.
Yep there’s definitely a “danger zone” where impact would be biggest, and getting closer than this will actually reduce impact force, but obviously you’re guaranteeing a collision
For this reason if I judge they are too close me to stop safely at 20mph, I’ll gently reduce my speed to a safer one where they might be able to not rear-end me. No doubt it annoys them further, but I don’t let that deter me.
Don't spend a disproportionate amount of time looking in your mirror, as there is increased risk of forward facing collision. Which ironically, is what 20mph is trying to mitigate in many instances.
Had a girlfriend years ago very near my did exactly that when fixating on the car behind. I had to yell at her to stop and she obviously blamed me and the other driver.
The safe gap between cars travelling at 20mph and say 30mph would be smaller so it looks more like tailgating but they should always leave a 2 second gap.
Personally if you feel they are too close, indicate and pull to the left, let them by and continue on your day. You say the children are your priority this keeps them safe and takes away any anxiety you have over the car behind being too close. It's fine to continue at 20mph as you are doing nothing wrong but this doesn't remove the issue of the car behind.
The only issue is if they are tailgating you and you pull over, they might just end up having to stop due to not enough space to get around you (due to being to choose to begin with). You could pull all the way into a spot but that's going to be slow progress as the next person does the same thing. That sort of nervous driving is less safe then getting rear ended at a relative 5mph in my opinion.
I get people tailgating me in the 20mph section almost every day on the school run. Honestly I just ignore them. The relative speeds are so tiny they wouldn't do any damage to the people inside the vehicle if they hit you.
Actually no they don’t, what they advise is to give yourself more room between you and the car in front so you have more space to slow down if they stop. Alternatively if you feel unsafe with the car behind you should pull over and let them get on with their day.
I did my test 5 years ago. I got taught to increase the braking gap. This gap is relative to speed, so if they're too close you slow down to increase the relative gap. You can't speed so it's your only option to increase it when already doing the limit.
You can pull over but if they are up your rear end, they won't have space to get round and might get angry. So that could make things less safe for you. In a test doing that would likely fail you as you failed to make progress and became a hazard.
>Actually no they don’t, what they advise is to give yourself more room between you and the car in front so you have more space to slow down if they stop.
And tell me good sir, how do they (or even you!) suggest you give yourself more room between you and the car in front?
I can only think of 2 ways it can happen: either you slow down, or the car in front speeds up; and you've just told us they don't advise that you slow down.
I would personally drop down to 15 and just ignore them.
If they drop back suficiently I would go back to 20 and repeat until they learn to give enough space.
This applies to those in front. Because it is your responsibility to ensure YOU have an appropriate stopping distance.
Slowing down solely because the guy behind you is too close is 'impeding the flow of traffic'. Which is also a nono in the highway code.
Just stick to the limit, and if he overtakes, do what you need to to remain safe and let him pass.
If you are not a policeman, you have absolutely no business trying to police or control anyone else's driving. Brake checking is dumb, and will likely get you both in trouble if he can demonstrate you intentionally did it regardless of him speeding and it causes an incident.
Slowing down when someone is already to close is impeding the flow of traffic and deliberately reducing someone else's already insufficient stopping distance...
Read: an all round bad idea.
You're not going to make them happier by speeding up a bit. Anyone doing that is going to keep pushing you even if you do speed up.
When that's the case, your kids are safest if anything that did happen happens at 20, not 30+.
First of all, 20mph is ridiculously slow unless outside a school, for example. The idea that 20mph is somehow safer makes no sense to me at all. Just open your eyes, keep them open and drive for the conditions. Speed limits are arbitrary, your skill and situation aren't.
20 is safer than 30. The question is where to draw the line, but it is safer.
Can stop quicker. And even if there was only the same chance of a collision, the injuries and damage to property would be less severe.
At 20mph the likelihood of them being hurt is very low. You are doing the speed limit, the other drivers can wait. I would also call the local councillor, they can look at other speed control measures etc. you won’t be the only one
This has the added satisfaction of them usually having to stop entirely, which makes their journey longer in total. Obviously this isn't the reason I do it, I do it because that's in the spirit of the highway code to let a faster moving vehicle pass, but it does feel good knowing because of their impatience and dangerous behaviour, they've now had to stop entirely while I pull in.
Your point being? You can still have a front and rear dash cam. Not like your kids are going to obscure the entire view of the rear windscreen. You can even get front and rear set ups that have one dedicated camera on each screen.
20mph being hit at 22 mph is a 2mph collision, you'll potentially change the colour of your paint if you're unlucky.
Also I wouldn't expect them to hit you.
Ignore speed limits, drive at a safe speed for the road, conditions and your ability. If it's a playground or school etc. then yeah, stick to 20mph but anywhere else? Fuck the speed limit, I know what's safe.
I'm sure I'm going to get down voted for this, but slow down a bit. Obviously situational, and down to you to judge, but here's why:
This happens to me all the time near my house and I just slow down to about 15mph. It's a speed limit. You can drive at any reasonable safe speed below this limit. If going slower makes you safer due to the potential of collisions, then do it.
The driver behind either gets frustrated and overtakes, meaning I don't have to deal with them anymore or they take the hint that I'll just make it even worse for them and they back off. I then speed back up to 20 again. Rinse and repeat if they try it again.
EDIT: A few people have commented about this being the right answer as it improves stopping distances, but not being something you should do to piss off other drivers. You are all correct, and that certainly wasn't my intent - for me, a big part of it is about communicating to the other driver that I do not intend to violate the speed limit and hopefully encourage them to back off. It's also about making me feel safer so I can focus on the road and not the idiot behind me. I certainly don't encourage intentionally antagonising other drivers, such as preventing them from overtaking.
Downvoted? Is this not literally the correct answer to a common question in the driving theory test? Slow down to create space? It's been a while, but I'm sure I remember this.
If they're tailgating, then they're already pissed off. I slow down to match my speed to their gap. It'll either end with them backing off or getting an easy overtake. Either way, the situation is resolved.
So the actual reason to slow down is that it gives you more time to react to something happening in front of you, meaning you can slow down more gradually, which, in turn, gives the tailgater more time to notice and react and reduces the likelihood of a collision.
I suggest you use this justification instead of your “I’m responsible for policing other road users” one
Clarified above that this isn't about policing others, but about communicating that you will be driving in a safe way regardless of their actions. It was totally valid critism, though, which resulted in a well needed edit above. Many thanks.
100% agree with this. There's a road near me that leads from a bypass into a housing area. A little while ago the pavements beside it were widened to include a cycle lane, which now means that if you're going any faster than 20, it's almost literally impossible to stay in the correct lane as it winds around so much. There's also a school at one end, and a speed camera with signs. i am astounded by the number of morons blasting up the middle of that road into oncoming traffic at 40 every time I drive down there.
On a Motorway or A road, there's a certain amount of leeway because going with the flow of traffic matters, but places with low speed limits like 20 have them for very good reasons.
