jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I've had this post on my mind for a while, but l wasn't going to post it until I recently heard two other people comment on it. Pickup truck drivers tailgate!

Naturally, I don't mean every pickup driver, but when I see one approaching in my rearview mirror, I tense-up because I know that in a few minutes, all I will see is the grill. It makes no difference how fast I am going. It's never fast enough. I'm not one of those old fogies who drives ten mph under the limit. With a speed limit of 55, I refuse to go over 60. We have four police departments here, and I see people stopped almost every time I drive into town.

When I get tailgated, my standard procedure is to check my speedo to make sure I'm driving over 55. I'll speed up to 59, if I'm not already there. If he's still on my bumper after a mile, or so, I'll take my foot off the gas and slow down to about 50. Sometimes, they take the hint and drift back. If not, I look for a place to pull off the road and let him pass.

I know what the first excuse is going to be: they're going to work, and time is money. "Going to work" is not a legal excuse to speed or tailgate. In most cases, they're going home, going shopping, or going to get a cup of coffee. Basically, they're stupid rednecks driving big trucks, and they think they have to right to do whatever they want.

I've had four pickups over the years, and I always drove like a normal person.

There. I said it.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Jerry, you doth protest too much. We pickup drivers aren’t any worse in the tailgating category than folks in cars. We just look bigger.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Just a tailgater with a different vehicle. He probably would do the same thing with a car.
They seem to be more obvious because they are larger?
Like seeing only the headlight from a semi in your side mirror...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Sorry, but pickup truck are the most common tailgaters. It's almost universal. When one follows at a reasonable distance, I keep looking in my mirror, wondering why he's so far back.

As I said, I've had this on my mind for a long time, but I thought maybe it was just me. When two other people recently mentioned it, I figured it was common enough that I could post it.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A truck is a truck.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

BebuLamar

The kind of pickup trucks with very large cab and tiny bed.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I had a pickup for over 20 years, I NEVER tailgated when driving it.
I just don't tailgate... at all... no matter what I'm driving.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thank you!

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Hey Jerry, your sense of humor is a little dried out. But you should not be forced to drive in such a way that it is dangerous. Both my wife and I drive in NYC so we are used to every thing out there. When we are driving the limit some moron will come up behind us and tailgate and start honking their horn. We start to slow down and turn on our hazard. That seems to piss someone off and I can stay in control and pay attention to the road. Besides the bumper sticker says it all. You got to have a little bit of a sense of humor.




It’s not the truck or any other vehicle. It is idiot behind the steering wheel!

(Download)

BebuLamar

Do you have the kind with large cab and short bed?

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

My problem is with motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yep!

I grew up on Long Island, and I thought nothing of driving into Brooklyn or Manhattan. If I was parking, I tried to bring an "old car." Parking is always a problem in Manhattan. I once parked in a No Parking zone because the ticket would have been less expensive than a parking garage. I didn't get a ticket though.

I just remembered this. We were driving upstate friends to Manhattan to see a play. The woman said, "This is a strange place to be hitchhiking." She saw a woman hailing a cab. 🤣

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

When I see a motorcycle painted flat black being driven by a guy dressed the same, I figure he must have a death wish. And how about the bicycle messengers? They keep running into car doors that people open without looking.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

1995 F150 Super Cab, Eddie Bauer edition, with a NICE cap, medium bed (6-7').
I LOVED that truck!!!!!
SO comfortable for long trips, SO comfortable.
(Hopefully my one daughter still has it....)