Volt Tailgaters
In my stock-looking truck, I'd get the occasional tailgater, but I am frequently getting tailgated and literally harassed by other drivers. In three months of ownership, I can clearly recall eight bad situations.
Most recently, on 4/3/17, I was tailgated and literally chased by a lifted truck. I won't say my speed but it was certainly socially acceptable and definitely not below the speed limit at all. He had pulled on from a side street, quickly caught up and easily got within three feet from the back of my car, occasionally closer. He put all of his lights on me, shifting his truck to the side so that one was shining in my left mirror and the other directly in the back window. My eyes were tearing up in seconds from dealing with the light!
A frame grab from my dash cam shows the effect pretty well.
![Mode of transport Light Road Night Lighting]()
The dark area in the middle are my headlights illuminating the area where his headlights were blocked by my car. I say headlights but one can tell the truck had far, far, far more than stock lighting including purple high beams.
My nature is to avoid confrontation and soon made a sudden left turn at speed (couldn't safety touch my brakes to make the needed right). What I didn't expect is that he then chased me down crossing in front of me at a residential intersection where I got a good look at the driver (likely a high school or college student) and incidentally got his license plate number as he passed by. Don't worry, I went the other direction!
I have had it happen twice in Atlanta last month. However, in one of those, karma did strike when one tailgated me just as badly for a couple of miles and even sounded off his "train horn" even though I was following a Tahoe, both of us were going a reasonable speed. The Tahoe was an unmarked police car! hehe
I'm not a slow driver, use the left lane for passing, never tailgate, don't use the "Low" mode in the Volt much (down major hills mostly,) always use the indicators and in fact, probably drive a bit too politely, like a native rural Texan would/should. Heck, I've even had a good friend who was a retired officer of 35/36 years say I was the most courteous driver he had ever ridden with.
Oh, and one incident happened with a dealer tech driving trying to figure out my ongoing CS MPG problem where the truck tailgated, passed and then brake checked us and yelled something about 'Government Motors' at the next light. So maybe that is the root of the problem because I have not seen this in any of my other vehicles, except for the fact that they are also GM products.
Anyhow, I'm still trying put this latest incident out of my mind and am curious how often this goes on and does it happen more with the Volt or have I just been 'unlucky' lately.
Now I need to run an errand. I think I'll take the truck. This time.
Most recently, on 4/3/17, I was tailgated and literally chased by a lifted truck. I won't say my speed but it was certainly socially acceptable and definitely not below the speed limit at all. He had pulled on from a side street, quickly caught up and easily got within three feet from the back of my car, occasionally closer. He put all of his lights on me, shifting his truck to the side so that one was shining in my left mirror and the other directly in the back window. My eyes were tearing up in seconds from dealing with the light!
A frame grab from my dash cam shows the effect pretty well.
The dark area in the middle are my headlights illuminating the area where his headlights were blocked by my car. I say headlights but one can tell the truck had far, far, far more than stock lighting including purple high beams.
My nature is to avoid confrontation and soon made a sudden left turn at speed (couldn't safety touch my brakes to make the needed right). What I didn't expect is that he then chased me down crossing in front of me at a residential intersection where I got a good look at the driver (likely a high school or college student) and incidentally got his license plate number as he passed by. Don't worry, I went the other direction!
I have had it happen twice in Atlanta last month. However, in one of those, karma did strike when one tailgated me just as badly for a couple of miles and even sounded off his "train horn" even though I was following a Tahoe, both of us were going a reasonable speed. The Tahoe was an unmarked police car! hehe
I'm not a slow driver, use the left lane for passing, never tailgate, don't use the "Low" mode in the Volt much (down major hills mostly,) always use the indicators and in fact, probably drive a bit too politely, like a native rural Texan would/should. Heck, I've even had a good friend who was a retired officer of 35/36 years say I was the most courteous driver he had ever ridden with.
Oh, and one incident happened with a dealer tech driving trying to figure out my ongoing CS MPG problem where the truck tailgated, passed and then brake checked us and yelled something about 'Government Motors' at the next light. So maybe that is the root of the problem because I have not seen this in any of my other vehicles, except for the fact that they are also GM products.
Anyhow, I'm still trying put this latest incident out of my mind and am curious how often this goes on and does it happen more with the Volt or have I just been 'unlucky' lately.
Now I need to run an errand. I think I'll take the truck. This time.
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I have gotten a few dirty looks and one guy tried to "roll coal" on me. The look on his face when he got left behind by a Nissan Leaf was picture-worthy. No problems with my Volt, though I even added an "Electric" badge on the back.
I have not had any incidents like that in 1.5 years of ownership. Maybe a rare tailgater, but no more than in any other car I have owned. It sounds like you may live in an area that has a coal-rolling mentality. Unless you have enemies for some other reason. I live in the "South" but it is not the deep south or the rural south, so things may be different where you are.
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Unless you keep accurate data, your biases will affect any perception. If you expect the low lifes of your area to tailgate you, that is what you will perceive. I suspect over 80% of the drivers in the world have no idea what a Volt is or looks like.
