What should I do if a car keep on driving up my ***

[toomsie]

What should I do to make cars back off and not drive so close. I know that most cars often do this with the intention of overtaking.
So one option is to only give them space to overtake if it is easy to do so. But I am thinking what signal would encourage them to
back off other then the fly swatting signal.

[beardy]

No such signal exists and any signal used will merely motivate them to move a little closer.

[Vorpal]

Sometimes, looking back and giving them a hard look will do the trick. Otherwise, the only things you can really do are:
-facilitate an overtake, if it is safe to do so
-slow right down so that the space between you and them is likely to be enough stopping room
-pull over and letting them by

[661-Pete]

I think, short of having backward-pointing frickin' laser beams attached to the rear end of your bike, there isn't a solution. The motorist who does this is probably the same motorist (or, at least, close kinsman thereof) who tailgates ruthlessly on the motorway.

[[XAP]Bob]

Ensure that their stopping distance is adequate, eyeball them...

[horizon]

What should I do to make cars back off and not drive so close. I know that most cars often do this with the intention of overtaking.
So one option is to only give them space to overtake if it is easy to do so. But I am thinking what signal would encourage them to
back off other then the fly swatting signal.

If they're waiting to overtake and therefore going at your speed, that's good. I like a following car - it's my protection on blind left-hand bends, in heavy traffic and on roundabouts. I wouldn't tip them but I would certainly thank them with a friendly wave as they go past - I do.

I use a "dipped" right arm with flat palm facing them to tell them to stay back, a normal wave on and then a thank-you wave. Remember - you're in charge of the traffic.

[flatout]

On a narrow country lane where I could not see a safe pass, I took primary and showed the palm of my right hand to the offender. It seemed to work like a red rag to a bull. Next thing he is alongside me, window wound down and enlightening me about how selfish I was. The fact that I survived in the two foot gap that he left me shows that he must have been right.

You can’t educate pork!

[greyingbeard]

fart

[reohn2]

fart

If the car is very close,I wouldn't risk it as there may be a follow through

[jollytiddlywink]

It's tempting to reply "pull the lever on the handlebars to drop the calthrops all over the road behind you" but then, alas, Q branch don't seem to make bikes.

[drossall]

-slow right down so that the space between you and them is likely to be enough stopping room

I had this discussion once when renewing my minibus assessment. I had just been round the Birmingham ring road in a minibus full of Scouts, in the inner lane, with a lorry up my back, and was still unnerved by it.

I couldn't accelerate (not safe, speed limit, vehicles in front). There was nowhere to go. In the end I slowed down a bit. I couldn't have gone slow enough to achieve what Vorpal says. However, I could give myself extra stopping distance, so that I could stop slowly and have some chance of not out-braking the lorry.

Of course, reacting to someone trying to urge you onwards by slowing down is likely to annoy the offender.

However, the former Police driving instructor assessing me agreed that there was little else I could have done. And there's always the chance that the driver behind will give up and overtake.

[meic]

When it has happened to me on the bike, they have been looking for a fight and any reaction to them should keep that likelihood in mind.

On the motorways here, in my car, I seem to attract a certain sort of tailgater. I will be driving on an almost deserted motorway and somebody will come and sit right on my bumper, they normally fall off the back of somebody else's bumper who has probably sped up to get rid of them.

After a couple of miles I get fed up of having two of us trying to squeeze into the same ten metres of a road which is empty as far as the eye can see. So I knock the car out of gear and let it slow down. I have once got down to 25mph before they were forced to overtake me and often get into the thirties before they will go off on their own.
It happens much more after dark and I think they can not actually see where they are going and want to just follow somebody, I am a good target as I tend to do a rather frugal 60mph on the motorway.

[reohn2]

I've had it a 70+ on the motorway in the outside lane,with a Berlingo (of all things)within 6ft of my rear bumper,with no chance of me moving into lane two and cars immediately in front.
When I finally was able to move over the following Berlingo driver swerved in front of me and hit the brakes hard causing me to do the same,and narrowly avoiding rearending it,before booting it again.
An HGV in lane one,and slightly behind me went onto the hard shoulder to give me room to swerve out of the way of Mr Maniac.
I still ponder as to what the whole episode was about

[GrumpyCyclist]

fart

If the car is very close,I wouldn't risk it as there may be a follow through

That just adds to the forcefulness of the warning. Although now I can't get the image of a perfectly aimed "warning" sliding down the driver's side of the windscreen out of my head. Nice.

[meic]

I should add that many decades ago, shortly after getting my licence, I was subject to a close tailgater so I sped up to get away from them. They stuck with me pushing me ever faster until they had enough and turned on the blue lights and booked me for speeding. So I never speed up for tailgaters.