called 911 on a tailgater today

[marta]

Friend and I were hauling home from a local park. County road, speed limit varies between 40 and 45 mph. We are going 45 when I looked in my rear view mirror and relaize that there a Cadillac behind me virtually glued to the trailer’ back. I slow down, motion through the window for the driver to back off. No effect. This continues for about a mile, I come to the next ramp, he remains so close to the trailer that we can only see the back of his car in the mirrors. Finally as he passes we get the license plate and I call 911. I have never done that before. Then again I have never had anyone
tailgate my trailer like that.
911 operator asked if I’d swear a complaint if they got the driver. I confirmed I would. Haven’t heard from them since. Probably won’t at this point.

This is such a horsey area. Im stunned at the level of ingorant and aggressive behavior this guy exhibited. Not sure if anything will ever come of my complaint but at least I did something about it.

[Happy2bhere]

sad but true

you go, girl

[Laurierace]

I bought a sticker for the back of my trailer that says if you can read this please remove your car’s nose from my horse’s ass. I hate tailgaters but they make me insane when I have a horse in the trailer. I have found the best way to deal with it is to take my foot completely off the gas until I am going so slow they fell forced to pass.

[Ambrey]

You need to market something that’s like a little container that you can fill with horse poop, and if people tailgate you you can pull a string from inside the truck and dump it on them

(just kidding! it would be really dangerous. funny, but dangerous!)

[marta]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;4357496]
I have found the best way to deal with it is to take my foot completely off the gas until I am going so slow they fell forced to pass.[/QUOTE]

I did that. He never backed off but rather stuck half his body out the window while gesturing and screaming. (I admit I gestured back ;))

[Woodland]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;4357496]
I bought a sticker for the back of my trailer that says if you can read this please remove your car’s nose from my horse’s ass. [/QUOTE]

I hate tailgaters but I hate vulgarity just as much. I think “Back Off” or Caution would be more appropriate and less offensive. Just saying. I saw that sticker onn a trailer at a county fair I thought it showed a complete crassness. IMHO

[JRG]

Good for you Marta!

[cranky]

Tail-gating is one of my biggest pet peeves with driving, it makes me crazy. I can’t imagine how mad it would make me feel if I was also hauling a horse trailer. I’m glad that you called on the guy.

[vacation1]

[QUOTE=marta;4357510]
I did that. He never backed off but rather stuck half his body out the window while gesturing and screaming. (I admit I gestured back ;))[/QUOTE]

:lol: Classic Jersey driver confrontation. My family swears I’m going to get shot some day because while I am resigned to poor driving, aggressive driving like tailgating makes me crazy and I am quite free with the obscene hand gestures. I may have to rethink that, as the last guy swerved around in front of me, slammed on his brakes and jumped out of his BMW, screaming. It’s always the people in the expensive cars, for some reason…

[cranky]

[QUOTE=vacation1;4357545]
:lol: Classic Jersey driver confrontation. My family swears I’m going to get shot some day because while I am resigned to poor driving, aggressive driving like tailgating makes me crazy and I am quite free with the obscene hand gestures. I may have to rethink that, as the last guy swerved around in front of me, slammed on his brakes and jumped out of his BMW, screaming. It’s always the people in the expensive cars, for some reason…[/QUOTE]

Usually, the closer they get to my bumper, the more I slow down. (I’m originally from Jersey too – LOL).

[Ridge_Runner]

I hate driver rudeness when towing too, but be careful with screaming or gesturing vulgarities. My old boss did that once and the guy he flipped off followed him to our parking lot and was trying to fight with him. The company had to call the cops to get rid of him. Some people are just nuts and will try to make you have an accident or worse. I would just call, report him and ignore them when they make rude gestures.

[Brockstables]

[QUOTE=Woodland;4357522]
I hate tailgaters but I hate vulgarity just as much. I think “Back Off” or Caution would be more appropriate and less offensive. Just saying. I saw that sticker onn a trailer at a county fair I thought it showed a complete crassness. IMHO[/QUOTE]

If a tailgater hits my horsetrailer from behind with a horse in it, you can be certain you would be hearing a whole lot of vulgarity, offensive language, and complete crassness. :eek:

[tkhawk]

