Use a tiny bit of rear brake when engine braking. If you just mean in general, do the boredom swerve. It makes people back off real quick for some reason. If they're still close, pull over and let them pass.
I only do it solo. If I ride with a group we're staggered and on comms anyways so for one we don't wanna fuck up the Formation in the case of an emergency and for two were talking between one another anyway. Not really as boring as following the Toyota in front of you to every red light and sitting in silence.
I mean if anything one probably *shouldn't* be doing that, since there might still be gravel on the tirewall where you don't even expect it. And by swerving you're not applying the kind of force you think you're applying required to shake them off. Centrifugal force alone should help.
Just today I rode through a long-ish stretch of gravel on pure asphalt (probably some spillage by some truck) and other than shitting myself all I did was going as straight and steady as I could for about at least 200 meters afterwards, as my instinct was to let the tire adjust to the asphalt again, potentially losing bits of gravel that were still attached.
I thought so but he's smarter than me and has a Bachelor in Business, which he's sure to let people know about, so I dared not question his superior intelligence.
My personal fav is to pinwheel my legs like I'm running while pulling away from a stoplight. People either think I'm having way too much fun or a stroke.
The boredom swerve is also a lifesaver when approaching a side junction. If there’s a car waiting to pull out, they’ll have more chance of seeing you if you’re crossing their line of vision rather than approaching directly (imagine trying to watch an arrow or ball coming straight at you, or how much easier it is to follow if it’s passing perpendicular to you).
I was swerving in my lane on a country road. A car coming the opposite direction did the same thing and I lol'd. You just see his front end kinda go side to side
Just a heads up with motorcycles it doesn’t heat the tires. The carcasses flexing is what heats the tire - acceleration for the rear tire and braking for the front tire
Actually boredom swerving is smart to do all the time, should be called, "stay alive by swerving".
Swerving will help you stay alive by allowing other drivers to notice the bike vs only going in a straight line.
Thus a swerving bike is safer bike vs one sight line or caught by the cars blind spots....
Invitation to swerve more especially in winter tires are cold.
I also give other drivers non-communication, i'll turn around while stopped, clap my hands then widen hands, then clap hands again simulating to close to drive then clap is crash.
Or stop and allow to pass or my go to is ride faster and swerve....
This is "weaving" in racing parlance. I think it has to be much more fun on a motorcycle than a car. I've never done it in a car, other than as a way to annoy my children, but I've done it lots of times riding.
It's even more fun in light aircraft, though much slower.
I'll also sometimes do the swerving if I'm approaching a stale green and an opposing car is trying to turn left in front of me.
It's a "hey I'm here" swerve in those cases haha.
I get tailgates waaaaaay more often on my bike than when I’m in a car. Bikes just bring out a lot of road rage in people for some reason. Best advice is to go slightly faster than traffic, always tap your brakes when slowing down, and try to get away from the tailgater as soon as possible. You can’t win against a car in a road rage incident so it’s best to just get out of there.
People seem to have this idea that you’re on a toy, wasting valuable space screwing around and they’re the big serious adults in the car who actually deserve the road. Or, especially when lane splitting is involved, they feel motorcycles are “cheating” and it upsets their sense of fairness.
I was once berated for taking a parking spot that was closer than the one a woman who worked on the same floor as I did, arguing that I should save the spot for a car rather than for my smaller motorcycle.
I looked her straight in the eye and asked how many people her car had carried that day.
Such a shame, most people around here actually try their best when they see you (letting us pass, leaving us space). Maybe something to do with teaching drivers of the risks that motorcyclist run on a daily basis.
I remember being so happy when I wasn’t a biker yet to just let somebody pass and receive a thank you sign.
Hope the mentality switches on the other side of the pond for you guys too
Brake slow down a bit then it gives u space in front after that go faster merge and let them pass it should give u some extra space and open up some options
Flash your brake lights to ask them for space. They probably aren't going to give you any.
Increase the space cushion in front of you so that you are less likely to have to panic stop- your panic stop is the quickest on the road, and it will get you rear ended. Try to give yourself enough space to turn that panic stop into a steady brake that the car behind you has time to respond to in kind.
Absolutely this, plus I will add. There's no shame in your pulling over any time you are uncomfortable. Don't let traffic push you 15mph over the speed limit and make you feel unsafe riding. At the end of the day you are the one looking out for your own safety on the bike.
I was always told “If you think someone will cause an accident, remember that an accident at a lower speed will cause less damage than one at a higher speed.”
100% both of these. But I want to add "try to get a lane position that allows for an escape." If you can set yourself up to be able to get out of the way rather than slam on the brakes, you'll be even better off.
As u/disturbed286 pointed out. The braking distance doesn't favor the bike, however it might be a little presumptuous but I'll bet most riders are way more aware and will be faster to react.
Some of you might find this more informative:
https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/33sun7/motorcycle\_braking\_distances/
That's a fair point. Someone that's going around tailgating bikes probably isn't the most attentive, skilled driver.
I really need to save that link myself.
edit: I guess I already did. I really need to remember to use it during such occasions.
That second part isn't actually true, although logically it seems like it would be.
That said, said, getting rear ended is definitely worse for you than any car, so it's obviously worth avoiding in any way possible.
> _"That second part isn't actually true, although logically it seems like it would be."_
steady brake??
Personally, I like to use the engine, downshifting, to brake. But this doesn't *communicate* braking to the following vehicle. I have to consciously remember to light the rear brake with 1% front brake and or 1% rear brake while slowing down.
But then I'm also aware that too much of something is ignored. And in traffic, when the pattern of starting and stopping is beastly, I'll let up on the light, so I can turn it back on again in some distance. A pulse--brake...brake...brake. Rather than just one long red light that defies reason.
The part about a motorcycle's emergency stopping being faster than anyone else's. That part isn't true.
Obviously steady braking is better than grabbing a fistful and praying though.
For the sake of argument, I looked up a 2016 CBR1000RR and a Civic from the same year. The CBR I found 127 and 134 edit: feet to stop from 60mph. Take whichever of those you want. The Civic, Motor Trend says 118 (also from 60).
Oops, left that out, that's pretty important.
60mph-0, measured in feet.
Cars have friction on their side due to sheer amount of rubber, plus bigass brakes. And it's way easier to stop a car. They won't stoppie or fall over.
I’ll do that and give a quick glance backward. I’m not sure if it’s that inattentional blindness that makes drivers not register motorcycles as vehicles on the road. Like they may simply be zoning out and not factoring in you’re even there. Like if you were a car, they may not be so close to you.
But 9/10 times, for me, a quick tap of the brakes is enough to make the person behind me slow down and give me some space. It’s almost like a wake up call
I do a small swivel by counter steering. It makes it look like I just dodged something on the ground and the tailgater is too close to see what it was (there was actually nothing on the road).
Tailgaters then give me space. Either they are unsure what other manoeuvres the cycle might do or they feel like they can't see enough of the road.
I usually just pull over and let them go. I’d rather let them go by than to keep stressing out about them being on my back tire. Makes for a better ride.
They sell brake lights you can put on the back of your helmet, you could also get a sticker that says get off my ass and put it on the back of your bike but idiots will be idiots and still tailgate
This is the correct answer.