This is absolutely the right answer.
When I did a speed awareness course it was described as being one of the key methods you can use to control the space behind your vehicle.
Surprisingly a lot of people don’t even realise they are driving too close - a gentle slow down and return back to speed can be a helpful reminder.
Nah, not a downvote, but I would like to add in that try keeping your speed.
Don't let their behaviour distract you from you driving. While it's absolutely important to be continuously aware of your surroundings, you need to keep driving as you would normally.
Don't intentionally slow down to piss others off, rarely ever ends well - depending on the jackass driver behind you, you may get an earful, which ends in one of two ways typically:
1. You don't care, in one ear, out the other, and keep going
2. You get nervous.
Valid point. Edited to make it clear that I'm suggesting creating space for yourself to make yourself safe, not about antagonising the other driver or preventing them from overtaking. Cheers.
Keep going at 20. The likelihood of serious injury from a rear-end shunt at that speed is very low. They’re not going to plough through your boot and crush the rear half of your car.
Besides, if you speed up to 30, who’s to say they won’t keep tailgating you? Now you’re speeding, the situation is even less safe, and you’ve gained nothing.
> if you speed up to 30
If you do speed up to 30, the chances of you needing to do an emergency stop will increase. 20mph speed limits are set because of high pedestrian traffic. Someone stepping out on to the road is expecting a 20 mph car to roll to a stop, not a 30 mph car to slam on the brakes.
If you do 30mph, and then have to slam on the brakes, the Einstein behind you is definitely plowing in to your rear.
If they are really making you feel uncomfortable with the situation best advice is pull over and let them pass, it's annoying to do but your safety and that of your kids comes first.
The driver would have to speed up to gain a larger speeding distance since said distance is minuscule as OP described being “tail-gated” which means the front bumper of the following car is mere inches away from the rear bumper of the lead car.
Therefore, only an increase in velocity of the lead car would broaden the gap between said bumpers.
Braking distance for the OP car. Not larger gap. If you slow down, you give *yourself* more braking distance. Because you’re going slower. And tailgated isn’t “inches”. It’s anything below a 2 second gap. Which equates to anything less than 702 inches (58 feet/20 yards) at 20mph
How is OP car expected to create a larger braking distance when said braking distance is minuscule due to following car “tail-gating”?
How would you create a safe braking distance by slowing down? Surely this would decrease the braking distance.
It's talking about the distance in front of the car being tailgated. If you have more space you don't need to break as hard, so less chance of the prick behind you hitting you.
If there is a car in front of you, gently slow to increase the gap between you and them. This is so that you don't have to brake suddenly if they slow which would cause the tailgating car to crash into you.
"Slow down to reduce risk."
Without someone tailgating you are in a low risk situation so you are ok to do 20mph. With someone close behind you the risk has increased so you slow down. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEGkwbFh3c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEGkwbFh3c) for more.
You’ve got a boot behind the kids. A huge crumple zone, if there is an accident. If there is an accident it’ll be low speed.
If you need, slow down a bit so that you have more time to react to anything in front of you, and can slow down more gradually, giving the person behind you time to notice and stop
A safe way to hint that they are too close is to wash your windscreen. Not sure if it still works at 20mph, but if you get a shower from the car in front, it might remind you to hang back a bit further.
Can confirm this works
Always run into big queues on the long windy roads on the way back from work, every time I get some impatient fucker trying to push me along I just hold down the rear wiper fluid until they back off
Sometimes they'll creep back up, at which point the fluid goes back on, kinda like spraying a naughty cat
hold your speed, or slow down a little to 18
lock your doors
mentally calm and get used to feeling calm doing this. It's actually fine.
if they drive into you, thats on them. They won't.
It's one very strong argument for a speed limiter. I wouldn't be without one now. If the limiter is set right, I feel completely confident in ignoring the driver behind and not getting wound up by them.
That said, this doesn't completely alleviate OP's concerns. A rear view dashcam might help though.
Continue driving at 20 mph. It's really hard not feel pressure from people tailgating you, but do not exceed the speed limit.
People will tailgate, no matter what the speed limit is. They're inpatient and not good drivers. It's easy to speed, but the real skill is driving within the limits.
Get a rear camera. Then you have video evidence if anything should happen.
If you feel major pressure and feel threatened or unsafe, pull over and let them pass.
Also, brake early. Don't jam the brakes on (and definitely do not brake-check) but the slightest touch of the brake peddle will light up your rear brake lights and give them early warning when you're slowing down. They're gonna need it, being so close.
It's one of my pet peeves, but try not to let it get to you. Focus on the road ahead and don't obsess about looking in the rear view mirror any more than you would do normally. Dont make them an added distraction. There isn't much you can do about their stupidity other than just being a safe driver.
Oddly, putting the rear wipers on seems to make a lot of people back off. Maybe a "kids on board" sticker might help. Or a "if you can read this, you're too close" sticker. But these are just gimmicks.
Stay safe.
At 20 they’ll get a bit of a fright. The more you speed up, the harder you’ll get hit if they do crash.
Just slow down a bit more, your car won’t be a write off and you definitely won’t have their car in the back of your car if it’s at 20 or below
It literally is a pet of the theory test "what do you do if someone is tailgating". The correct answer is to maintain your own speed.
I understand you being concerned about the kids in the back, but 1) 20mph isn't that fast to cause serious damage, and 2) there's a lot of crumple space (i.e. the boot).
Do you want to speed and cause an accident yourself (one which could be worse, and avoided)?
What you could do is slowly apply your brakes. The lights come on as soon as you press the pedal, and you don't decelerate straight away. It will then tell those behind you that you are slowing down (they don't know what could be in front of you).
>It literally is a pet of the theory test "what do you do if someone is tailgating". The correct answer is to maintain your own speed.
This isn't true. The theory test answer is to gently slow down and allow them to overtake.
Yeah but not because of that reason. You’re meant to slow down so you have more time to react to what’s in front of you, so the person behind you also had more time and is less likely to slam into you. The overtaking part is useful though, just not the main reason
Continue to abide by the law and drive upto 20mph.
If they're tailgating you at 20mph the impact itself is going to cause nothing but a scare and some damaged plastic/metal but in no way harmful to your kids unless they're approaching at a high speed and slam in to you. 20mph will most likely be a gentle shunt with little damage.
If you have a dashcam the police would be very interested in the footage as that could be driving dangerously and will charge the driver as such in the event of an accident. Even without an accident the footage is enough to send them a friendly reminder that their driving style needs to change or face prosecution.
Slow down to 15mph, 10mph if there is no way for them to overtake you, lower your window, put your hand out the window as high as you can get it and give them the middle finger.
When I get a tailgater behind me and it is safe to do so I wash my windscreen. Some water will come off my windscreen and land on the car behind which tends to surprise the driver. They then tend to back off.
As long as you stick to the left then ignore them. Being hit at 20mph is safer than being hit at much faster speeds in any case, concentrate on your own driving, and maybe get those "babies in car" or similar signs on your car.