Tailgaters make me really unhappy. As do the cars cutting you and jumping in during slow traffic. But that is just karma. Before I was into horses and I was quite young then, I used to always cut into the space left by big rigs. Never did I think they couldn’t slow down as fast and could ram into my car. Just interesting to be on the other side of the fence. :lol:
My scariest tailgating was by another big rig though. I was coming down a somewhat steep hill on a four lane freeway-about a 1000 ft drop from the summit. Most cars go 80-90 in the fast lane. I was chugging along the slow lane at 55(the limit in CA for trucks and trialers) and this darn big rig is tailgating me downhill. Just scary-I mean to see that giant thing so close to you. He had space in the next lane, could have moved there and continued but just kept tailgating me downhill. I moved into the next lane and he passed me and drove off.But just scary-it is one thing if you are in a car and can just zoom off-but just scary when you are towing downhill and can’t really speed down and are being tailgated by a big rig. Hmm I never thought of calling 911-it was just harrowing though.

[marta]

[QUOTE=vacation1;4357545]
:lol: Classic Jersey driver confrontation. My family swears I’m going to get shot some day because while I am resigned to poor driving, aggressive driving like tailgating makes me crazy and I am quite free with the obscene hand gestures. .[/QUOTE]

I didn’t even tell my SO about this bc he already thinks Im going to get killed (or get him into a fight) for my attitude while driving

But messing w/ me is one thing, however you mess w/ my pony’s welfare and I will not hesitate to use that manure fork in ways it was never intended to.

[mswillie]

Too bad the horse didn’t need to urinate. I’ve only seen it firsthand once myself, but I noticed a car traveling too close to the back of an old fashioned bumper pull trailer. Not being aggressive, just carelessly too close. Anyway all of a sudden the break lights come on, the windshield washer fluid starts squirting, and the wipers are on high speed.

I’m still not sure of how it was physically possible for urine to splash from the back of a trailer but it did. I’ll bet those people learned to give a bit more following distance for horse trailers.

[DLee]

Sorry, I honestly thought someone at a football game or steeplechase had had a freak accident or something!

[Pat]

@vacation1;4357545

:lol: Classic Jersey driver confrontation.

Nice generalization. I’ve been confronted with that kind of driver in MANY MANY places.

FWIW, good for you. I wouldn’t hold my breath on a call back, but he deserves some kind of ticket. If the cops spent more time cruising (and pulling the tail gaters) rather than trolling for speeders, they’d prevent some accidents. I’ll agree with the axium that “speed kills”, but it’s the tailgating/zippy lane changers that cause the bulk of the accidents. Particularly on the major interstates. (cough-I-78-cough)

Horsey area has nothing to do with anything any more, Marta, people everywhere just don’t know anymore how to drive near a horse.

I nearly got myself killed by an ambulance about at about 7pm tonight in Readington on 523. We had already dismounted to walk to the barn gate, and were walking in the grass of the shoulder. EMT hits the f’ing siren, 50 feet behind me on the other side of the road. I was really close to our drive and my horse jogs in hand nicely, so I took off to give my companion as much room to move too. Good thing we were both handling well adjusted older horses. Mine can even handle the occaisonal air horn blast and the other horse is pushing 30, not much phazes him. It might have been a differnt story if I had grabbed Dallas the Wonder Ayrab for that inpromptu trail ride instead of Beamer.

We were passed by two ‘busses’ within 30 seconds, going in opposite directions. We heard sirens and were waiting. The ONCOMING crews had already passed us with lights only, it was the one behind that had not been running lights and sirens, so we didn’t know about them until they hit that siren 50 feeet behind us.

It was either the Readington EMS or the Tewksbury people. I’ll just call both and politely explain the NJ laws and that they nearly could have been returning in short order to pick US up too. It is a law for motorists to SLOW DOWN to 25mph in NJ in the presence of a horse. And it IS posted in some areas in Hunterdon AND about 100 feet or so before where the ambulance passed us is a nice, big yellow HORSE sign!

[Pony_Person]

@vacation1;4357545

:lol: Classic Jersey driver confrontation.

:lol::lol::lol:

Good for you, marta! Don’t mess with us Jersey Girls!:yes:

[Equibrit]

Make sign; Stay back - Driver not responsible for manure thrown from trailer.

[dalpal]

Couldn’t do this with a horse trailer…but I’ve always wanted a bumper sticker that read…“If you can read this, prepare to brake NOW”. :lol:

In all seriousness…someone once told me that the best way to deal with tailgaters is to just gradually slow down unti they have no choice but to pass…so this is how I now deal with the situation.