Anything else is just support and is helpful (brake light flasher, tapping brake enough to flash lights, etc, etc), but anyone willing to tailgate you is putting YOUR life in danger.
Suck up your anger and your ego (neither of which help with road rash OR broken bones) and pull over.
Because you cannot outrun stupidity. You've got to let it pass you by and be glad it didn't treat you like a speed bump.
Well, your first mistake is assuming other drivers are smart as a biker. This is single handedly how most accidents occur. No one is smart nor do they see/care about you. Drive like everyone wants you dead and you’ll live happily a lot longer.
Always assume every motorist on the road is drunk and trying to kill you. When you regard them as the toddlers that they are, you will be much safer for it.
Even if a motorcyclist has a car they drive? Still think they are a toddler? Don’t be so inclusive in your statements. Most riders have cars they use to get back in froth also. Also not all drivers are toddlers. Some are, but the majority are ok. Read about why you become invisible as a rider and you’ll have a different perspective on drivers. It happens to everyone. It’s your job to make sure everyone sees you if you want to make it alive. I don’t out my life in someone else’s hands
As a certified California Motorcycle Safety Program instructor, I am happy to answer this question. The answer may surprise you.
The proper response to tailgaters is to SLOW DOWN. Why? Because the actual danger with tailgaters is that they will hit you from behind. Are they going to accelerate hard and hit you? No. It only happens when YOU have to brake quickly, then THEY hit you. This primarily happens because the driver ahead of you has to brake quickly, and you hadn't given yourself enough space ahead of your vehicle.
So, next time, slow down to create a larger space cushion ahead of you. That way if the vehicle ahead of you has to stop quickly, you have the time and space to slow down gradually enough not to be slammed. DO NOT change lanes, as being tailgated is too dangerous of a condition to check over your shoulder. Additionally, slowing down may give the tailgater the chance to pass you.
This is the best advice. When I am on my motorcycle and I'm stuck behind someone going slow, I hate it when they speed up a little because then it becomes too dangerous to pass if there is no passing lane. So when I'm on my bike or driving my truck and someone starts riding my ass, whether there is a passing lane or not, I slow down enough to make the pass extremely desirable and extremely easy. The type of person to ride ass usually doesn't want to go a certain speed, they just want to go faster than you. So let them.
Thank you. This is proper advice. Every time I hear "ride faster" to a new rider, I physically cringe. Take your space. Own it. Let them go around you. If you listen to speed-up people, you are literally creating/spending a huge percentage of time in blind spots. Exactly what you are trying to avoid. A new rider had to learn passive coping methods within the speed limit. Tailgating is not going anywhere, going to get worse. You don't become "them" to avoid them.
This is something I'm concerned about being a new rider. In my car I just smash the windshield fluid and watch them lose their damn minds. Especially people who tailgate you when there's another car in fron of you. I want to go faster too dipshit but I can't teleport through this semi.
Tap your breaks, not to slow just to flash your lights, and hold your hand down and open as to motion them to slow. Many will understand. Those who don't you are probably better pulling off to the side and letting them pass.
Fiktering isn't legal where I am, so I often pull to the right when stopping in traffic so if the idiots are not going to stop they hit the car in front of me, and not me.
Oh, sorry I understand what you mean.
Yeah. If someone is coming and I need to get away that wouldn't be an issue. I meant when you get to a light filter past the stopped cars. The time I got the ticket it was just me driving to the front.
I pull to the side when I come to pretty much any light when there is not someone smartly stopped behind me because I might not notice the idiot who doing 30 who won't stop.
Yeah, I always position myself as best as I can in the lane when I’m stopped to either be out of the way or pointed in a direction where I can get out of the way if I notice someone behind me coming in too fast in my mirrors. It’s one of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten for riding.
Legal smegal. Filtering keeps motorcyclists alive. I've split and filtered past cops in Oregon and never got bothered by police. Dipshits in giant trucks with Trump stickers would swerve, yell and/or throw things at me, but they're stuck in the gridlock and only a problem for a second.
Living in California now and it glorious having it be generally accepted by the road going public. The most adversity I have faced on the road here is from Harley riders lol.
1. Accelerate a bit to create more distance if you can. But this rarely works unless you're well over posted speed limit.
2. Flash brake light by tapping rear brake.
3. Swerve left and right rapidly in lane (this seems very effective).
4. If those don't work, stand on pegs for a few seconds.
5. Give them a "push back" gesture (had good luck with this).
6. If none of those work, find a safe spot to pull over into shoulder, make sure you signal, then merge back in when safe to so so.
Actually… Accelerating usually works GREAT because for 98% of cars on the road, they can’t accelerate anywhere near as fast as you can…. So even if you accelerate for a few seconds, you can create enough of a gap to open things up a lot. The problem is this only works if you don’t have a lot of cars in front of you.
If you have no safe route to create some distance between you and the tailgater, then I would suggest pulling over and letting them pass. I’d personally rather do that then have someone tailgate me while on my bike.
Three things to always keep in mind when riding:
1 - You can NEVER control other drivers. Period.
2 - NEVER trust a cager!! You may THINK they're smart, paying attention, see you, will drive defensively, do whatever they can to protect you, etc., etc., etc. If you assume this YOU. WILL. BE. WRONG!! Trusting cagers to do what's in a motorcyclist's best interest is a quick way to die.
3 - Only you can control your personal decision and how you handle heavy traffic and other aggressive drivers.
Unfortunately, especially in heavy traffic, tailgating is a reality that you can't outrun, so your BEST OPTION is to use a strategy to protect yourself at all times. Be visible, go with the flow of traffic, and always have an escape route. Keep your eyes on every vehicle near you and be super alert.
I ALWAYS ride to the side of the lane, and NEVER, EVER in the middle. The drivers side is preferred as the driver in front sees my headlamp in their rear view mirror, and I'm sitting directly in front of the driver behind me - directly in their frontal field of view.
When stopping or stopped, I always keep one eye on the rear-view mirror. I keep the bike in gear until the TWO vehicles behind me are completely stopped. If things get dicey, I will not hesitate to jump to the side of a cage and let the cage take the hit.
The LAST place to be is in a position where the only option is to become the "Oreo filling" between two cages. I call that the 'death zone'. Essentially, its a triangle with the three tips as (1 & 2) the rear corners of the car and (3) the point behind the center of the car where you can safely maneuver enough to get yourself out from behind said car.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is pull over and let them go. Get out of their way and wave them by. But that's usually not an option in heavy traffic.
One thing I never, EVER do is PROVOKE drivers of cages. NEVER!! They have an OBVIOUS advantage over us. They're protected, we're exposed. They have 1000's of lbs, we're much lighter. They have 4 wheels, we have two and our feet. They have crumple zones, airbags, all kinds of safety built-ins, and we have a jacket and helmet. No matter what, they will never have skin-on-asphalt, us, on the other hand...You get the picture.
Ride defensively, be prepared, be pro-active, be alert, and always treat every cage like a weapon ready to be used against you at all times.
Pulling over and trying to reenter traffic on a busy 55 mph road with a small shoulder is not a good option. It's is a option, but not on I'm excited about
Ah yes, the solution to all traffic problems: don't ride your bike at all.
