To anyone who loves tailgating my ass: I’m a new driver. Like got-my-beginner’s-last-week new. The reason I’m not gunning it is because I’m trying to be cautious while YOU are riding my bumper and freaking me out. I can’t go higher than the posted speed limit, okay? And neither can you. This shit is scary enough without you hogging the rearview and edging right up to me.
I will pull over and let you pass if it’s that important to you. I would understand if I were puttering along at 20mph, but I’m not. I’m just trying to finish the driving lesson without dying, so CHILL OUT.
—Cruise Control
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2009.
Just ignore them OP. 99.9% of the time they don’t affect you.
But if you’re lucky, they might hit you and then you can sue 🙂
This is what frustrates me about driving too. So many people on the road think that everyone else on the road should be a local with umpteen years of driving experience and be able to drive 20 over the limit in all kinds of weather. The reality is that the people you share the road with can be tourists, unfamiliar with the area or new drivers taking it easy for their own safety and sanity. Tailgating, laying on the horn, passing aggressively and any other jerk-like driving behaviour on the part of the experienced local only adds danger to a frustrating situation. Chill out and share the road.
I gotta say, it’s not always experienced locals. I drive quite a distance on the 102 every day, and by far the most frequent problem I have is with overly aggressive drivers in large pickups trucks or Grand Ams (always!) with New Brunswick plates. I don’t know why extreme tailgating seems to be so much more acceptable to New Brunswickers.
you take your time 🙂
congrats OP and don’t worry about them. Being a new driver you probably remember more material from our drivers test than most of the experienced drivers out there. Just do what you learned to do, don’t pull over for people though, not in the city. Too many pedestrians and buses and parked taxi’s are or could be in the way. If you are driving the speed limit, then that is their problem that they are late for something.
I know it doesn’t make it any less annoying but OP, I feel your pain.
The problem is a good percentage of the time people who tailgate aren’t late for something so then they’ll tailgate you forever rather than passing you. I grew up in rural Nova Scotia and they did this constantly and it drove me nuts.
So yeah, OP it sucks but just remember that you’re in the right (as long as you’re going the speed limit) and take solace in the fact that if they crash into you it’s their own damn fault.
Just stick a bumper sticker on your rear that says “NEWBIE: FUCK OFF”
And put one on your bumper too.
Hahaha Miles u so funny
I’m just waiting for some Liberal to blame this on Harper. Come on now. You can do it.
Good one Miles.
Yeah, it’s not fun. I just brought my car over here and have already had some unpleasant driving experiences. It only gets better with time and knowledge of the streets, so stick with it and pretty soon YOU’LL be on people’s asses cursing them for being so inept. It’s a much more enjoyable perspective.
OP, you think that’s bad, go on a motorcycle and see how that feels.
I stopped and got off the bike one time to prove how close the moron behind me is to me. I couldn’t go between him and my bike. He just sat there wondering why I was asking him to back off.