Try recording the number of tailgaters per hour of driving in your truck and in your Volt. Please report back here with your results.
Try recording the number of tailgaters per hour of driving in your truck and in your Volt. Please report back here with your results.
Lock the cruise control on the speed limit in L and throw on the sun shades. Not reacting pisses them off even more.
It's obvious it has nothing to do with speed, or wide open road, he would pass.
It's to get a reaction from you, just ignore him. If it continues for a while, phone the police to report unsafe driving.
It's obvious it has nothing to do with speed, or wide open road, he would pass.
It's to get a reaction from you, just ignore him. If it continues for a while, phone the police to report unsafe driving.
Classic bullying behavior, for whatever reason, Volts/EVs/Green cars trigger his bully response...You're not the first nor will you be the last they'll do it to, the great news is you do have a dash cam...One other thing you could do is to donate to your local police or fire dept, most will give you association sticker, put it on your back window and often that's enough to make a bully think twice and move onto another vehicle...If Police, it may help you avoid a ticket...
I did not own my Volt long, I wasn't chased down nor did I ever feel "bullied", but I was certainly intentionally cut off more times than I could count...Tendency is the larger and/or more expensive a vehicle is, odds go down...
I did not own my Volt long, I wasn't chased down nor did I ever feel "bullied", but I was certainly intentionally cut off more times than I could count...Tendency is the larger and/or more expensive a vehicle is, odds go down...
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I get worse behavior when I am driving the bus. Audis must pass no matter the speed or the red light ahead. I slow the bus to allow the traffic packs to run a tenth of a mile ahead of me. I do not even want to tangle with the lack of defensible space.
On two occasions when I first got my 2011 Volt I had a pickup truck pass me at 30 MPH over the speed limit (I was 10 MPH over) on the freeway, and swerve to nearly hit me as he passed. Funny thing is, I was in the center lane on both occasions, and there were no other cars near me. On both occasions the truck (different truck each time) came from far behind in the far left lane and then went to some effort to nearly sideswipe while passing. Definitely a VOLT-HATE crime. Doesn't happen anymore.
In general, my best technique is to turn and get away from the situation.
I wouldn't mind trying to drive away but it seems to happen too often over ~45 mph where the Volt does not accelerate very well.
As for enemies, I can't image that being the case, especially from random idiots out of town.
As for keeping statistics, between work and personal, I drive over 125k miles per year (and used to drive more.) In general, it's rare for someone to tailgate my trucks, so rare that it surprises me while I experience people following at unsafe distances virtually every day.
Although I admit, people like to tailgate the trailers. Mine have rear cameras on them that I have marked distances on the display in 3' increments. It is not too uncommon to see front bumpers within that first mark on the Interstate! That's why I added a center LED stop light strip in the middle of the rear of the trailers. It has a circuit that only allows it to turn on when both rear turn signals are on, thus braking events and emergency flashers.
Want statistics? The office is off a nice wide four lane road in an industrial park. My habit is to put my turn signal on a pretty good ways back, especially if someone is behind me. That's the courtesy part. I don't "L" regenerate or brake early (as I should if I want to be more efficient) unless there is nobody behind me. This morning and at least a dozen times in the past three months where some idiot will blast their horn just because I needed to make a right turn. Some even show the universal Alabama greeting (I'm #1). This has NEVER happened in the truck in the 15 years prior.
Extrapolated score over 15 years: Truck: 0 Volt: 540 (15 years * 12 honks in three months * 4 quarters).
Okay, that is a dubious statistic, but something that clearly stands out in my mind not, in my opinion, does not make me biased.
What got me thinking about this was the headlight idiot and an interesting conversation with a Volt owner in Huntsville last Thursday where he asked ME about the tailgaters. He had been bumped coming to a stop at a light the week prior. It's a shame I didn't have that screen cap to show him!
(Actually, he is only the second Volt owner I have met in person... Volts are rare here, so much so that I have to go 60 miles to get service when I drive past two Chevy dealers to find a dealer that seems to know anything about Volts.)
As for the issues of "doing the speed limit" or being forced to speed, that is one thing that bothers me big time, in particular when out of state. Unfortunately there is not genuine solution except to keep up.
Through the decades, I cannot count how many times I have been pulled over when out of state for doing "1 over" or "2 over". Heck, in Polk County, Arkansas, I was pulled over and actually ticketed for doing 72 in a 70 zone. Not a construction zone or anything. Five o'clock on a Friday passing through Russellville.
I also keep getting pulled over in Texas for "not having a front license plate"; the last I was kept on the side of Hwy 21 for 45 minutes on my way to see my dad who passed about hours later.
This problem seems to have been worse since the late 90s. Hmmm, maybe it corresponds to when I moved to Alabama. Either way, that problem is fully separate from the tailgaters.
I wouldn't mind trying to drive away but it seems to happen too often over ~45 mph where the Volt does not accelerate very well.
As for enemies, I can't image that being the case, especially from random idiots out of town.
As for keeping statistics, between work and personal, I drive over 125k miles per year (and used to drive more.) In general, it's rare for someone to tailgate my trucks, so rare that it surprises me while I experience people following at unsafe distances virtually every day.