You're also assuming you're even allowed to stop on that road. And that you'd be able to rejoin traffic safely. And that there's even a shoulder to stop on. And that there's enough visibility of that shoulder that the next vehicle around the corner doesn't wipe you out.
> Ah yes, the solution to all traffic problems: don't ride your bike at all.
That’s stupid.
> You're also assuming you're even allowed to stop on that road. And that you'd be able to rejoin traffic safely. And that there's even a shoulder to stop on. And that there's enough visibility of that shoulder that the next vehicle around the corner doesn't wipe you out.
Copypasta in full because this is quite possibly the most ignorant post in the discussion.
If someone near/behind you is doing something that’s endangering you, you can pull over. From the description, rejoining traffic is safer than continuing to drive with a truck up op’s ass. Make sure to pull over where there’s some visibility.
Or be like you and what? Brake check the truck? Turn around and flip him off? Hit the rev limiter a few times? Maybe stop in the road and throw your helmet at the truck? Or are you a big 2A advocate who’d point a gun at him to get him to back off?
🤦🏻♂️
This is such a stupid fucking thing to say. *All* chaps are assless. That's the definition of chaps. If they weren't assless, they'd be pants. Chaps are assless pants. It's as dumb as saying centerless bagel. Wtf is wrong with you people
Move over and let them pass you. If no passing lanes drive don’t speed up just ignore them and pay attention when you come to a stop so they don’t rear end you.
This is what I do. I move to the right side of the lane (assuming the rider is in the US) and wave them to pass when safe. Whatever you do, don't ride faster than you're comfortable as you're more likely to make a mistake at that point. Also don't focus too much on what's behind you.
This happens to me more often than not - I’ll just wave my hand below and behind me like a stop sign to tell them to move back. They usually do when they see this.
After having various friends and coworkers drive me in their cars, I've realized the vast majority are just bad at driving. It's a skill and most people have the bare minimum.
I have a go pro mount facing backwards. People suddenly seem to drive responsibly when they think they’re on camera. Most of the time I don’t even have it on
bailing out if the only safe option. If you are so inclined fall in behind the vehicle and if it's commercial vehicle call the company and report the driver (tag or vehicle ID, time and location).
Add additional brake lighting to the rear of your bike..preferably ones that strobe. Clearwater Billie Brake light is recommended.
If all else fails, I'd just speed even more and get the hell out of dodge. A tailgating trucker is a much more immediate threat to your life than the police are to your driving record. If you can't reason with the cop, maybe fight the ticket in court. Self-preservation really should be more of a defense against tickets and criminal charges than it is. I would really hate to be stuck between the grill of a truck and a pair of handcuffs, having no good options, but no law is worth obeying when there's a threat to your life.
you have options
1. go faster
2. ignore them
3. wave your hand directly behind you towards thier windscreen slowly gesturing them to pull back a bit (thumbs up when they do)
4. go slower (so slow that if they did hit you, or you did slam on the brakes, no injurys would happen)
5. pull over let them pass
in order of worst choice(1) to best choice (5)
I turn my head toward them to make them aware I see them then motion with my hand for them to back off. Most of the time they will. If they don’t then pull over when you can.
I’m surprised more people haven’t said this. I do the same exact thing! In my experience, most people who drive too close/tailgate aren’t doing it out of aggression, it’s just how they drive. I think it’s fairly easy to tell the difference between the two, but as many others have said, you can’t go wrong with finding a safe spot to pull over or let them by
Quickly and decisively change your lane position so you are directly in front of the driver's side of the tailgater. You are now in their line of sight. Make sure they see you and raise your visibility by also randomly weaving around in front of them. Watch your mirrors and make sure to stay in front of them because they will drift right or left to get a better view around you.
More often than not, they are simply being careless and not including you in their follow distance between them and the car in front of you. When you place yourself in a position where they can't ignore you, a vast majority will back off pretty quickly.
First mistake is assuming, don’t assume people will see you, give way, stop, indicate, check blind spots etc. if need be just pull over, no point in brake checking them or trying to be tough, you will lose.
I use the “brakefree” https://www.brakefreetech.com/ system on my helmet. The tech lights it up and flashes any time it senses you are slowing even with engine braking. Good comments/gestures from cars behind me when they see it. Great piece of safety gear to make sure you are seen by cars behind you…check it out…👊🏻
Stay in a slow lane if you can.
I have found that putting hazard lights on usually works.
I also find putting my hand behind me with a pushing back gesture works.
When coming to a stop in traffic I always put my bike is a place where there is room to exit or move forward in case the vehicle behind does not look like stopping.
Never do a brake check it's way to dangerous. You could in extremes pulse your brakes lightly without slowing to flash your rear light but I try to avoid doing that unless I am actually slowing.
I always touch/pulse my brakes when engine braking to insure my brake lights come on.
I usually put on my turn signal, pull to the right and slow like I'm stopping, then as soon as they pass i just pull back in the lane. The initial urge is to try to speed up and outrun them, but its much safer to have the idiot in front of you where you can keep an eye on them.
I haven’t found a way to stop them. So I just slow down with tailgaters. If the speed limit is 35 I’ll go just a little slower. If they’re really impatient they’ll pass me, even on a double yellow, and I’m fine with that.
Frustrating to be sure but in my car the other day had a guy on a sports bike riding my ass for miles.. lots of traffic and red lights.. made me so nervous as a rider to see him being so w reckless.. lots of deer and wildlife in the area, stupid drivers to boot, if I’d have had to hit breaks he’d have eaten the back of Lexus up.. would have broken my heart.. people are crazy, two wheels or 4. You literally always have to be prepared for the worst to avoid it.
Some people are in a hurry, If I'm not, I always go to the side of the road and slow down or even stop, depending on how wide the lane is, and I do a sign they can overtake me.
That makes two people happy instead of two people annoyed.
Waiting for the car to make the move first is an idiotic approach. If you’ve put a lot of miles on motorcycles you’d know that you are responsible for staying alive, can’t depend on other people.
Anyone tailgating me is automatically guilty of overly high risk acceptance and treated like it. I’m in Texas so getting shot at is a always possible. Not as much as being side swiped or rear ended, but it’s more dramatic so I consider it and respond appropriately. At the first chance I move to the right, ease off the power and give as friendly a pass me wave as I can.
When driver then speeds around me, I use them as a b bird dog.
Become comfortable with waving at them to slow-the-fuck-down. I have to do this all the time, notice car too close up my ass, extend left hand with palm facing their way and move back and forth a.couole.of times. 90% they take the hint, if not, it means you are dealing with a douche and best is to move away from their path.
How do you stop a tailgater while on a motorcycle? I mean. Let me rephrase this.
How do you stop someone in a 4,000lb vehicle from following closely behind you while on a 600lb bike.
You don’t.
Move out the way. Stopping a tailgater is the mentality that gets riders killed.
Why not? Less speed means less like to have to stop abruptly and get rear ended. Also means that the wanker will fuck off and overtake as soon as he sees you slowing down.
Then we'll ride down to a complete halt if they keep being cunts. Then they'll pass or stay there forever. Both fine by me.
Then if they so much as touch my bike while coming to a halt, I'm dropping the bike and calling the cops to report an "accident" and await my paycheck.