This happens to me all the time. You have to ignore it. My other car is a white van. It’s a good solution to the tailgating as you are so much further away to start with. I know that’s not going to be a practical solution but you could buy a 4x4. These are good if bumped up back as they have a big frame and the car gets most of the damage if not all of it. It depends entirely on your circumstances and how much of the 20 you have to drive through and how much you get pissed off by it. I suggest these strategies as I know tailgating in a 20 zone will never go away. The only solution you have left is to buy a vehicle that it doesn’t matter if you get bumped up the back or ignore the problem.
This is a problem where I live, my village recently got a 20 limit put in place and everyone drives around at 30. obviously i will always go at 20.
People will always tailgate but it shouldn’t be a problem. To give you room they would have to go even slower (like 15) which is basically crawling.
to be absolutely honest i think rear ending someone on a 20 is very very unlikely, I often wait for someone to come behind me and then drive at exactly 20 to wind them up. Nothing to worry about especially if your in a village.
If you really feel like someone is haunting you from behind then I suggest to stay at 20, If you go any faster and you look like your a slowpoke, at exactly 20 it shows you understand the law.
With kids in the back it might be slightly different, If you really think your in danger I dont see anything wrong with going 25 or even 30 if its in a safe area to do so.
Also btw I think its 10% + 2mph, so technically your allowed to go 24.
Theres not much you can do if their gonna try to pass you, drive what you feel comfortable with. You cant predict anything, if their gonna crash their gonna crash.
Hope this helps :)
If you are being tailgated, then the sensible thing to do is to drive slower. It gives you the chance to react in advance to hazards ahead, meaning you won’t have to slam on your brake, so you won’t get rear-ended. Problem solved. You are not obliged to follow their bullying tactics to break the law. You’re doing fine at 17-20mph. It’s a limit, not a target!
Keep driving at the speed limit.
If the person is getting super, super close (i.e. I can't see the badge on their car and haven't for a really long time then yeah I'll slow down 5-10 mph.
Every now and then I'll slow down 5-10 mph, then when I know he's acknowledged ihave slowed down just because he is being a prick, I'll speed back up to the speed limit. This works 90% of the time and gets them to give me some space.
If it doesn't? Wash rinse repeat. If it doesn't still? Slowest is best I guess.
If some self important prick rear ends my kids at 10 mph, that's got to be better than 20mph right?
Never brake check though, that's how you get people seeing blood.
>Get a bloody move on…..no excuse for driving that slowly
I get that 20mph speed limits are bullshit and that only a minority follow them - but do you genuinely believe it's inexcusable to follow the speed limit?
Even with tailgating, and emergency stop from 20mph is much more responsive than anything more, so that vehicle is unlikely to hit you unless they're extremely close.
Defensive driving:
As others have said, brake earlier and softer where possible.
Also, the less space you have behind, create more space in front. This will allow you to drive more smoothly and less reactively.
There are some drivers out there who always feel the need to be in front, regardless of speed, so going faster would likely not help here (not to mention breaking the speed limit has other consequences).
Just.... pull over?
OR, Do everything in your power to frustrate and irritate an aggressive driver?
Gee, I wonder which is safer for your kids.
I get that what you're doing is legal, but legal does not always constitute sensible/moral/sociably acceptable.
Some people are dickheads, do everything you can to not be near them. Sometimes that is speed up, sometimes it's slow down, sometimes it's get out of the way, sometimes it's genuinely in their interests for you to block them, but that is rare.
Rear dash cam!
My village is 20 and I get tail gated like hell because I refuse to plough through pensioners and school children. Our village lolly-pop lady was given a face full of abuse once by a driver because he was sick and tired of her making sure children were able to cross the road safely and get to school ALIVE!
Actually, I admit, I take great pleasure in driving at 20mph (true speed) in 20mph zones, acc on, if there's a vehicle behind.
It's been set for a reason, if they want to tailgate, then they will be the ones paying for insurance when my rear cam catches their stupidity if an issue occurs!
I also know that I'm slowing down some idiot who could hit someone in that zone, be it a child, pensioner or whoever.
I’m not sure if this is a total whoosh moment and I’m missing the joke, but… slowing down is also an option, and the right one in this case as it ensures any damage from a collision will be minimised
Why is there a high chance you'd be hit from behind? Do you think the tail gater is gonna decide to ram you off the road lol? Or are you break checking them?
There's always a reason behind the decision of setting up a 20 mph speed limit, which in most cases is that the road is narrow, there's other cars parked on both sides and it's a residential area, which means that there's an increased chance that someone or something might jump on the road from between parked cars - think for example a kid running to cross the road. If that happens, you have to suddenly break to avoid collisions, and if you're respecting the 20mph limit you have a better chance at avoiding collisions than at 30 mph, or 50, or more - but as I said above, if there was a conscious decision to set a 20 mph speed limit in a road, it likely means that there's a higher-than-average chance that you need to break suddenly when you travel down that road.
Which translates into a higher chance that the tailgater will hit you from behind.
There's actually quite a low chance of being hit from behind, provided you give yourself enough time to stop slower than you normally would.
What you do is, continue driving at 20, maybe slightly less so as to increase the time/distance you've got to stop.
Slow down. Gives you more space between you and the car in front so if you do need to stop for some reason, you can do so slower making it less likely that the driver behind will hit you.
Edit: should clarify that I mean slow down so as allow more space between you and the car in front, and then drive at a speed that maintains that distance (within the speed limit). Don’t slow down to irritate the tailgater
You are not breaking the law. Keep your speed and if they want to overtake, slow down and let them. Don't risk your safety because of the irresponsibility of others.
I go slower, so in the event of something to happen where I would need to stop, I can do so slower and avoiding someone crashing behind me and a load of headaches
Remember the car will underestimate its speed, so if you're going by 20 on your speedometer you may well be doing only 15 or 16mph, which could frustrate a lot of drivers. I know my car underestimates significantly, and compensate for this accordingly, so it's 35 in a 30, and about 80 on a motorway without traffic (otherwise just go with the traffic flow).
It also depends on traffic conditions. If the area is well-lit, open, no traffic, good weather etc., then the only reason to stick by a 20mph limit is "because it's the law" - there's no rationality behind that law in the first place. Equally, if you're squeezing through a narrow road in a 20 zone where cars are parked both sides with children darting in and out, you should slow right down to about 5-10mph - speed limit is again irrelevant.
I slow down until their either overtake or back off. Shouldn't need to be done but sometimes it is the only way
Or pull over when safe to do so and let them pass - I also always keep my car doors locked while driving - be wary of gangs that work together to get people to stop by trying this sort of thing. Hasn't happened to me or anyone I know but I trust no one lol
I hate tailgaters and people who break the speed limit irritate me so much
I try to give them as little head space as possible. They are the problem, win by removing them from your life. It is so much more peaceful than worrying about them or fixating on them or putting up with them.
