who's in the wrong here?

[zachary_amaryllis]

last week, i was driving northbound out of denver, on the 4-lane part of i-25, north of longmont. traffic is fairly heavy. the section of road is a construction zone, and is posted at 65 through the zone.

i was passing a long, tight line of vehicles, that was trapped behind a truck. i was doing probably 70, the right lane was probably doing 60-65 or so. this wasn't a 'micro-passing' thing. the guy behind me is doing everything he can to drive up  my muffler, like literally 5 feet off my bumper. my intent was to pass the truck, which had a decent gap in front of it, then move over, since i would have been done passing vehicles at that point for a while.

as i put on my turn signal to move over, this guy zips in to the right of me, enough to where the truck locked up his brakes for a second, flies by me, only to get trapped behind another vehicle.

in the line of vehicles, there was no gap big enough for me to safely merge into. i was actively passing vehicles, not camping in the left lane.

was i wrong or.. should i have done something differently?

[Max Rockatansky]

Buy an upgrade to your car horn and lay on it for an excessively long time, seems to work for someone on the Photos board.

[Rothman]

I have found it helps to put on your blinker early to let the aggressive tailgater know what you're doing.

It actually doesn't sound like a big sin was committed here, except for the tailgater cutting off the truck.

[jeffandnicole]

Eh, just another day on the highway.

[MCRoads]

Eh, just another day on the highway.

Was just on this stretch of highway today! It is a mess (though not as bad as I-25 over Palmer Divide), and had an encounter with a tailgater. Not tailgating us, but when he decided to whip past the vehicle he was behind, he cut us off. He got stuck behind an SUV, and we passed him again. My dad was none too happy about this person flying past him, so we drove the same speed as that van until we exited 5 miles later. Petty? Yes. Funny to watch him change lanes every 5 seconds to try and pass us? Yes.

[zachary_amaryllis]

Eh, just another day on the highway.

Was just on this stretch of highway today! It is a mess (though not as bad as I-25 over Palmer Divide), and had an encounter with a tailgater. Not tailgating us, but when he decided to whip past the vehicle he was behind, he cut us off. He got stuck behind an SUV, and we passed him again. My dad was none too happy about this person flying past him, so we drove the same speed as that van until we exited 5 miles later. Petty? Yes. Funny to watch him change lanes every 5 seconds to try and pass us? Yes.

i will neither confirm nor deny having done this very thing in the past.

[webny99]

... had an encounter with a tailgater. Not tailgating us, but when he decided to whip past the vehicle he was behind, he cut us off. He got stuck behind an SUV, and we passed him again. My dad was none too happy about this person flying past him, so we drove the same speed as that van until we exited 5 miles later. Petty? Yes. Funny to watch him change lanes every 5 seconds to try and pass us? Yes.

i will neither confirm nor deny having done this very thing in the past.

Being stuck behind two cars going the same speed is one of the all-time most frustrating experiences. Tailgater or not, just let the guy go by if he wants to go by.

[kphoger]

Theoretically?  Every single car that wasn't leaving proper following distance, which would have allowed you to slide over for a few seconds without much disruption to anyone's speed.

Legally?  Both you and the other guy, for speeding.

Realistically?  The other guy.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Crash-It. *drops mic*

[sprjus4]

Eh, just another day on the highway.

Was just on this stretch of highway today! It is a mess (though not as bad as I-25 over Palmer Divide), and had an encounter with a tailgater. Not tailgating us, but when he decided to whip past the vehicle he was behind, he cut us off. He got stuck behind an SUV, and we passed him again. My dad was none too happy about this person flying past him, so we drove the same speed as that van until we exited 5 miles later. Petty? Yes. Funny to watch him change lanes every 5 seconds to try and pass us? Yes.

Drivers like you are the problem. Enough said. Either pass or move over. Just let the other guy go by. Don't play games.

[paulthemapguy]

OP, you were probably fine.  Tailgaters are trash.

[Rothman]

Eh, just another day on the highway.

Was just on this stretch of highway today! It is a mess (though not as bad as I-25 over Palmer Divide), and had an encounter with a tailgater. Not tailgating us, but when he decided to whip past the vehicle he was behind, he cut us off. He got stuck behind an SUV, and we passed him again. My dad was none too happy about this person flying past him, so we drove the same speed as that van until we exited 5 miles later. Petty? Yes. Funny to watch him change lanes every 5 seconds to try and pass us? Yes.

Drivers like you are the problem. Enough said. Either pass or move over. Just let the other guy go by. Don't play games.

Games are fun.

[kphoger]

Games are fun.

Except when they're not.

One morning, on the way to work, I got frustrated with a left lane hog on the Interstate, and I did a stupid jerk maneuver to tick him off (not proud of that).  The other driver then decided to chase me down.  With me being in front, no evasive action on my part could shake him.  I only got away by going past my exit (diamond interchange), then driving the wrong way down the on-ramp.

That day was a turning point for me.

[Rothman]

Games are fun.

Except when they're not.

One morning, on the way to work, I got frustrated with a left lane hog on the Interstate, and I did a stupid jerk maneuver to tick him off (not proud of that).  The other driver then decided to chase me down.  With me being in front, no evasive action on my part could shake him.  I only got away by going past my exit (diamond interchange), then driving the wrong way down the on-ramp.

That day was a turning point for me.

That wasn't a game.

[sprjus4]

Games are fun.

Except when they're not.

One morning, on the way to work, I got frustrated with a left lane hog on the Interstate, and I did a stupid jerk maneuver to tick him off (not proud of that).  The other driver then decided to chase me down.  With me being in front, no evasive action on my part could shake him.  I only got away by going past my exit (diamond interchange), then driving the wrong way down the on-ramp.

That day was a turning point for me.

I've ran into left lane situations a couple times recently. The one that stood out to me was on I-64 coming back from Richmond - it was night and traffic was fairly light - which is a miracle in of itself). The speed limit is 70 mph, and I'm going about 78 mph. As I'm about to pass two cars in the right lane - both going about 62-63 mph, one randomly jumps into the left lane and then proceeds to hold spot with the car, not even an inching micropass. So after about a mile of being stuck under the speed limit, I flash the driver. Nothing happens. So then I turn on high beams. Nothing happens. Eventually, after holding the horn for about a minute, he finally moves over - STILL behind that car he had initially gotten over to pass, and of course has to give the obligatory bird. At this point, probably about 10+ cars stacked up behind, all held up by this one person - and if I'm not mistaken, I think he might have gotten over again, not really sure though, I was past it and that's all I cared about.

I don't get the mentality that goes through drivers mind. Do they feel because they don't want to maintain the speed limit, everybody else on the road should be held up as well?