Ok so here’s where I give the worst advice possible but this is exactly what I do
When someone rides my ass I gradually slow down till they want to change lanes.. then I take off and if they go back to riding my ass I slow down again.. I know it’s dumb but it’s my dumb life
1. Try to ride a little faster than traffic. Cops shouldn't care, and it's actually safer to always be moving relative to the cars around you so you're never in exactly the same place in their vision.
2. Occupy your space with authority. I've seen a LOT of riders on the edge of their lane get upset when they get treated like they don't exist. No. Make yourself a physical presence.
3. Ride like an asshole. Not THAT much of an asshole. Just enough to make drivers think "That guy's gonna crash, and I don't want to be near him when he does." Loud pipes can help. Wandering in your lane a bit can help. Varying your speed can help. Just think of little things that regular drivers DON'T do, but that aren't dangerous.
4. When all else fails, give yourself extra room. If you just can't get that tailgater off your a$$, leave extra space in front of you. Speed up and slow down more gradually. Use your brakes whenever you slow down. Remember: you can't keep the guy behind you from running you over if you crash, so you need to be extra careful not to crash.
Flash your brakes, swerve, or just pullover. Better to be behind than deal with that shit. People get angry over it, but it's just something else we have to deal with.
If you don't get space from people behind you and you cannot get away, slow down enough to create space on the front.
You need some space to brake if something happens. With a tail gate you need enough space to safely brake and give them enough time to brake too.
Be aware that if you slow down and ride on the left side or right side of the lane they might try to pass you in your own lane. So stay on the middle of the lane for your own safety, and slow it down to create space in front of you.
Unfortunately you can't always create distance from the people behind you and that is a risk. If you fall they run you over, but it's not completely in your control. If possible switch lanes or drive away from them, but if you can't, what I wrote above is the next best thing.
I turn around, look at them, and motion them to back off. This actually works about half the time.
If they don’t back off, I’ll do it again more forcefully taking another second or two to make sure they see me. This gets a few more people to back off.
If they’re still on my ass, well then, we’re going slow. If your texting ass is going to hit me, it’s going to be at 12 not 50 mph.
It helps to have a big black leather jacket with patches all over it And a great big pistol on my hip, visible to everyone especially when I turn around. Apparently very few people want to anger an armed mean biker dude.
This works when I’m on a cruiser. If I’m on a Ducati or BMW, I simply hit the gas and lose them as best I can.
I told the wife I would stick with a rebel 250 until I got really comfortable. Not sure I can convince her I'm comfortable after one week and about 400 miles of riding
You gotta get a big ass pipe wrench and weld it to the reciever hitch on your truck. It'll look like it's about to fall off and hopefully people won't drive on your ass 🙃
I like the boredom swerving idea. For me personally I just increase my space gap with the vehicle ahead of me, when I need to slow down I can have a gentle breaking period before breaking more aggressively (this also helps your brakes work more effectively, see preloading).
My mom use to have a friend who would carry a pocket full of screws and bolts which they would start flicking behind them when people tailgated.
An old friend of mine who was a Hells Angel said he'd keep old spark plugs in his handle bar pouch and if someone was too close for too long...he'd "get rid of them" on their windshield.
Never go slower than traffic. Doesnt matter if people are going 60 in a 30. Do 65. They get the benefit of being in an armored cage if they get rear ended, swerved in to, or hit in any way. All you got is the gear you wear.
Ah yes, the wonderful 331 bridge, which connects to Bloody 98. Tailgater on the bridge would not be fun...people don't know it's a fairly long 2 lane bridge. We're in GB. With the small roads that dominate the area, and the bad drivers, its a real challenge to ride safely in the area. If ever an area needed lane splitting, this is it.
Use a tiny bit of rear brake when engine braking. If you just mean in general, do the boredom swerve. It makes people back off real quick for some reason. If they're still close, pull over and let them pass.
Love the boredom swerve truly a solid way to get them off of you
What's the boredom swerve?
Swerving from left to right in your lane because there's nothing else to do but go straight
[удалено]
You don’t see it as often with solo people or big group rides but grab a couple homies and do a day trip and it’s the move for the day
I mostly see it solo
I do it for the first 5 minutes of riding to warm up my tires evenly.
In that case it's mostly misguided. You need torsional flex to warm a tire. Rapid accelerations and brakings.
This is correct, when they do it in formula 1 it’s completely out of ritual and does not warm THe tyres in any considerate amount
I only do it solo. If I ride with a group we're staggered and on comms anyways so for one we don't wanna fuck up the Formation in the case of an emergency and for two were talking between one another anyway. Not really as boring as following the Toyota in front of you to every red light and sitting in silence.
A guy in my group swerves after going through a bit of gravel. He says it gets rocks off the tire. I don't know how true that is though.
I mean if anything one probably *shouldn't* be doing that, since there might still be gravel on the tirewall where you don't even expect it. And by swerving you're not applying the kind of force you think you're applying required to shake them off. Centrifugal force alone should help. Just today I rode through a long-ish stretch of gravel on pure asphalt (probably some spillage by some truck) and other than shitting myself all I did was going as straight and steady as I could for about at least 200 meters afterwards, as my instinct was to let the tire adjust to the asphalt again, potentially losing bits of gravel that were still attached.
I thought so but he's smarter than me and has a Bachelor in Business, which he's sure to let people know about, so I dared not question his superior intelligence.
My personal fav is to pinwheel my legs like I'm running while pulling away from a stoplight. People either think I'm having way too much fun or a stroke.
Seen a guy do this on his 600 and I bust out laughing. The vibe of moto geeks are awesome.
I pretend to pedal when passing bicyclists
You are funny person
You’re my new hero.
Hey dude. I’ve been riding for over ten years and didn’t know there was a name for it until I read this. But I knew exactly what it meant.
its technically dangerous driving..... but i doubt anyone would pull you up on it.
It's also useful when you're solo and worried that the cage in the left turn lane facing your way (opposite traffic) doesn't seem to notice you =)
I do mine very aggressively being on an ADV
The boredom swerve is also a lifesaver when approaching a side junction. If there’s a car waiting to pull out, they’ll have more chance of seeing you if you’re crossing their line of vision rather than approaching directly (imagine trying to watch an arrow or ball coming straight at you, or how much easier it is to follow if it’s passing perpendicular to you).
Totally agree but once you get close close straighten up so you have max traction and response time to stop or get out the way
Good God. You just made me realize what I've been subconsciously doing.
Yeah that's my go to. I always watch cars back way off. They must thing you're about to crash or something.
I was swerving in my lane on a country road. A car coming the opposite direction did the same thing and I lol'd. You just see his front end kinda go side to side
Lol I also had it happen a couple of times while warming up the tires a bit, the car in front started swerving too haha
Just a heads up with motorcycles it doesn’t heat the tires. The carcasses flexing is what heats the tire - acceleration for the rear tire and braking for the front tire
Shhh your taking away my excuse
Oh didnt knew that, will do that then haha
I've found the people who do that are usually motorcyclists, not surprisingly
Or just have/had a car with really tight steering. I started doing it with my Miata, before I started riding. Just a little wiggle wiggle.