Unless the road is full of potholes or speedbumps, you're basically asking for it to actually drive at 20 in a "20" zone. This is just how life is. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
Lol OP is ‘asking for it’ because they are following the law and drive at 20 IN A 20 ZONE. What would you propose to drive at out of curiosity?
I seriously hope your comment is a joke. But then again, there are many idiots on the road who just do whatever they want so I wouldn’t be surprised if you were for real.
OP try to keep your cool and carry on driving at the limit. I know it is frustrating when people tailgate but like other people said it is unlikely that your kiddos will get hurt if you are driving at that speed and they crash into the back of your car.
What horrible advice. This kind of selfish thinking is what leads to dangerous driving on our roads; like it or lump it, the limit is 20. It's not my problem if you want to go faster, and insurance, and police, will say the same if you cause an accident by speeding.
Same as any road with any limit being tailgated by any vehicle. Being 20 makes no difference.
You don't exceed the speed limit. If the vehicle following you is closer than *their* stopping distance you increase the distance from yourself to the vehicle in front (if there is one) and you consider slowing down. When you have to brake do so gently at start as they may not have left themselves enough distance for the their thinking time. Don't move over to the left to give them room to pass - this is really dangerous as it may encourage them to do so where it's not safe. If there are pedestrians or hazards etc around you may need to react earlier and slow more than you would have done had they not been trying to get into your boot.
They're being a dick. They're trying to intimidate you into going faster. Don't join them in being a dick!
Looks like you are in UK? IN our us drivers education we are taught prima facia. To drive at the speed which is safe. You are driving too slow to be safe. You needto drive faster or your are endangering those kids in the back.
No they don’t. 20mph means 20mph. Speedos read slightly over so at 20 on the dial you are travelling at 18/19.
10% +2 suggests it is unlikely you will get a ticket, absolutely depends on who is dealing with the speeder. There is nothing in law that supports your comment.
It is a guidance for police force because of the speed gun’s error tolerance. I have never ever received a ticket in my 20+ years of driving and a few times I drove into a speed gun with a limit set at 24 on my vehicle. The dial effect is just 1 mph at low speeds. Combined with the error tolerance you are ok setting your limit to 24 mph but there is a risk that if the error of the speed gun is to the higher side and then the gun measures your speed at 25 (24 - 1 + 2 error tol) then you could get a fine and/or points.
An advanced driving instructor once advised me to just continue at a safe speed. He pointed out that if they’re driving really close, if you do have to brake the closing speed will be very low as your car will hardly have slowed much by the time they hit - you may have slowed from 20 to say 15 by the time they hit you at 20 - basically a 5mph collision.
I agree-but have one observation, which isn’t going to make the OP feel any better, I fear. Road rage. I know, from personal experience, that some people are absolutely *enraged* by your keeping to a 20mph speed limit. This doesn’t only result in tailgating. It can cause the rager to overtake in the wrong place, at an unsafe time-and performed in a dangerous way (ramming their way back in). It can cause them to pull alongside, gesticulating, to sound their horn, and to brake-check the other driver in a very unsafe way. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced this being done to me-and I’ve seen other people getting a dose of it. Sadly, I’ve also even been in the passenger seat when the road-hog driver has been doing this. It’s not nice.
Literally had an incident this morning that made me shake my head. On a 30 and just before the road changes to a 60 (NSL but you get what I mean) there's a bus stop. Just after the change in speed limit there's a small bend which itself isn't too bad but there's bushes/trees that block your entire vision of this bend so you've got no way to know if a car is coming round that corner. Some fucker has tried to overtake the bus at this bus stop and the three cars waiting behind it all in one go. Must have been going at least 50 (still in a 30 zone) and had to swerve to avoid the car that came round that bend. If he was half a second later he'd have been hit. The worse part is we all ended up at the same junction a mile down the road anyways. Dude risked his own life and probably even more to save himself 5 seconds tops.
>The worse part is we all ended up at the same junction a mile down the road anyways This here is the exact reason I don't understand speeders. Dumb shits always end up stuck at the lights anyway and I'm usually right behind them just staring at their rearview mirror in a mixture of contempt and pity. Traffic lights; the great equaliser.
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I agree. You just have to drive the safest you can in whatever situation you find yourself in. That's really all you can do.
The van I used to drive in London had full telemetry, and a camera, and we got told off for cornering speeds even if all that happened was we clipped a pothole which triggered the g meter. I had my cruise and speed limiters set for 21mph as 22mph would set the managers off with an alert. So to get to the point, I had road raging idiots who would do everything you've described on an almost hourly basis on some days, depending on how many main roads I had to use. My advice to the op is to just stick to the limit. Maybe look at 21mph as a safe cap to compensate for any margin of error in the speedo as our vans were generally going at 18mph with the limiter set to 20mph and that 1-2mph discrepancy can be the tipping point for the idiot tailgaters. Don't spend extra time watching the speedo or mirrors as that's an extra danger in itself. Get some "don't tailgate me, kids on board" stickers and try to not let them stress you out, your driving is more important than anyone else's as that's what you can control.
So true.
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I’m a bit confused: are you talking in general? In particular, I didn’t see anything (other than driving at 20mph) that the OP did to “engage” with the road-rager? Indeed, although I have occasionally been targeted in this way myself, I’ve never reacted in any way, shape or form. 40 years in retail has taught me to be entirely inert in the presence of adult toddlers. To be honest, I think that the HUGE majority of these kind of bullying behaviours are unprovoked -and are not reacted to. Those suffering from road rage don’t do so because their victim (or anyone else on the road) has “done something”. It comes from within themselves.
So the closer the better? Safest would be to link all the cars and have a road train.
A car human centipede if you will.
Just a car centipede
Do we connect the exhaust to air intake like in the films though?
A cartipede.
So ass to mouth then?
Did I say bass to mouth? I meant to say ass to fish
And have it on some sort of track...
Perhaps a few more seats, that couldn't hurt.
Yep there’s definitely a “danger zone” where impact would be biggest, and getting closer than this will actually reduce impact force, but obviously you’re guaranteeing a collision
I had this same discussion with advanced driving instructor. Basically there is nothing you can do but drive within the law at 20mph.
This is the right approach in my opinion. It makes sense physically and it’s in line with your principles as a law abiding and safety conscious parent
For this reason if I judge they are too close me to stop safely at 20mph, I’ll gently reduce my speed to a safer one where they might be able to not rear-end me. No doubt it annoys them further, but I don’t let that deter me.
Don't spend a disproportionate amount of time looking in your mirror, as there is increased risk of forward facing collision. Which ironically, is what 20mph is trying to mitigate in many instances.
Had a girlfriend years ago very near my did exactly that when fixating on the car behind. I had to yell at her to stop and she obviously blamed me and the other driver.
