What should I do about being tailgated

1/4" ball bearings work? Lol.

 

If they are following at a safe distance, they'll have plenty of time to react and avoid whatever I chose to avoid by means of superior ground clearance. If not, they should be paying better attention to what is ahead of them and not so much to their phone, etc. Somebody could lose their spare tire (not mounted on the rim) and my truck will clear it...so why should I swerve? Why should I brake, find a hole to squeeze into, and leave my lane JUST so a tailgater won't wreck when it suddenly appears on the road ahead of them as it comes out from under my trailer? It didn't fall off of my truck, therefore I am NOT liable for the damage to their car. All I did was avoid it...and if they had truely been following at a safe distance, they could have avoided it too.

Again, if all I did was use the tools I have available to avoid something already in the road, the idiot trying to push me along is NOT my concern. Not a dang thing he can do, even if he's got a dash cam. I didn't create the debris...I simply avoided it.

 

I know I'm a newbie but I found his tailgating question to be an important one.

 

As you should. That's exactly how you should be thinking at this point in your career. Good job.

But as anyone with ANY seat time will tell you, trucking is chock full of whiners. One of the oldest tricks in the book is to cry " I can't do it- it's not safe!" You'll hear this "safety" cry from anyone trying to excuse poor performance (took me longer to back etc etc) to those that just want a day off (Abe comes to mind ). The list is endless.

I'm not saying the OP falls into that category, I'm just saying you've got to be able to differentiate someone actually following too close- or someone not "allowing at least a minimum of 8 seconds following distance". One is dangerous, and worth addressing- the other is, well, traffic.

 

Thanks for the support
I am trying to sponge up all of the priceless info, tips, advice, etc... so I really appreciate whatever you all post on here.

 

I agree with you Ad. I work security and our main motto is safety first and I don't want anyone pushing so hard I make a huge mistake.

 

I do nothing about tailgaters. They're behind me, not my problem to worry about.

 

I drive my vehicle that way but It would be more risky in a huge truck

 

I have heard drivers state this many times over the years. I disagreed then as I do now. Yes, other then slowing down and adjusting following distance you can't really do anything about tailgaters. What draws my comment though is this it is behind me therefore not of concern to me mentality. AS the operator of a CMV you should be aware of everything going in every quadrant in respect to your vehicle. One thing that can make for a headache day is to lose track of what's going on behind you and have a small car you can't see get lost in your right side blind spot. It does matter what is going on behind you almost as much as what is going on in front of you. Good safe drivers have learned to take this constantly changing situation in account during their constant eye movements in their mirrors.