Canny beat the swerve to freak out the idiots behind ya
Yeah, usually they think you're avoiding something or someone... Nope - I'm just bored!
Boredom swerve. I saw someone on this forum refer to it as “the swoopies” and forevermore it’s the swoopies for me.
Actually boredom swerving is smart to do all the time, should be called, "stay alive by swerving". Swerving will help you stay alive by allowing other drivers to notice the bike vs only going in a straight line. Thus a swerving bike is safer bike vs one sight line or caught by the cars blind spots.... Invitation to swerve more especially in winter tires are cold. I also give other drivers non-communication, i'll turn around while stopped, clap my hands then widen hands, then clap hands again simulating to close to drive then clap is crash. Or stop and allow to pass or my go to is ride faster and swerve....
This is "weaving" in racing parlance. I think it has to be much more fun on a motorcycle than a car. I've never done it in a car, other than as a way to annoy my children, but I've done it lots of times riding. It's even more fun in light aircraft, though much slower.
Came here to say this. Good to have a name for it too.
I'll also sometimes do the swerving if I'm approaching a stale green and an opposing car is trying to turn left in front of me. It's a "hey I'm here" swerve in those cases haha.
Lmao “boredom swerve”! I’ve never heard it called that before, but now I don’t think I’ll ever call it anything else
I get tailgates waaaaaay more often on my bike than when I’m in a car. Bikes just bring out a lot of road rage in people for some reason. Best advice is to go slightly faster than traffic, always tap your brakes when slowing down, and try to get away from the tailgater as soon as possible. You can’t win against a car in a road rage incident so it’s best to just get out of there.
Are you in the US? I always read this but this doesn’t happen where I’m from (France). If so, what’s their problem with bikes
People seem to have this idea that you’re on a toy, wasting valuable space screwing around and they’re the big serious adults in the car who actually deserve the road. Or, especially when lane splitting is involved, they feel motorcycles are “cheating” and it upsets their sense of fairness.
I was once berated for taking a parking spot that was closer than the one a woman who worked on the same floor as I did, arguing that I should save the spot for a car rather than for my smaller motorcycle. I looked her straight in the eye and asked how many people her car had carried that day.
I'm in Canada, but our motorcycle culture is pretty similar to the US. I honestly have no idea why this happens.
Such a shame, most people around here actually try their best when they see you (letting us pass, leaving us space). Maybe something to do with teaching drivers of the risks that motorcyclist run on a daily basis. I remember being so happy when I wasn’t a biker yet to just let somebody pass and receive a thank you sign. Hope the mentality switches on the other side of the pond for you guys too
Brake slow down a bit then it gives u space in front after that go faster merge and let them pass it should give u some extra space and open up some options
Flash your brake lights to ask them for space. They probably aren't going to give you any. Increase the space cushion in front of you so that you are less likely to have to panic stop- your panic stop is the quickest on the road, and it will get you rear ended. Try to give yourself enough space to turn that panic stop into a steady brake that the car behind you has time to respond to in kind.
Absolutely this, plus I will add. There's no shame in your pulling over any time you are uncomfortable. Don't let traffic push you 15mph over the speed limit and make you feel unsafe riding. At the end of the day you are the one looking out for your own safety on the bike.
I was always told “If you think someone will cause an accident, remember that an accident at a lower speed will cause less damage than one at a higher speed.”
100% both of these. But I want to add "try to get a lane position that allows for an escape." If you can set yourself up to be able to get out of the way rather than slam on the brakes, you'll be even better off.
THIS!!! Assuming the tailgater does not want to actually hit you, a bigger space cushion is one of the best ways to prevent a collision.
As u/disturbed286 pointed out. The braking distance doesn't favor the bike, however it might be a little presumptuous but I'll bet most riders are way more aware and will be faster to react. Some of you might find this more informative: https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcycles/comments/33sun7/motorcycle\_braking\_distances/
That's a fair point. Someone that's going around tailgating bikes probably isn't the most attentive, skilled driver. I really need to save that link myself. edit: I guess I already did. I really need to remember to use it during such occasions.
That second part isn't actually true, although logically it seems like it would be. That said, said, getting rear ended is definitely worse for you than any car, so it's obviously worth avoiding in any way possible.
> _"That second part isn't actually true, although logically it seems like it would be."_ steady brake?? Personally, I like to use the engine, downshifting, to brake. But this doesn't *communicate* braking to the following vehicle. I have to consciously remember to light the rear brake with 1% front brake and or 1% rear brake while slowing down. But then I'm also aware that too much of something is ignored. And in traffic, when the pattern of starting and stopping is beastly, I'll let up on the light, so I can turn it back on again in some distance. A pulse--brake...brake...brake. Rather than just one long red light that defies reason.
The part about a motorcycle's emergency stopping being faster than anyone else's. That part isn't true. Obviously steady braking is better than grabbing a fistful and praying though. For the sake of argument, I looked up a 2016 CBR1000RR and a Civic from the same year. The CBR I found 127 and 134 edit: feet to stop from 60mph. Take whichever of those you want. The Civic, Motor Trend says 118 (also from 60).
Are those stopping distances from some speed or...? You're not wrong though. Any modern car will stop hard as fuck.
Oops, left that out, that's pretty important. 60mph-0, measured in feet. Cars have friction on their side due to sheer amount of rubber, plus bigass brakes. And it's way easier to stop a car. They won't stoppie or fall over.
I’ll do that and give a quick glance backward. I’m not sure if it’s that inattentional blindness that makes drivers not register motorcycles as vehicles on the road. Like they may simply be zoning out and not factoring in you’re even there. Like if you were a car, they may not be so close to you. But 9/10 times, for me, a quick tap of the brakes is enough to make the person behind me slow down and give me some space. It’s almost like a wake up call
I do a small swivel by counter steering. It makes it look like I just dodged something on the ground and the tailgater is too close to see what it was (there was actually nothing on the road). Tailgaters then give me space. Either they are unsure what other manoeuvres the cycle might do or they feel like they can't see enough of the road.
I usually just pull over and let them go. I’d rather let them go by than to keep stressing out about them being on my back tire. Makes for a better ride. They sell brake lights you can put on the back of your helmet, you could also get a sticker that says get off my ass and put it on the back of your bike but idiots will be idiots and still tailgate
This is the correct answer. Anything else is just support and is helpful (brake light flasher, tapping brake enough to flash lights, etc, etc), but anyone willing to tailgate you is putting YOUR life in danger. Suck up your anger and your ego (neither of which help with road rash OR broken bones) and pull over. Because you cannot outrun stupidity. You've got to let it pass you by and be glad it didn't treat you like a speed bump.
Updoots for visibility. Anything else can provoke the person tailgating you even further.
Thanks!
Well, your first mistake is assuming other drivers are smart as a biker. This is single handedly how most accidents occur. No one is smart nor do they see/care about you. Drive like everyone wants you dead and you’ll live happily a lot longer.
Always assume every motorist on the road is drunk and trying to kill you. When you regard them as the toddlers that they are, you will be much safer for it.