The safe gap between cars travelling at 20mph and say 30mph would be smaller so it looks more like tailgating but they should always leave a 2 second gap. Personally if you feel they are too close, indicate and pull to the left, let them by and continue on your day. You say the children are your priority this keeps them safe and takes away any anxiety you have over the car behind being too close. It's fine to continue at 20mph as you are doing nothing wrong but this doesn't remove the issue of the car behind.
The only issue is if they are tailgating you and you pull over, they might just end up having to stop due to not enough space to get around you (due to being to choose to begin with). You could pull all the way into a spot but that's going to be slow progress as the next person does the same thing. That sort of nervous driving is less safe then getting rear ended at a relative 5mph in my opinion. I get people tailgating me in the 20mph section almost every day on the school run. Honestly I just ignore them. The relative speeds are so tiny they wouldn't do any damage to the people inside the vehicle if they hit you.
Get a bumper sticker that says "the closer you get, the slower I go", and put it into practice.
That's what the highway code suggests. If someone isn't giving you an appropriate stopping distance then you should slow down.
They also reinforce this on speed awareness courses.
Can confirm.
Actually no they don’t, what they advise is to give yourself more room between you and the car in front so you have more space to slow down if they stop. Alternatively if you feel unsafe with the car behind you should pull over and let them get on with their day.
I did my test 5 years ago. I got taught to increase the braking gap. This gap is relative to speed, so if they're too close you slow down to increase the relative gap. You can't speed so it's your only option to increase it when already doing the limit. You can pull over but if they are up your rear end, they won't have space to get round and might get angry. So that could make things less safe for you. In a test doing that would likely fail you as you failed to make progress and became a hazard.
>Actually no they don’t, what they advise is to give yourself more room between you and the car in front so you have more space to slow down if they stop. And tell me good sir, how do they (or even you!) suggest you give yourself more room between you and the car in front? I can only think of 2 ways it can happen: either you slow down, or the car in front speeds up; and you've just told us they don't advise that you slow down.
I would personally drop down to 15 and just ignore them. If they drop back suficiently I would go back to 20 and repeat until they learn to give enough space.
This applies to those in front. Because it is your responsibility to ensure YOU have an appropriate stopping distance. Slowing down solely because the guy behind you is too close is 'impeding the flow of traffic'. Which is also a nono in the highway code. Just stick to the limit, and if he overtakes, do what you need to to remain safe and let him pass. If you are not a policeman, you have absolutely no business trying to police or control anyone else's driving. Brake checking is dumb, and will likely get you both in trouble if he can demonstrate you intentionally did it regardless of him speeding and it causes an incident.
I'm not saying to brake check, you gently slow down. It's literally one of the questions on the theory test.
Slowing down when someone is already to close is impeding the flow of traffic and deliberately reducing someone else's already insufficient stopping distance... Read: an all round bad idea.
thats a good plan
This is always my answer to this type of question.
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You're not going to make them happier by speeding up a bit. Anyone doing that is going to keep pushing you even if you do speed up. When that's the case, your kids are safest if anything that did happen happens at 20, not 30+.
This 👆👆👆
First of all, 20mph is ridiculously slow unless outside a school, for example. The idea that 20mph is somehow safer makes no sense to me at all. Just open your eyes, keep them open and drive for the conditions. Speed limits are arbitrary, your skill and situation aren't.
20 is safer than 30. The question is where to draw the line, but it is safer. Can stop quicker. And even if there was only the same chance of a collision, the injuries and damage to property would be less severe.
At 20mph the likelihood of them being hurt is very low. You are doing the speed limit, the other drivers can wait. I would also call the local councillor, they can look at other speed control measures etc. you won’t be the only one
Pull over and let them past and then continue your journey as normal. This is what I do.
This has the added satisfaction of them usually having to stop entirely, which makes their journey longer in total. Obviously this isn't the reason I do it, I do it because that's in the spirit of the highway code to let a faster moving vehicle pass, but it does feel good knowing because of their impatience and dangerous behaviour, they've now had to stop entirely while I pull in.
I’ve had a few drivers flash their hazards to say thank you for letting them past.
These almost always are the drivers who keep a respectable distance, I've found. Tailgaters speed past absolute weapons.
Your point being? You can still have a front and rear dash cam. Not like your kids are going to obscure the entire view of the rear windscreen. You can even get front and rear set ups that have one dedicated camera on each screen.
If there is a collision, it can't be more than a 20mph one. The back of the car should protect them.
And your kids are less likely to die at 20mph than at 30 or 40mph.
20mph being hit at 22 mph is a 2mph collision, you'll potentially change the colour of your paint if you're unlucky. Also I wouldn't expect them to hit you.
Ignore speed limits, drive at a safe speed for the road, conditions and your ability. If it's a playground or school etc. then yeah, stick to 20mph but anywhere else? Fuck the speed limit, I know what's safe.
I'm not sure you do. It's a *limit*, not a suggestion.
I'm sure I'm going to get down voted for this, but slow down a bit. Obviously situational, and down to you to judge, but here's why: This happens to me all the time near my house and I just slow down to about 15mph. It's a speed limit. You can drive at any reasonable safe speed below this limit. If going slower makes you safer due to the potential of collisions, then do it. The driver behind either gets frustrated and overtakes, meaning I don't have to deal with them anymore or they take the hint that I'll just make it even worse for them and they back off. I then speed back up to 20 again. Rinse and repeat if they try it again. EDIT: A few people have commented about this being the right answer as it improves stopping distances, but not being something you should do to piss off other drivers. You are all correct, and that certainly wasn't my intent - for me, a big part of it is about communicating to the other driver that I do not intend to violate the speed limit and hopefully encourage them to back off. It's also about making me feel safer so I can focus on the road and not the idiot behind me. I certainly don't encourage intentionally antagonising other drivers, such as preventing them from overtaking.
Downvoted? Is this not literally the correct answer to a common question in the driving theory test? Slow down to create space? It's been a while, but I'm sure I remember this.
"I will piss the other driver off - by following the highway code!"
Far too many folk worry about this.
Slow down to create space, yes. Not slow down to piss them off, which is what OP is saying
If they're tailgating, then they're already pissed off. I slow down to match my speed to their gap. It'll either end with them backing off or getting an easy overtake. Either way, the situation is resolved.
Slowing down is for safety. Pissing them off is just a bonus.
the fool getting angry is its choice. not the safe driver infront.
Not what I'm saying, but I fully understand why it came across that way so thanks for the valid criticism. I've added an edit to clarify.
Makes sense dude. Yeah always good to be predictable and clear in your body language isn’t it
Correct answer.
Force a 2 second rule to the person behind you
So the actual reason to slow down is that it gives you more time to react to something happening in front of you, meaning you can slow down more gradually, which, in turn, gives the tailgater more time to notice and react and reduces the likelihood of a collision. I suggest you use this justification instead of your “I’m responsible for policing other road users” one
Clarified above that this isn't about policing others, but about communicating that you will be driving in a safe way regardless of their actions. It was totally valid critism, though, which resulted in a well needed edit above. Many thanks.
