Do those "Stay Back" signs on trailers work? (aka "STOP TAILGATING ME!")

[Trakehner]

Sadly, I’ve run across very few mannerly horse trailer drivers. I imagine most people tailgate because they want to pass a rig that is blocking the road and has no intention of pulling over so they can be safely passed. I’ve been cut off when going down the road…as a driver, looking and seeing a horse trailer with 30 cars lined up behind it, I’d sure be tempted to get out in front of that disaster.

I pull over and wave people around…don’t want the crowds behind me doing something dangerous to get around me vs. when the drama is minimized.

Now, if the bike riders would pull off and let cars and trailers pass on narrow roads, that would be lovely.

[msj]

When I was trailering I always wanted a sign that read:

Get off my (picture of a horse’s butt), you (picture of a jackass)!

[moving_to_dc]

@Trakehner;7809465

Sadly, I’ve run across very few mannerly horse trailer drivers. I imagine most people tailgate because they want to pass a rig that is blocking the road and has no intention of pulling over so they can be safely passed. I’ve been cut off when going down the road…as a driver, looking and seeing a horse trailer with 30 cars lined up behind it, I’d sure be tempted to get out in front of that disaster.

Unfortunately, I am probably one of those “rude” horse trailer drivers. I have no intention of pulling over unless it is safe for me to do so in the following ways - A.) there is an available spot BIG ENOUGH for me to pull over into, with enough warning that I can safely decelerate TO pull over and stop and B.) this spot also allows me enough visual clearance and area to safely re-accelerate back to speed.

I have yet to find a spot like that on these twisty turny up and down eastern roads. Alaska at least had the foresight to install pull outs frequently along their highway system. In the Midwest, I don’t ever need to pull over because the lack of curves/hills allows me to maintain my speed with that of traffic.

On a multi-lane highway, I am generally in whatever lane is safest for me. Usually the middle or the right, but on occasion, I WILL be in the left lane where there is tons on merging traffic clogging up the right lane, causing me to be slamming on the brakes. I have no problem holding up traffic to the speed limit for a bit to avoid having to bounce my horses around.

[Jim_in_PA]

moving’ makes a good point. Extra courtesy cannot come at the expense of safety. And very often, those lines of drivers piled up are behind a vehicle that’s actually going the speed limit. I see no reason to pull over in that case for sure. If the load is causing a vehicle speed that’s meaningfully below the posted limit, then if safety allows, occasionally pulling over to clear traffic is the right thing to do.

[CC1]

[QUOTE=Jim_in_PA;7809540]
moving’ makes a good point. Extra courtesy cannot come at the expense of safety. And very often, those lines of drivers piled up are behind a vehicle that’s actually going the speed limit. I see no reason to pull over in that case for sure. If the load is causing a vehicle speed that’s meaningfully below the posted limit, then if safety allows, occasionally pulling over to clear traffic is the right thing to do.[/QUOTE]

Ditto x 10!!

[LauraKY]

[QUOTE=DHCarrotfeeder;7809407]
I’d add a sign that says “warning, horses urinate frequently” and then hook up a washer/spray thing from a car to the back door. A$$hole tailgaters get sprayed at the press of a button. :)[/QUOTE]

I was thinking a liquid manure mixture. Hahahaha.

IME, the signs don’t help.

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=red mares;7808221]
I drive in DC. It happens. If you leave a couple car lengths ahead of you, another car pulls in. It’s not like driving else where. I do it outside of DC & don’t even realize it; I’m just used to close quarters on the road.

I rarely get behind horse trailers, they’re generally in the right lane;I’m usually not. Too hard to see what’s in them. :)[/QUOTE]

This is probably the case for the vast majority of drivers. It’s not being a “jerk”; it’s developing habits to successfully cope with the realities of freeway driving in a congested area.

But there are “jerks” out there, like the person who cuts into your “safety zone.” Or thinks that riding your bumper will make you go faster. The person who’s just acting out of “habit” might pay attention to a sign but the jerk will not. Given that I don’t think spending money on signs is a worthwhile investment.

I like the idea of the little pump. Maybe horse urine, nicely aged, would be even better than fine oil.

G.

[FrittSkritt]

Red mares is right – DC drivers seem to think that if there’s more than a car’s length in front of you, they have the right to take that spot… or the people behind you will tailgate you because of it! No different with trailers, and it’s infuriating when they do. That air horn sounds like a good idea.

[arapaloosa_lady]

Drive considerately & you’ll minimize the trouble you have with other drivers on the road. If you’re not comfortable driving over 25 mph, don’t choose routes where the speed limit is 35+. Don’t drive in the left lane - it’s the passing lane for a reason! Of course there will still be jerks, but the major traffic back-ups I’ve seen surrounding horse trailers are those who are driving rudely.

“Stay back” signs are ineffective except with considerate drivers who wouldn’t have been giving you serious issues to begin with.

Pretty sure spraying anything out the back of your trailer is highly illegal ;). Which includes letting your horse urinate out the back of the trailer. Probably won’t matter unless someone slams on their brakes when you do that & there’s an accident.

[Sing_Mia_Song]

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/117645061770496032208/albums/6070819498034184593/6070819497137284370?pid=6070819497137284370&oid=117645061770496032208

[moving_to_dc]

[QUOTE=arapaloosa_lady;7809689]

Pretty sure spraying anything out the back of your trailer is highly illegal ;). Which includes letting your horse urinate out the back of the trailer. Probably won’t matter unless someone slams on their brakes when you do that & there’s an accident.[/QUOTE]

I highly doubt having horse urine spray out of the back of a trailer is illegal. If it were, then there would never be cattle pots (livestock semi’s) on the road. I’ve been covered in all types of liquids and solids when following or passing a loaded cattle pot.