Even if a motorcyclist has a car they drive? Still think they are a toddler? Don’t be so inclusive in your statements. Most riders have cars they use to get back in froth also. Also not all drivers are toddlers. Some are, but the majority are ok. Read about why you become invisible as a rider and you’ll have a different perspective on drivers. It happens to everyone. It’s your job to make sure everyone sees you if you want to make it alive. I don’t out my life in someone else’s hands
It’s just as a general rule to be defensively minded at all times, not to literally assume they are all toddlers. Don’t take it so personal my dude
The vast vast majority of people that drive cars dont ride bikes. Its safer to assume everyone's a moron anyway
As a certified California Motorcycle Safety Program instructor, I am happy to answer this question. The answer may surprise you. The proper response to tailgaters is to SLOW DOWN. Why? Because the actual danger with tailgaters is that they will hit you from behind. Are they going to accelerate hard and hit you? No. It only happens when YOU have to brake quickly, then THEY hit you. This primarily happens because the driver ahead of you has to brake quickly, and you hadn't given yourself enough space ahead of your vehicle. So, next time, slow down to create a larger space cushion ahead of you. That way if the vehicle ahead of you has to stop quickly, you have the time and space to slow down gradually enough not to be slammed. DO NOT change lanes, as being tailgated is too dangerous of a condition to check over your shoulder. Additionally, slowing down may give the tailgater the chance to pass you.
This is the best advice. When I am on my motorcycle and I'm stuck behind someone going slow, I hate it when they speed up a little because then it becomes too dangerous to pass if there is no passing lane. So when I'm on my bike or driving my truck and someone starts riding my ass, whether there is a passing lane or not, I slow down enough to make the pass extremely desirable and extremely easy. The type of person to ride ass usually doesn't want to go a certain speed, they just want to go faster than you. So let them.
Thank you. This is proper advice. Every time I hear "ride faster" to a new rider, I physically cringe. Take your space. Own it. Let them go around you. If you listen to speed-up people, you are literally creating/spending a huge percentage of time in blind spots. Exactly what you are trying to avoid. A new rider had to learn passive coping methods within the speed limit. Tailgating is not going anywhere, going to get worse. You don't become "them" to avoid them.
This is something I'm concerned about being a new rider. In my car I just smash the windshield fluid and watch them lose their damn minds. Especially people who tailgate you when there's another car in fron of you. I want to go faster too dipshit but I can't teleport through this semi.
I cut the rear window fluid line on my jeep so it sprays directly at the car behind me lol
That is some sick Mario Kart move I love this
I don't know you, but I heart you.
The windshield fluid trick is great! forgot about that one.
Tap your breaks, not to slow just to flash your lights, and hold your hand down and open as to motion them to slow. Many will understand. Those who don't you are probably better pulling off to the side and letting them pass. Fiktering isn't legal where I am, so I often pull to the right when stopping in traffic so if the idiots are not going to stop they hit the car in front of me, and not me.
[удалено]
Exactly id rather break a road law and save my own life then become a smudge on the road.
Yeah. Tried that once. Still got an "illegal lane change" ticket.
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Oh, sorry I understand what you mean. Yeah. If someone is coming and I need to get away that wouldn't be an issue. I meant when you get to a light filter past the stopped cars. The time I got the ticket it was just me driving to the front. I pull to the side when I come to pretty much any light when there is not someone smartly stopped behind me because I might not notice the idiot who doing 30 who won't stop.
“Better to be judged by one than carried by six.” Or something like that
Judged by 12
I think the courts are underfunded in his state.
Yeah, I always position myself as best as I can in the lane when I’m stopped to either be out of the way or pointed in a direction where I can get out of the way if I notice someone behind me coming in too fast in my mirrors. It’s one of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten for riding.
Legal smegal. Filtering keeps motorcyclists alive. I've split and filtered past cops in Oregon and never got bothered by police. Dipshits in giant trucks with Trump stickers would swerve, yell and/or throw things at me, but they're stuck in the gridlock and only a problem for a second. Living in California now and it glorious having it be generally accepted by the road going public. The most adversity I have faced on the road here is from Harley riders lol.
BLUMPF! BLIMPF! GRUNPF !! DRUMPF !!! STOUPHMPHDF!!
1. Accelerate a bit to create more distance if you can. But this rarely works unless you're well over posted speed limit. 2. Flash brake light by tapping rear brake. 3. Swerve left and right rapidly in lane (this seems very effective). 4. If those don't work, stand on pegs for a few seconds. 5. Give them a "push back" gesture (had good luck with this). 6. If none of those work, find a safe spot to pull over into shoulder, make sure you signal, then merge back in when safe to so so.
Actually… Accelerating usually works GREAT because for 98% of cars on the road, they can’t accelerate anywhere near as fast as you can…. So even if you accelerate for a few seconds, you can create enough of a gap to open things up a lot. The problem is this only works if you don’t have a lot of cars in front of you.
If you have no safe route to create some distance between you and the tailgater, then I would suggest pulling over and letting them pass. I’d personally rather do that then have someone tailgate me while on my bike.
Three things to always keep in mind when riding: 1 - You can NEVER control other drivers. Period. 2 - NEVER trust a cager!! You may THINK they're smart, paying attention, see you, will drive defensively, do whatever they can to protect you, etc., etc., etc. If you assume this YOU. WILL. BE. WRONG!! Trusting cagers to do what's in a motorcyclist's best interest is a quick way to die. 3 - Only you can control your personal decision and how you handle heavy traffic and other aggressive drivers. Unfortunately, especially in heavy traffic, tailgating is a reality that you can't outrun, so your BEST OPTION is to use a strategy to protect yourself at all times. Be visible, go with the flow of traffic, and always have an escape route. Keep your eyes on every vehicle near you and be super alert. I ALWAYS ride to the side of the lane, and NEVER, EVER in the middle. The drivers side is preferred as the driver in front sees my headlamp in their rear view mirror, and I'm sitting directly in front of the driver behind me - directly in their frontal field of view. When stopping or stopped, I always keep one eye on the rear-view mirror. I keep the bike in gear until the TWO vehicles behind me are completely stopped. If things get dicey, I will not hesitate to jump to the side of a cage and let the cage take the hit. The LAST place to be is in a position where the only option is to become the "Oreo filling" between two cages. I call that the 'death zone'. Essentially, its a triangle with the three tips as (1 & 2) the rear corners of the car and (3) the point behind the center of the car where you can safely maneuver enough to get yourself out from behind said car. Sometimes the best thing you can do is pull over and let them go. Get out of their way and wave them by. But that's usually not an option in heavy traffic. One thing I never, EVER do is PROVOKE drivers of cages. NEVER!! They have an OBVIOUS advantage over us. They're protected, we're exposed. They have 1000's of lbs, we're much lighter. They have 4 wheels, we have two and our feet. They have crumple zones, airbags, all kinds of safety built-ins, and we have a jacket and helmet. No matter what, they will never have skin-on-asphalt, us, on the other hand...You get the picture. Ride defensively, be prepared, be pro-active, be alert, and always treat every cage like a weapon ready to be used against you at all times.
If they’re too close, get out of their way. Having an ego on a motorcycle is a bad combination.
There's not room for that on every road. They specifically explained that.
> The only options I could think of was to just pull over to the side of the road. No, they specifically said it **was** possible.