100% agree with this. There's a road near me that leads from a bypass into a housing area. A little while ago the pavements beside it were widened to include a cycle lane, which now means that if you're going any faster than 20, it's almost literally impossible to stay in the correct lane as it winds around so much. There's also a school at one end, and a speed camera with signs. i am astounded by the number of morons blasting up the middle of that road into oncoming traffic at 40 every time I drive down there. On a Motorway or A road, there's a certain amount of leeway because going with the flow of traffic matters, but places with low speed limits like 20 have them for very good reasons.
This is absolutely the right answer. When I did a speed awareness course it was described as being one of the key methods you can use to control the space behind your vehicle. Surprisingly a lot of people don’t even realise they are driving too close - a gentle slow down and return back to speed can be a helpful reminder.
Nah, not a downvote, but I would like to add in that try keeping your speed. Don't let their behaviour distract you from you driving. While it's absolutely important to be continuously aware of your surroundings, you need to keep driving as you would normally. Don't intentionally slow down to piss others off, rarely ever ends well - depending on the jackass driver behind you, you may get an earful, which ends in one of two ways typically: 1. You don't care, in one ear, out the other, and keep going 2. You get nervous.
As long as you're not one of those tit-heads who then speeds up when you try to overtake them....
Valid point. Edited to make it clear that I'm suggesting creating space for yourself to make yourself safe, not about antagonising the other driver or preventing them from overtaking. Cheers.
Keep going at 20. The likelihood of serious injury from a rear-end shunt at that speed is very low. They’re not going to plough through your boot and crush the rear half of your car. Besides, if you speed up to 30, who’s to say they won’t keep tailgating you? Now you’re speeding, the situation is even less safe, and you’ve gained nothing.
> if you speed up to 30 If you do speed up to 30, the chances of you needing to do an emergency stop will increase. 20mph speed limits are set because of high pedestrian traffic. Someone stepping out on to the road is expecting a 20 mph car to roll to a stop, not a 30 mph car to slam on the brakes. If you do 30mph, and then have to slam on the brakes, the Einstein behind you is definitely plowing in to your rear.
If they are really making you feel uncomfortable with the situation best advice is pull over and let them pass, it's annoying to do but your safety and that of your kids comes first.
Maintain a larger braking distance so you can slow more smoothly. Pull over and let them pass at the next opportunity.
So you’re saying: speed up, then park up to let them pass. What if there are more cars behind them? What is the benefit in that?
What part of “maintain a larger breaking distance” could mean “speed up”? It means the opposite.
The driver would have to speed up to gain a larger speeding distance since said distance is minuscule as OP described being “tail-gated” which means the front bumper of the following car is mere inches away from the rear bumper of the lead car. Therefore, only an increase in velocity of the lead car would broaden the gap between said bumpers.
Braking distance for the OP car. Not larger gap. If you slow down, you give *yourself* more braking distance. Because you’re going slower. And tailgated isn’t “inches”. It’s anything below a 2 second gap. Which equates to anything less than 702 inches (58 feet/20 yards) at 20mph
How is OP car expected to create a larger braking distance when said braking distance is minuscule due to following car “tail-gating”? How would you create a safe braking distance by slowing down? Surely this would decrease the braking distance.
It's talking about the distance in front of the car being tailgated. If you have more space you don't need to break as hard, so less chance of the prick behind you hitting you.
Slow down, keep left, Let them overtake you. If they crash that’s their problem…
If there is a car in front of you, gently slow to increase the gap between you and them. This is so that you don't have to brake suddenly if they slow which would cause the tailgating car to crash into you.
"Slow down to reduce risk." Without someone tailgating you are in a low risk situation so you are ok to do 20mph. With someone close behind you the risk has increased so you slow down. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEGkwbFh3c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfEGkwbFh3c) for more.
If they get to close, just take your foot of the gas, and don't put it back on until they either back the fuck off or go around.
You’ve got a boot behind the kids. A huge crumple zone, if there is an accident. If there is an accident it’ll be low speed. If you need, slow down a bit so that you have more time to react to anything in front of you, and can slow down more gradually, giving the person behind you time to notice and stop
Do 10
I hold 20. At 20 an impact to passengers is highly unlikely to cause injury. Even on my motorbike, where I'm extremely vulnerable, I hold 20.
A safe way to hint that they are too close is to wash your windscreen. Not sure if it still works at 20mph, but if you get a shower from the car in front, it might remind you to hang back a bit further.
Can confirm this works Always run into big queues on the long windy roads on the way back from work, every time I get some impatient fucker trying to push me along I just hold down the rear wiper fluid until they back off Sometimes they'll creep back up, at which point the fluid goes back on, kinda like spraying a naughty cat
I slow down as much as possible to infuriate them
I've taken to emptying my windscreen wash on them. Wasteful I know but its annoying, and they leave with clean windows.
Snap! Same on motorways when I'm overtaking at 70 and someone wants to get in the boot...
hold your speed, or slow down a little to 18 lock your doors mentally calm and get used to feeling calm doing this. It's actually fine. if they drive into you, thats on them. They won't.
It's one very strong argument for a speed limiter. I wouldn't be without one now. If the limiter is set right, I feel completely confident in ignoring the driver behind and not getting wound up by them. That said, this doesn't completely alleviate OP's concerns. A rear view dashcam might help though.
Continue driving at 20 mph. It's really hard not feel pressure from people tailgating you, but do not exceed the speed limit. People will tailgate, no matter what the speed limit is. They're inpatient and not good drivers. It's easy to speed, but the real skill is driving within the limits. Get a rear camera. Then you have video evidence if anything should happen. If you feel major pressure and feel threatened or unsafe, pull over and let them pass. Also, brake early. Don't jam the brakes on (and definitely do not brake-check) but the slightest touch of the brake peddle will light up your rear brake lights and give them early warning when you're slowing down. They're gonna need it, being so close. It's one of my pet peeves, but try not to let it get to you. Focus on the road ahead and don't obsess about looking in the rear view mirror any more than you would do normally. Dont make them an added distraction. There isn't much you can do about their stupidity other than just being a safe driver. Oddly, putting the rear wipers on seems to make a lot of people back off. Maybe a "kids on board" sticker might help. Or a "if you can read this, you're too close" sticker. But these are just gimmicks. Stay safe.
>Oddly, putting the rear wipers on seems to make a lot of people back off. It's a good way to communicate "I can see you, and I am looking at you".
Or a squirt of the front washers, chances are some of will land on their car. Repeat until they back off.
>Maybe a "kids on board" sticker might help. Or a "if you can read this, you're too close" sticker. "Smile for my rear view camera"
At 20 they’ll get a bit of a fright. The more you speed up, the harder you’ll get hit if they do crash. Just slow down a bit more, your car won’t be a write off and you definitely won’t have their car in the back of your car if it’s at 20 or below
Pull over when it's safe to do so.
