I voted that it is dangerous. In my experience it is dangerous not so much from the immediate chance of collision (I used to just apply enough to flash the brake lights) but because of the risk that the recipient will retaliate with something genuinely dangerous. You cannot "teach a lesson" in this way. It is almost guaranteed to produce a different result than you intend.
I tend to agree. I only do it now if there is someone that is doing extended tailgating and is obviously distracted and not aggressive. With the aggressive driver you are right in that it only increases the chance for an accident or confrontation. I did not sign on to teach everyone in life lessons they should have learned in kindergarten.
I've been brake checked a few times when I was young and dumb. Seems like a bad way to make a point to a young or irresponsible person. Now I'd rather just get out of their way.
You have to treat every driver as if they are armed and dangerous. As a matter of fact every driver is armed and potentially dangerous...with a 3500 lb weapon called a vehicle. I voted, no!!!
Hehe, I used to ride a Yamaha R6 motorcycle and my MSF instructor always said to treat every car like they are actively trying to kill you. Kept me safe for 9 years and 16,000 miles of donor-cycle riding.
^ Funny.....I learned about the same thing in the same course! If I see a car on the road I presume that it's driver either does not see (or hear) me.....or they DO see me and they're trying to kill me. :0 ATGATT!
100% agree, especially in Los Angeles. Never know if that person behind you is a gang member, lots of freeway shooting in this town started from something as small as brake check. I personally have enough discipline to know to move over when I see a car coming fast from behind, don't need to make a point to tell them to slow down just creates more drama and accidents. It's their choice to get ticketed, tickets are not cheap here in LA, let them be the sucker to help pay for road repair. Actually here is a true story. I was in the Ferrari one day, driving in the slowest lane (SLOWEST LANE). Why? Engine oil was still cold, so I take it easy to properly warm up the oil. A Mercedes came up fast from behind high beam flashing when I didn't speed up he passed me honking. (I guess complaining that I was going too slow?) Right when he did that we passed a CHP speed trap. (Which I knew because my V1 was going off like crazy prior) Sure enough he got pulled over, it was one of those rare moments where I chuckled at someone else's misery.
heck no, not in my little prius - now in my large SUV and BMW, only if they tailgate me in the right lane when it's 3 lanes across...
That's call defensive driving/riding. I tell my wife to drive like that all the time, just like you said treat everyone as they are about to do something stupid. Also another thing the driving school teaches you is that every so many seconds to do a scan all around and be aware of what's around you, and at last check all the gauges to make sure the car is functioning properly. In this video I just got done explaining what defensive driving is to my wife and told her to always expect the unexpected. I wanted to prove a point to her by taping what I think is about to happen, wasn't long after a car crossed the double yellow and pulled out right in front of me. I was chuckling afterwards at how precise my prediction was.
I voted no as it most definitely is dangerous and makes you no better than the person tailgating in my opinion