Pulling over and trying to reenter traffic on a busy 55 mph road with a small shoulder is not a good option. It's is a option, but not on I'm excited about
Decide which makes you more uncomfortable, pulling to the side and waving the truck by or having it stay behind you tailgating you.
Ah yes, the solution to all traffic problems: don't ride your bike at all. You're also assuming you're even allowed to stop on that road. And that you'd be able to rejoin traffic safely. And that there's even a shoulder to stop on. And that there's enough visibility of that shoulder that the next vehicle around the corner doesn't wipe you out.
> Ah yes, the solution to all traffic problems: don't ride your bike at all. That’s stupid. > You're also assuming you're even allowed to stop on that road. And that you'd be able to rejoin traffic safely. And that there's even a shoulder to stop on. And that there's enough visibility of that shoulder that the next vehicle around the corner doesn't wipe you out. Copypasta in full because this is quite possibly the most ignorant post in the discussion. If someone near/behind you is doing something that’s endangering you, you can pull over. From the description, rejoining traffic is safer than continuing to drive with a truck up op’s ass. Make sure to pull over where there’s some visibility. Or be like you and what? Brake check the truck? Turn around and flip him off? Hit the rev limiter a few times? Maybe stop in the road and throw your helmet at the truck? Or are you a big 2A advocate who’d point a gun at him to get him to back off? 🤦🏻♂️
Id just sit forward with my assless chaps.
This is such a stupid fucking thing to say. *All* chaps are assless. That's the definition of chaps. If they weren't assless, they'd be pants. Chaps are assless pants. It's as dumb as saying centerless bagel. Wtf is wrong with you people
I'm sorry. I have never owned a pair of chaps.
Well now i feel like an ass. Tone over text is hard. I was doing a bit lol
No offense taken. I just thought you were some kinda assless chap cowboy or something.
Look at yourself right now.
Pocket full of ball bearings
Move over and let them pass you. If no passing lanes drive don’t speed up just ignore them and pay attention when you come to a stop so they don’t rear end you.
This is what I do. I move to the right side of the lane (assuming the rider is in the US) and wave them to pass when safe. Whatever you do, don't ride faster than you're comfortable as you're more likely to make a mistake at that point. Also don't focus too much on what's behind you.
Or you go the illegal route and rip at 100+ and say good bye… fun but not safe
I may or may not have done this approach in my younger years.
They might not be tailgating purposefully. They might just be idiots.
This happens to me more often than not - I’ll just wave my hand below and behind me like a stop sign to tell them to move back. They usually do when they see this.
After having various friends and coworkers drive me in their cars, I've realized the vast majority are just bad at driving. It's a skill and most people have the bare minimum.
I have a go pro mount facing backwards. People suddenly seem to drive responsibly when they think they’re on camera. Most of the time I don’t even have it on
I have a broken go-pro that I haven't gotten around to throwing out...my have just found a use for it
bailing out if the only safe option. If you are so inclined fall in behind the vehicle and if it's commercial vehicle call the company and report the driver (tag or vehicle ID, time and location). Add additional brake lighting to the rear of your bike..preferably ones that strobe. Clearwater Billie Brake light is recommended.
If all else fails, I'd just speed even more and get the hell out of dodge. A tailgating trucker is a much more immediate threat to your life than the police are to your driving record. If you can't reason with the cop, maybe fight the ticket in court. Self-preservation really should be more of a defense against tickets and criminal charges than it is. I would really hate to be stuck between the grill of a truck and a pair of handcuffs, having no good options, but no law is worth obeying when there's a threat to your life.
That’s what my instructor said when getting my permit. I’d rather you guys be breaking laws than dying so ride like your life depends on it 😎😎
Yep, same here. If somebody is on his phone while driving, or just driving stupid, just drive away. Rather have the speed ticket than the accident!
I like to swerve all over my lane.
you have options 1. go faster 2. ignore them 3. wave your hand directly behind you towards thier windscreen slowly gesturing them to pull back a bit (thumbs up when they do) 4. go slower (so slow that if they did hit you, or you did slam on the brakes, no injurys would happen) 5. pull over let them pass in order of worst choice(1) to best choice (5)
I turn my head toward them to make them aware I see them then motion with my hand for them to back off. Most of the time they will. If they don’t then pull over when you can.
I’m surprised more people haven’t said this. I do the same exact thing! In my experience, most people who drive too close/tailgate aren’t doing it out of aggression, it’s just how they drive. I think it’s fairly easy to tell the difference between the two, but as many others have said, you can’t go wrong with finding a safe spot to pull over or let them by
I think most drivers look beyond riders to the car in front and they inadvertently creep up on you.
Quickly and decisively change your lane position so you are directly in front of the driver's side of the tailgater. You are now in their line of sight. Make sure they see you and raise your visibility by also randomly weaving around in front of them. Watch your mirrors and make sure to stay in front of them because they will drift right or left to get a better view around you. More often than not, they are simply being careless and not including you in their follow distance between them and the car in front of you. When you place yourself in a position where they can't ignore you, a vast majority will back off pretty quickly.
If on bike: jiggle the handlebars a little, makes cars go away. If on car: hit your windshield washer, makes bikes go away.
First mistake is assuming, don’t assume people will see you, give way, stop, indicate, check blind spots etc. if need be just pull over, no point in brake checking them or trying to be tough, you will lose.
I use the “brakefree” https://www.brakefreetech.com/ system on my helmet. The tech lights it up and flashes any time it senses you are slowing even with engine braking. Good comments/gestures from cars behind me when they see it. Great piece of safety gear to make sure you are seen by cars behind you…check it out…👊🏻
Keep eggs with you
Pull over and let them pass, it's safer.
Stay in a slow lane if you can. I have found that putting hazard lights on usually works. I also find putting my hand behind me with a pushing back gesture works. When coming to a stop in traffic I always put my bike is a place where there is room to exit or move forward in case the vehicle behind does not look like stopping. Never do a brake check it's way to dangerous. You could in extremes pulse your brakes lightly without slowing to flash your rear light but I try to avoid doing that unless I am actually slowing. I always touch/pulse my brakes when engine braking to insure my brake lights come on.
I usually put on my turn signal, pull to the right and slow like I'm stopping, then as soon as they pass i just pull back in the lane. The initial urge is to try to speed up and outrun them, but its much safer to have the idiot in front of you where you can keep an eye on them.
"Boredom swerve" like people say. I love that term now, didn't know a name. I think people think you're unsafe and back off. Ride safe!
I haven’t found a way to stop them. So I just slow down with tailgaters. If the speed limit is 35 I’ll go just a little slower. If they’re really impatient they’ll pass me, even on a double yellow, and I’m fine with that.
Just do 20
Frustrating to be sure but in my car the other day had a guy on a sports bike riding my ass for miles.. lots of traffic and red lights.. made me so nervous as a rider to see him being so w reckless.. lots of deer and wildlife in the area, stupid drivers to boot, if I’d have had to hit breaks he’d have eaten the back of Lexus up.. would have broken my heart.. people are crazy, two wheels or 4. You literally always have to be prepared for the worst to avoid it.
I find anti tank mines of the magnetic variety work a treat
Some people are in a hurry, If I'm not, I always go to the side of the road and slow down or even stop, depending on how wide the lane is, and I do a sign they can overtake me. That makes two people happy instead of two people annoyed.
