Motormouth: Speedsters who tailgate are the worst

Speed freaks who habitually tailgate make motoring more dangerous and less pleasant for law-abiding drivers.   

[Story by guest columnist Tan Ah Lin]

Beware, it’s a jungle out there. Not the Mandai Zoo kind with flying bats, but the Lion City road zoo where flying speedsters lurk.

These are the motoring idiots who tailgate you for no apparent reason, even if you’re not in the fast lane and you’re already travelling slightly over the road’s posted speed limit. 

They are unmistakable, especially at night or in Singapore’s expressway tunnels. Just take a glance in your rear view mirror and they are there - a pair of headlights closing in on your car, rapidly, like xenons beaming back to the future.  

The speedsters generally follow what I term the Three-Step Manoeuvre, which is Intimidate, Tailgate, Overtake. 

They first try to intimidate you by flashing their headlights as they are approaching like a rocket from the rear. If you do not budge from your lane, whether because you didn’t notice the high beams or you chose to feign ignorance, the speedster would proceed to the next step - tailgating. If this doesn’t get you out of his/her way, they will eventually overtake after some “bumper car” near-miss action. 

The dramatic overtaking in this case tends to be accompanied by a cold, hard stare from the speeding speedster and maybe an angry blare of his/her horn too. 

The angrier, crazier ones might not end the unpleasant episode and continue on their way in a big hurry - they might worsen the situation and greatly increase the driving danger by playing a stupid game of Jam Brake in a foolish attempt to up the ante. 

These are the seasoned speedsters, whose reckless motoring behaviour should be stopped or at least deterred before it leads to tragic traffic accidents which make the news. 

Tailgating is part of a serious driving/attitude disease which afflicts speedsters. They zip in and out of traffic, switching lanes as if they are doing the cha-cha on the road. They do their dangerous darndest to get ahead of slower, but not necessarily slow, vehicles.   

They feel the need for speed and would happily tailgate to feed this need, but the rest of us driving from place to place just want a drive which is safe enough and reasonably pleasant. 

Tailgating at speed is meant for racetracks and video games.

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