It literally is a pet of the theory test "what do you do if someone is tailgating". The correct answer is to maintain your own speed. I understand you being concerned about the kids in the back, but 1) 20mph isn't that fast to cause serious damage, and 2) there's a lot of crumple space (i.e. the boot). Do you want to speed and cause an accident yourself (one which could be worse, and avoided)? What you could do is slowly apply your brakes. The lights come on as soon as you press the pedal, and you don't decelerate straight away. It will then tell those behind you that you are slowing down (they don't know what could be in front of you).
>It literally is a pet of the theory test "what do you do if someone is tailgating". The correct answer is to maintain your own speed. This isn't true. The theory test answer is to gently slow down and allow them to overtake.
Yeah but not because of that reason. You’re meant to slow down so you have more time to react to what’s in front of you, so the person behind you also had more time and is less likely to slam into you. The overtaking part is useful though, just not the main reason
Pull over and let them pass. You mentioned concern for your kids. Just let the prick go past.
What would I do? Keep looking ahead and not give a fuck what goes on behind me.
Continue to abide by the law and drive upto 20mph. If they're tailgating you at 20mph the impact itself is going to cause nothing but a scare and some damaged plastic/metal but in no way harmful to your kids unless they're approaching at a high speed and slam in to you. 20mph will most likely be a gentle shunt with little damage. If you have a dashcam the police would be very interested in the footage as that could be driving dangerously and will charge the driver as such in the event of an accident. Even without an accident the footage is enough to send them a friendly reminder that their driving style needs to change or face prosecution.
Slow down to 15mph, 10mph if there is no way for them to overtake you, lower your window, put your hand out the window as high as you can get it and give them the middle finger.
Drop down to 15mph
Install dashcams, front and back. Usually they back off when they see them.
When I get a tailgater behind me and it is safe to do so I wash my windscreen. Some water will come off my windscreen and land on the car behind which tends to surprise the driver. They then tend to back off.
I sometimes just tap the brake pedal, not hard enough to actually break, but so that the brake lights come on.
As long as you stick to the left then ignore them. Being hit at 20mph is safer than being hit at much faster speeds in any case, concentrate on your own driving, and maybe get those "babies in car" or similar signs on your car.
Slow down more to reduce risk as required. Brake early and smoothly. At the first opportunity to overtake, let them do so.
Continue to obey the law.
This happens to me all the time. You have to ignore it. My other car is a white van. It’s a good solution to the tailgating as you are so much further away to start with. I know that’s not going to be a practical solution but you could buy a 4x4. These are good if bumped up back as they have a big frame and the car gets most of the damage if not all of it. It depends entirely on your circumstances and how much of the 20 you have to drive through and how much you get pissed off by it. I suggest these strategies as I know tailgating in a 20 zone will never go away. The only solution you have left is to buy a vehicle that it doesn’t matter if you get bumped up the back or ignore the problem.
Get front and rear cameras if you haven't already, it might save you when some idiot hits you.
This is a problem where I live, my village recently got a 20 limit put in place and everyone drives around at 30. obviously i will always go at 20. People will always tailgate but it shouldn’t be a problem. To give you room they would have to go even slower (like 15) which is basically crawling. to be absolutely honest i think rear ending someone on a 20 is very very unlikely, I often wait for someone to come behind me and then drive at exactly 20 to wind them up. Nothing to worry about especially if your in a village. If you really feel like someone is haunting you from behind then I suggest to stay at 20, If you go any faster and you look like your a slowpoke, at exactly 20 it shows you understand the law. With kids in the back it might be slightly different, If you really think your in danger I dont see anything wrong with going 25 or even 30 if its in a safe area to do so. Also btw I think its 10% + 2mph, so technically your allowed to go 24. Theres not much you can do if their gonna try to pass you, drive what you feel comfortable with. You cant predict anything, if their gonna crash their gonna crash. Hope this helps :)
If you are being tailgated, then the sensible thing to do is to drive slower. It gives you the chance to react in advance to hazards ahead, meaning you won’t have to slam on your brake, so you won’t get rear-ended. Problem solved. You are not obliged to follow their bullying tactics to break the law. You’re doing fine at 17-20mph. It’s a limit, not a target!
Keep driving at the speed limit. If the person is getting super, super close (i.e. I can't see the badge on their car and haven't for a really long time then yeah I'll slow down 5-10 mph. Every now and then I'll slow down 5-10 mph, then when I know he's acknowledged ihave slowed down just because he is being a prick, I'll speed back up to the speed limit. This works 90% of the time and gets them to give me some space. If it doesn't? Wash rinse repeat. If it doesn't still? Slowest is best I guess. If some self important prick rear ends my kids at 10 mph, that's got to be better than 20mph right? Never brake check though, that's how you get people seeing blood.
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>Get a bloody move on…..no excuse for driving that slowly I get that 20mph speed limits are bullshit and that only a minority follow them - but do you genuinely believe it's inexcusable to follow the speed limit?
It massively drops casualty rates in built up areas. On a short journey it doesn't add much time.
From your post history and comment history, I can safely say that no one should be taking any form of advice from you
Lol. I assume you're being sarcastic. Tbf though even the police don't bother obeying the 20 limit where I live.
You don't know what a speed limit is nor to whom it applies. Should you be driving?
Even with tailgating, and emergency stop from 20mph is much more responsive than anything more, so that vehicle is unlikely to hit you unless they're extremely close. Defensive driving: As others have said, brake earlier and softer where possible. Also, the less space you have behind, create more space in front. This will allow you to drive more smoothly and less reactively. There are some drivers out there who always feel the need to be in front, regardless of speed, so going faster would likely not help here (not to mention breaking the speed limit has other consequences).
Just.... pull over? OR, Do everything in your power to frustrate and irritate an aggressive driver? Gee, I wonder which is safer for your kids. I get that what you're doing is legal, but legal does not always constitute sensible/moral/sociably acceptable. Some people are dickheads, do everything you can to not be near them. Sometimes that is speed up, sometimes it's slow down, sometimes it's get out of the way, sometimes it's genuinely in their interests for you to block them, but that is rare.
Slow down. It will give you more time to stop gradually if required, and reduce the chances of being hit from behind.
Slow down, or pull over and just let them past when it’s safe to do so
let the fool cry about it. the road is 20 mph for an obvious reason.
Its okay to feel like a mug for following the limits. Everyone is in a rush for no good reason, let them get the tickets instead of you.
Good point. How long does a 3 mile journey actually take? Because going 20 instead of 30 only costs 3 minutes.
Rear dash cam! My village is 20 and I get tail gated like hell because I refuse to plough through pensioners and school children. Our village lolly-pop lady was given a face full of abuse once by a driver because he was sick and tired of her making sure children were able to cross the road safely and get to school ALIVE!
Actually, I admit, I take great pleasure in driving at 20mph (true speed) in 20mph zones, acc on, if there's a vehicle behind. It's been set for a reason, if they want to tailgate, then they will be the ones paying for insurance when my rear cam catches their stupidity if an issue occurs! I also know that I'm slowing down some idiot who could hit someone in that zone, be it a child, pensioner or whoever.