[AmarachAcres]

Stay back signs can help people who don’t realize a horse trailer needs more time to brake, turn, and maneuver. Yes, they probably won’t work on jerks but I think it is silly to say they aren’t worth the money.

On our trip from OK to WA I witnessed many people behind us get close and then suddenly slow down and back off. Was it the sign? We didn’t ask, but it happened multiple times and they often changed lanes and passed us carefully.

I truly believe it was helpful to people who had perhaps not driven behind a horse trailer before.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

Since this thread got a bit broader, I’ll share a few more thoughts:

• Bicyclists are sometimes bums. But those who are not have the right (responsibility?) to control overtaking and limit it to safe circumstances. If you’re towing horses among faster-moving traffic then the same responsibility can be applied. On my bike, people will pass on the opposite lane going around blind corners and hills and I will sometimes intentionally block such stupidity at times because the people who might be traveling the other way do not deserve to die like that. I make it obvious by moving over AFAP as soon as visibility becomes safe. Narrow roads, bicycles, and wide slow moving vehicles are just a generally sucky combination.

• I believe all motorists, towing horses too, are responsible to not get in the way of other lawful travelers. This doesn’t mean you have to pull over every 1000y when you’re surrounded by speeders, but if you can’t go the speed limit and can’t find a slower way to get there, should consider how to make your followers life more sane.

• Motorists in cars are often bums. If they tailgate they run the risk of hitting you if they’re behind and texting, phoning, tuning in a stereo, etc. Not much you can do about this.

• Motorists who cut in front are quite common. They have no concept of self-preservation, and they may even know that in the world of police reports and insurance, it’s very difficult to be properly blamed when they create an accident in this manner. Pray for a good Samaritan witness if someone cuts you off or worse, tried to brake-check you, because otherwise the default responsibility goes to the vehicle that failed to avoid hitting what was in front of them.

• Air horns can work for a vehicle in front but if they make an erratic move or brake check you, it can be argued that you also contributed / escalated the situation with a deliberately disruptive horn.

• Consider getting a couple of mini cameras. These are coming way down in cost and they keep several hours of rolling footage at all times. The one I use on my bicycle looks like this: http://fly6.com/ One in front, one behind, and you’re pretty much in complete control of your destiny if you try to drive safely and someone else does something dangerous/illegal.

• I was kidding about squirting things out the back of the trailer. But in a car, using your windshield washer works pretty well for backing off a highway tailgater. Not sure if the overspray of the truck windshield washer would reach beyond a trailer but it’s worth a try.

David

[ShotenStar]

I live in MD and drive MD/VA roads regularly. The back of my 2H GN is decorated with warning signs: Caution Horses, If You Can’t See my Mirrors I Can’t See You, and Caution Wide Turns. They don’t seem to make a lot of difference. I still get passed on narrow, double yellow roads. I still have people try to cut me off when I swimg wide to make a right turn from one narrow road onto another.

i have adopted the Law of Gross Tonnage, i.e., I’m bigger than you are Little Car, so just chill.

star

[katarine]

[QUOTE=moving to dc;7809955]
I highly doubt having horse urine spray out of the back of a trailer is illegal. If it were, then there would never be cattle pots (livestock semi’s) on the road. I’ve been covered in all types of liquids and solids when following or passing a loaded cattle pot.[/QUOTE]

She’s referring solely to the poster who said they had a thing rigged up TO spray, ON DEMAND, out of the back of the trailer. Now if you can train your mare to pee when you honk your horn, you’re legal

[FrittSkritt]

One thing that also bugs me is people merging onto the highway who clearly aren’t paying attention. I swear 9/10 people expect other drivers to move into the left lane when they’re coming onto the highway, regardless of the traffic behind or in front of them. It’s to the point of where they’re not even looking to their left, they just move over no matter who’s there.

I see this ALL the time: I’ll be tootling along in the right lane with the trailer, and a car will be coming off the on-ramp into the acceleration lane, which obviously ends at some point. They have two options: either they speed up and get in front of me, or wait until I pass them and get behind me. Let’s face it: I am NOT switching lanes for one car to merge. If there’s 10 cars, yes, but one? Hell no.

More often than not, I’ll be even with at the end of the acceleration lane and I see the car behind me find out their lane is GONE! and have to slow down b/c they get squeezed out. Had they pulled their heads out of their asses prior to that, they wouldn’t run into this predicament. :mad:

[moving_to_dc]

[QUOTE=katarine;7810145]
She’s referring solely to the poster who said they had a thing rigged up TO spray, ON DEMAND, out of the back of the trailer. Now if you can train your mare to pee when you honk your horn, you’re legal :)[/QUOTE]

I would have thought she was referring to the “pump sprayer on demand” except for what she posted (that I put in bold):

[QUOTE=arapaloosa_lady;7809689]
Pretty sure spraying anything out the back of your trailer is highly illegal ;). Which includes letting your horse urinate out the back of the trailer. Probably won’t matter unless someone slams on their brakes when you do that & there’s an accident.[/QUOTE]

[see_u_at_x]

A friend of mine purchased a horse trailer that has a super shiny, highly reflective door on the back like this:

http://www.willstrailers.com/25965-14%20HS%202H%20BP%20VE%20DR%20-%2008.JPG

Supposedly, they really do help keep tailgators away, probably because A) the car can actually see just how close they are to you, and B), the surface reflects their headlights right back at them.

[farmgirl]

I have Horses Caution (yes, backwards) on my trailer along w Stay Back 200 feet. I am a white knuckle trailer driver, and I think it helps.

[Hej]

Funniest bumper sticker I ever saw:

          "Unless you're a hemorrhoid, get off of my a**."