Interesting Opinion

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

I think the people that 'brake test' (hit the brake light or slow, either-or) to try and make people drop back are the idiots.

Bit harsh there but I see your point, obviously the mature and sensible way of dealing with it you highlight is the best approach but mature and sensible is soooo hard I would contest though that sometimes a light "brake test" can work - I'll admit it's happened to me in the cage before, on a long boring journey you enter a trance like state just focussed on following the car in front and before you know it are far too close, the light "brake test" then woke me up enough to realize it was me being the nob faced nobster and pulled back and started paying attention.

I would have hand signalled him to move back or just moved over. But yes, he was a nob mate so don't worry. I don't see much wrong with dabbing the brakes tbh. If you actually needed to brake anyway how is it any different!?

I hate it when people sit too close to me, we all need space on the road.

[Stu]

Yes he's a nob, but yes Blue is right, the way you should deal with tailgaters is to slow down ( & keep slowing down to 5mph if required) until they pass you.

Personally, I never get anyone to keep up with me

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Stu

Personally, I never get anyone to keep up with me

If anyone was tailgating you Stu, thier ears would bleed after 30 seconds!

Yeah, i've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I could've done differently last night. (which makes me more annoyed as his actions resulted in me losing sleep!)

Firstly, I suppose it isn’t the best idea to “get in the way” (his explanation as to why he was tailgating me) of nutters on the motorway. I do get out of the way of people going faster than me but tend to wait that bit longer to do it if they are tailgating me. Perhaps this isn't best practice.

Secondly, if he was both an utterly incompetent rider and a nutter he could have panicked and grabbed too much brake. I'm still incredulous at his comment of me trying to kill him, clearly if I wanted to I could've slammed on, but again maybe dabbing the brakes isn't best practice.

Thirdly, I think I should’ve reported him. What if had been a young girl or a pensioner he’d been intimidating and putting in danger? I’d like to think he’ll have thought about his actions and realised what a nob he was, but he could easily do it again to other people.

Blue SV650S - I take your comments and I'm not disagreeing with them per se. I would like to make a couple of comments though.

To me a 'brake test' is when you actually hit the brakes and slow the car down. Just flashing your brake light is not brake testing someone.
Actually brake testing someone is everything you've said it is.

I don't agree that flashing your brake lights in this situation necessarily makes you an idiot etc. (Along the lines of what MiniMatt said...) if someone just plain hasn't seen you then what else are you to do?

Also what is the difference between flashing your brake lights deliberately when someone is too close behind you and doing it out of necessity? (I'm moving away from the specificts of the SV or even bikes here and maybe your comments were confined to that situation, but that wasn't how I read them) If you're in commuting traffic it's quite possible to have a car too close behind you and you might well be too close to the car in front. The traffic slows a fraction, you need to slow down. Just engine braking would be as dangerous if it wasn't spotted. Not all cars offer sufficient engine breaking a lot of modern auto's especially aim to provide very little engine braking in an attempt to get the best possible mpg figures. In this situation you're quite likely to touch the brake pedal. What does that make you?

Originally Posted by thegibdog

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Just get out of their way as soon as it is safe to do so, if you are obviously purposely holding them up, then that will enrage them … let them be on their way and kill themselves/someone else one day. Not good, but that has to be better than them killing you there and then right?!?!

Must admit if someone is tailgating me i will usualy let them past! it aint worth the hassle let them go and tailgate a car as they will sooner or later end up in the back of it! i understand why you did what you did though ive done it before and i dont see a problem with it aslong as your not actualy braking just flashin the lights! sometimes it the only way to get a car to back off your ass.

Originally Posted by 2mths

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Because breaking (or brake flashing) when there was nothing to require flashing for (i.e. hazzard) is at least pointless, at most dangerous … just coz a person is tailgating, it doesn’t mean they are not aware of their surroundings!! Therefore just flashing a light at them for no reason (i.e. there is no physical reason to slow – and they are aware of that) will only enrage them, no worse than that, INSULT them as they can see there was no reason and you are telling them you think they are driving badly (no one likes to be told that )!! Road-rage begins! There are perhaps a few cases like MiniMatt where it was required and effective, but I bet you these cases are far outnumbered

At the end of the day, think about it, tailgating is only dangerous if there is a reason for an emergency stop …what is the harm in all going along at 100mph 2” away from each other unless someone does something unexpected or there is reason to suddenly stop? The actual act of tailgating is not dangerous at all … it is actually energy and space efficient

Fact is I don’t like having people on my ar5e, so if they are, I pull out of the way.

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Because breaking (or brake flashing) when there was nothing to require flashing for (i.e. hazzard) is at least pointless, at most dangerous … just coz a person is tailgating, it doesn’t mean they are not aware of their surroundings!! Therefore just flashing a light at them for no reason (i.e. there is no physical reason to slow – and they are aware of that) will only enrage them, no worse than that, INSULT them as they can see there was no reason and you are telling them you think they are driving badly (no one likes to be told that )!! Road-rage begins! There are perhaps a few cases like MiniMatt where it was required and effective, but I bet you these cases are far outnumbered

At the end of the day, think about it, tailgating is only dangerous if there is a reason for an emergency stop …what is the harm in all going along at 100mph 2” away from each other unless someone does something unexpected or there is reason to suddenly stop? The actual act of tailgating is not dangerous at all … it is actually energy and space efficient

Fact is I don’t like having people on my ar5e, so if they are, I pull out of the way.

we will have to agree to disagree i think tailgating is pointless and very dangerous on the road as unexpected hazards can appear and if the person behind is to close then! only one thing is going to happen.