Tailgaters

[Richard Hoffman]

For those of us who have rear fogs, I think I can safely say that the rear
fog light works wonders on tailgaters, especially at night.  That thing is
so bright and annoying...and its often mistaken for a brake light as well.
I learned this myself while following my parents in thier A6 - they just
pressed all the buttons for fog lights not knowning what they did (a little
clueless, perhaps?) and drove on thier merry way.  Even at normal following
distances it is still quite straining on the eyes.
I think my worst tailgating story involves me being tailgated by (of all
things) an AMBULANCE.  I guess what better car to get in an accident with,
right?  Just cruisin along, no emergency or anything.
Anyway the guy in the ambulance had his high beams on and it was
mega-annoying and he refused to pass (I was in slow lane, 2 lane freeway).
Flashing the rear fog didn't really work and he totally was oblivious to the
fact that his highs were on...so I pulled out to the fast lane and hit the
brakes to dive behind him.  Gave him a couple quick flashes with the H4/H1s
(all high watt) and he figured it out real quick and turned on the rear
headlights on the ambulance...turns out there were some MEGA bright
rear-facing lamps on that ambulance which I got a real good look at.  I have
never seen such terrible road manners, especially from an emergency vehicle.
In the end he actually did turn off the high beams.
On another note about tailgaters, there is a video out there called
"riceweapon.mpeg" that shows the rear view from a MkII Golf as it
demonstrates an effective method of discouraging tailgaters.  Worth the
download, good entertainment.
Just adding fuel to the fire, I'm sure (but what else to do, the q-list is
kinda slow today)
Richard
2 Audis that dislike tailgating




>From: Huw Powell <audi at humanspeakers.com>
>Reply-To: audi at humanspeakers.com
>To: Mike <jester at cfnson.com>
>CC: Audi List <quattro at audifans.com>
>Subject: Re: Tailgaters
>Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 17:40:03 -0500
>
>
>>>I keep a stash of pennies in the car and flip them up through
>>>the sun roof... Suggestions (polite ones)are appreciated...
>>
>>
>>Well, being of an inventive mind, and not bereft of some mechanical skill,
>>I
>>have thought of several non-lethal methods of discouraging tailgaters.
>
>I was thinking of a device to alert followers with over-bright or -high
>headlights that they are "too close."
>
>It would consist of a pair of light sensitive receiving cells, one on
>the dash, and one facing rearwards.  The front one is used to cancel the
>device when the sun is out.
>
>When the rear one picks up light over a certain threshold (determined
>empirically by me after installation), it activates whatever
>discouragement technique pleases you.  I liked the idea of strobes in
>the brake light housings.
>
>There would also be a "disable" switch up front for special conditions.
>
>A proximity sensor with speed (and road conditions???) biasing could be
>used to fire the thing up for tailgaters, too.
>
>But I don't have enough free time on my hands to implement any of this
>electronic tomfoolery.
>
>--
>Huw Powell
>
>http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi
>
>http://www.humanthoughts.org/


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