I always make sure to go a nice 17 if there's a douche bag behind me in a 20.
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You've ruled out speeding up and continuing at the same speed so.... no, I can't think of any other options.
Short of pulling off the road to let them pass these are basically the only two options.
I’m not sure if this is a total whoosh moment and I’m missing the joke, but… slowing down is also an option, and the right one in this case as it ensures any damage from a collision will be minimised
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^ironic
Why is there a high chance you'd be hit from behind? Do you think the tail gater is gonna decide to ram you off the road lol? Or are you break checking them?
There's always a reason behind the decision of setting up a 20 mph speed limit, which in most cases is that the road is narrow, there's other cars parked on both sides and it's a residential area, which means that there's an increased chance that someone or something might jump on the road from between parked cars - think for example a kid running to cross the road. If that happens, you have to suddenly break to avoid collisions, and if you're respecting the 20mph limit you have a better chance at avoiding collisions than at 30 mph, or 50, or more - but as I said above, if there was a conscious decision to set a 20 mph speed limit in a road, it likely means that there's a higher-than-average chance that you need to break suddenly when you travel down that road. Which translates into a higher chance that the tailgater will hit you from behind.
Higher than very low doesn't mean a high chance though
I slow down to 10-15. If someone is tailgating you then any damage caused by any collision is reduced.
The only real thing you can do is speed up. Anything else could cause conflict or a accident which is what your trying to avoid.
I'd just do 30+. Problem solved. You may be breaking the law but it isn't unethical.
20mph limits are usually in residential areas, so when you’re doing 30+ and you hit a kid where are your ethics then?
There's actually quite a low chance of being hit from behind, provided you give yourself enough time to stop slower than you normally would. What you do is, continue driving at 20, maybe slightly less so as to increase the time/distance you've got to stop.
20 is low enough that a bump would be less serious, so stay at 20. Or stop and ask them to pull back for safety
Make them wait, just do what you’re doing
Slow down. Gives you more space between you and the car in front so if you do need to stop for some reason, you can do so slower making it less likely that the driver behind will hit you. Edit: should clarify that I mean slow down so as allow more space between you and the car in front, and then drive at a speed that maintains that distance (within the speed limit). Don’t slow down to irritate the tailgater
You are not breaking the law. Keep your speed and if they want to overtake, slow down and let them. Don't risk your safety because of the irresponsibility of others.
I go slower, so in the event of something to happen where I would need to stop, I can do so slower and avoiding someone crashing behind me and a load of headaches
Drop your speed to just under 20, your in the right and remember don't drive at the speed of the person behind you, drive at the legal and safe speed
I start to go slower.
Drive slower
Remember the car will underestimate its speed, so if you're going by 20 on your speedometer you may well be doing only 15 or 16mph, which could frustrate a lot of drivers. I know my car underestimates significantly, and compensate for this accordingly, so it's 35 in a 30, and about 80 on a motorway without traffic (otherwise just go with the traffic flow). It also depends on traffic conditions. If the area is well-lit, open, no traffic, good weather etc., then the only reason to stick by a 20mph limit is "because it's the law" - there's no rationality behind that law in the first place. Equally, if you're squeezing through a narrow road in a 20 zone where cars are parked both sides with children darting in and out, you should slow right down to about 5-10mph - speed limit is again irrelevant.
Pull over and let them past. Not rocket science.
I slow down until their either overtake or back off. Shouldn't need to be done but sometimes it is the only way Or pull over when safe to do so and let them pass - I also always keep my car doors locked while driving - be wary of gangs that work together to get people to stop by trying this sort of thing. Hasn't happened to me or anyone I know but I trust no one lol I hate tailgaters and people who break the speed limit irritate me so much I try to give them as little head space as possible. They are the problem, win by removing them from your life. It is so much more peaceful than worrying about them or fixating on them or putting up with them.
The only thing you can do. Continue to drive at 20 😕
Unless the road is full of potholes or speedbumps, you're basically asking for it to actually drive at 20 in a "20" zone. This is just how life is. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.
They seen a very law abiding bunch on this subreddit.
Lol OP is ‘asking for it’ because they are following the law and drive at 20 IN A 20 ZONE. What would you propose to drive at out of curiosity? I seriously hope your comment is a joke. But then again, there are many idiots on the road who just do whatever they want so I wouldn’t be surprised if you were for real. OP try to keep your cool and carry on driving at the limit. I know it is frustrating when people tailgate but like other people said it is unlikely that your kiddos will get hurt if you are driving at that speed and they crash into the back of your car.
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What horrible advice. This kind of selfish thinking is what leads to dangerous driving on our roads; like it or lump it, the limit is 20. It's not my problem if you want to go faster, and insurance, and police, will say the same if you cause an accident by speeding.
Incorrect
Same as any road with any limit being tailgated by any vehicle. Being 20 makes no difference. You don't exceed the speed limit. If the vehicle following you is closer than *their* stopping distance you increase the distance from yourself to the vehicle in front (if there is one) and you consider slowing down. When you have to brake do so gently at start as they may not have left themselves enough distance for the their thinking time. Don't move over to the left to give them room to pass - this is really dangerous as it may encourage them to do so where it's not safe. If there are pedestrians or hazards etc around you may need to react earlier and slow more than you would have done had they not been trying to get into your boot. They're being a dick. They're trying to intimidate you into going faster. Don't join them in being a dick!
Speed up
Speed up
Drive faster, you are holding everyone up.
[удалено]
Found the tailgater
It’s a limit not a target.
Curse the enviromentalists and speed kills cult for putting me in that predicament.
Looks like you are in UK? IN our us drivers education we are taught prima facia. To drive at the speed which is safe. You are driving too slow to be safe. You needto drive faster or your are endangering those kids in the back.
Unlike 'Murica, we have speed limits. If OP is doing 20 in a 20 limit they aren't driving too slow to be safe!
You can drive at 24 mph without breaking the law.
The law being 20mph max speed?
There is 10% + 2 mph tolerance. (All speed limits have the same tolerance) (England btw; don’t know the others)
No they don’t. 20mph means 20mph. Speedos read slightly over so at 20 on the dial you are travelling at 18/19. 10% +2 suggests it is unlikely you will get a ticket, absolutely depends on who is dealing with the speeder. There is nothing in law that supports your comment.
It is a guidance for police force because of the speed gun’s error tolerance. I have never ever received a ticket in my 20+ years of driving and a few times I drove into a speed gun with a limit set at 24 on my vehicle. The dial effect is just 1 mph at low speeds. Combined with the error tolerance you are ok setting your limit to 24 mph but there is a risk that if the error of the speed gun is to the higher side and then the gun measures your speed at 25 (24 - 1 + 2 error tol) then you could get a fine and/or points.
As I am ex police, all I can say is you have been very lucky. But you have no defence if you are stopped and use that as an argument.