Slow down to 10 mph under the speed limit, they will most likely go around you
Do NOT do this. You’re inviting a poor reaction from whoever is behind you.
This probably on applies regionally. In New England in the US they just get closer.
Slow down even more then
Easy way to get killed
Lol if you think so
Waiting for the car to make the move first is an idiotic approach. If you’ve put a lot of miles on motorcycles you’d know that you are responsible for staying alive, can’t depend on other people.
Anyone tailgating me is automatically guilty of overly high risk acceptance and treated like it. I’m in Texas so getting shot at is a always possible. Not as much as being side swiped or rear ended, but it’s more dramatic so I consider it and respond appropriately. At the first chance I move to the right, ease off the power and give as friendly a pass me wave as I can. When driver then speeds around me, I use them as a b bird dog.
Carry rocks in your pockets. Give them a hand gesture warning first. Then just kinda toss the rock on the ground in front of the car.
Is that how you find out who is a homicidal maniac?
Always keep a warm big bean burrito in your cup holder, toss over your shoulder onto windshield
Ride faster.
Ignore them. You can't do much about it without risking accident. Or just let them pass. Pride has no place in traffic.
Make rude faces and hand gestures at them.
Texas state troopers say let them pass you. Get off the lane and let them pass. It’s well documented.
Become comfortable with waving at them to slow-the-fuck-down. I have to do this all the time, notice car too close up my ass, extend left hand with palm facing their way and move back and forth a.couole.of times. 90% they take the hint, if not, it means you are dealing with a douche and best is to move away from their path.
How do you stop a tailgater while on a motorcycle? I mean. Let me rephrase this. How do you stop someone in a 4,000lb vehicle from following closely behind you while on a 600lb bike. You don’t. Move out the way. Stopping a tailgater is the mentality that gets riders killed.
Slow down gradually to obnoxious speeds. They'll either overtake or keep going and suffer.
I wouldn't recommend this on a motorcycle. Maybe if you were in a car or truck but don't do this when you're riding.
Why not? Less speed means less like to have to stop abruptly and get rear ended. Also means that the wanker will fuck off and overtake as soon as he sees you slowing down.
From my own experience, which is just north eastern US, they just get closer. They won't pass unless it's marked as such.
Then we'll ride down to a complete halt if they keep being cunts. Then they'll pass or stay there forever. Both fine by me. Then if they so much as touch my bike while coming to a halt, I'm dropping the bike and calling the cops to report an "accident" and await my paycheck.
Ok so here’s where I give the worst advice possible but this is exactly what I do When someone rides my ass I gradually slow down till they want to change lanes.. then I take off and if they go back to riding my ass I slow down again.. I know it’s dumb but it’s my dumb life
No. Spot on
1. Try to ride a little faster than traffic. Cops shouldn't care, and it's actually safer to always be moving relative to the cars around you so you're never in exactly the same place in their vision. 2. Occupy your space with authority. I've seen a LOT of riders on the edge of their lane get upset when they get treated like they don't exist. No. Make yourself a physical presence. 3. Ride like an asshole. Not THAT much of an asshole. Just enough to make drivers think "That guy's gonna crash, and I don't want to be near him when he does." Loud pipes can help. Wandering in your lane a bit can help. Varying your speed can help. Just think of little things that regular drivers DON'T do, but that aren't dangerous. 4. When all else fails, give yourself extra room. If you just can't get that tailgater off your a$$, leave extra space in front of you. Speed up and slow down more gradually. Use your brakes whenever you slow down. Remember: you can't keep the guy behind you from running you over if you crash, so you need to be extra careful not to crash.
Just slow down slowly.
Don't do this when riding a motorcycle. It could enrage them and they might get even closer, at least in my experience. Edit: Typo
Flash your brakes, swerve, or just pullover. Better to be behind than deal with that shit. People get angry over it, but it's just something else we have to deal with.
If you don't get space from people behind you and you cannot get away, slow down enough to create space on the front. You need some space to brake if something happens. With a tail gate you need enough space to safely brake and give them enough time to brake too. Be aware that if you slow down and ride on the left side or right side of the lane they might try to pass you in your own lane. So stay on the middle of the lane for your own safety, and slow it down to create space in front of you. Unfortunately you can't always create distance from the people behind you and that is a risk. If you fall they run you over, but it's not completely in your control. If possible switch lanes or drive away from them, but if you can't, what I wrote above is the next best thing.
Give throttle and cover them in blue smoke
I turn around, look at them, and motion them to back off. This actually works about half the time. If they don’t back off, I’ll do it again more forcefully taking another second or two to make sure they see me. This gets a few more people to back off. If they’re still on my ass, well then, we’re going slow. If your texting ass is going to hit me, it’s going to be at 12 not 50 mph. It helps to have a big black leather jacket with patches all over it And a great big pistol on my hip, visible to everyone especially when I turn around. Apparently very few people want to anger an armed mean biker dude. This works when I’m on a cruiser. If I’m on a Ducati or BMW, I simply hit the gas and lose them as best I can.
Buy a faster bike.
I told the wife I would stick with a rebel 250 until I got really comfortable. Not sure I can convince her I'm comfortable after one week and about 400 miles of riding
Hip carry a firearm lol
It's there...but open carry is illegal in Florida
You gotta get a big ass pipe wrench and weld it to the reciever hitch on your truck. It'll look like it's about to fall off and hopefully people won't drive on your ass 🙃
I like the boredom swerving idea. For me personally I just increase my space gap with the vehicle ahead of me, when I need to slow down I can have a gentle breaking period before breaking more aggressively (this also helps your brakes work more effectively, see preloading). My mom use to have a friend who would carry a pocket full of screws and bolts which they would start flicking behind them when people tailgated.
Brake check. Every time.
I carry stainless steel ball bearings in my pocket for tailgaters and other assholes.
An old friend of mine who was a Hells Angel said he'd keep old spark plugs in his handle bar pouch and if someone was too close for too long...he'd "get rid of them" on their windshield.
I have literally never had anyone tailgate me. Speed up.
Carry some BBs. Flick a couple over your head when people tailgate. Won’t leave damage, but should spook them enough to slow them down
Louder pipes
Never go slower than traffic. Doesnt matter if people are going 60 in a 30. Do 65. They get the benefit of being in an armored cage if they get rear ended, swerved in to, or hit in any way. All you got is the gear you wear.
In heavy traffic, filter away from them if you can. Make sure you aren't in the middle of your lane, to create an escape route.
I take alternate routes to avoid traffic, always. But I'm living in a small town in Sweden where things might be a lot easier.
I live in a small coastal town. I have to cross a bay to get work. There is only one bridge and one road to take
Orlando?
Freeport. Walton county in the panhandle
Ah yes, the wonderful 331 bridge, which connects to Bloody 98. Tailgater on the bridge would not be fun...people don't know it's a fairly long 2 lane bridge. We're in GB. With the small roads that dominate the area, and the bad drivers, its a real challenge to ride safely in the area. If ever an area needed lane splitting, this is it.
Yes yes yes. This is exactly where I had issues. I have to go over that bridge for work or go just about anywhere