Although I admit, people like to tailgate the trailers. Mine have rear cameras on them that I have marked distances on the display in 3' increments. It is not too uncommon to see front bumpers within that first mark on the Interstate! That's why I added a center LED stop light strip in the middle of the rear of the trailers. It has a circuit that only allows it to turn on when both rear turn signals are on, thus braking events and emergency flashers.
Want statistics? The office is off a nice wide four lane road in an industrial park. My habit is to put my turn signal on a pretty good ways back, especially if someone is behind me. That's the courtesy part. I don't "L" regenerate or brake early (as I should if I want to be more efficient) unless there is nobody behind me. This morning and at least a dozen times in the past three months where some idiot will blast their horn just because I needed to make a right turn. Some even show the universal Alabama greeting (I'm #1). This has NEVER happened in the truck in the 15 years prior.
Extrapolated score over 15 years: Truck: 0 Volt: 540 (15 years * 12 honks in three months * 4 quarters).
Okay, that is a dubious statistic, but something that clearly stands out in my mind not, in my opinion, does not make me biased.
What got me thinking about this was the headlight idiot and an interesting conversation with a Volt owner in Huntsville last Thursday where he asked ME about the tailgaters. He had been bumped coming to a stop at a light the week prior. It's a shame I didn't have that screen cap to show him!
(Actually, he is only the second Volt owner I have met in person... Volts are rare here, so much so that I have to go 60 miles to get service when I drive past two Chevy dealers to find a dealer that seems to know anything about Volts.)
As for the issues of "doing the speed limit" or being forced to speed, that is one thing that bothers me big time, in particular when out of state. Unfortunately there is not genuine solution except to keep up.
Through the decades, I cannot count how many times I have been pulled over when out of state for doing "1 over" or "2 over". Heck, in Polk County, Arkansas, I was pulled over and actually ticketed for doing 72 in a 70 zone. Not a construction zone or anything. Five o'clock on a Friday passing through Russellville.
I also keep getting pulled over in Texas for "not having a front license plate"; the last I was kept on the side of Hwy 21 for 45 minutes on my way to see my dad who passed about hours later.
This problem seems to have been worse since the late 90s. Hmmm, maybe it corresponds to when I moved to Alabama. Either way, that problem is fully separate from the tailgaters.
That's funny. Today I was approaching an intersection and an Audi SUV just had to pass me in the center turn lane about a tenth of a mile before the turn lane started! Of course, it's not all Audi's nor do all Prius' hypermile nor, well, well all know the rest.
I do drive a CMV. Not a semi, usually a pickup pulled a large trailer or a straight truck (box truck.) It is clear that people want to get around them a lot!
Speaking of passing, here is a screen cap from last month where a semi just had to get around me. At this moment, I was slowing and the oncomming car was stopping and pulled into the grass. Again, I won't speak the speed but let's just say I definitely was not below the speed limit.
Leaving space is always the key. I cannot count the number of times traffic has stopped and I was able to brake gently to stop. This doesn't include a number of times where cars have slid past me and wrecked because they weren't paying attention, the last being October 31 of last year.
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Wow, that's terrible! I haven't had anyone tailgate me because of my choice of vehicle, but I wouldn't be surprised if that ever happens. I usually end up getting tailgated on my way to work. I pass two schools which quite often have speed traps setup, so I always drive cautiously 1-3mph over the posted 25mph. Most people follow a safe distance but recently this girl in a Nissan has been riding my ass.
I recommend getting a rear facing dashcam. If you're in the Gen-1 Volt, it has a fuse panel located on the driver side wall in the back of the car. I tapped the passive entry circuit so I get always-on power for my cameras parking monitor. I use the DDPai M6 Plus. You can see the images below for a quality sample.
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![Sky Mode of transport Residential area Cloud Vehicle]()
I recommend getting a rear facing dashcam. If you're in the Gen-1 Volt, it has a fuse panel located on the driver side wall in the back of the car. I tapped the passive entry circuit so I get always-on power for my cameras parking monitor. I use the DDPai M6 Plus. You can see the images below for a quality sample.
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Driving home on a four lane highway yesterday about noon there was an SUV that was tailgating me for probably five miles. I didn't pull out in front of it or anything, it just caught up with me while going down the road. It would drop back several car lengths then speed up so that it wasn't more than a car length behind me (with his brights on). I was driving the speed limit and there wasn't much traffic so they could have easily passed me. I just acted like I didn't notice it, didn't adjust my speed and eventually they came to their turn off.
I have to admit it was annoying and I'm glad it didn't happen at night. It got me to thinking of a rear facing camera. I saw this sticker online that might discourage tailgaters even without actually having the camera, although I also like the idea mentioned of a sticker showing support for local law enforcement.
I have to admit it was annoying and I'm glad it didn't happen at night. It got me to thinking of a rear facing camera. I saw this sticker online that might discourage tailgaters even without actually having the camera, although I also like the idea mentioned of a sticker showing support for local law enforcement.
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Interesting. I do notice that I get tailgated and cut off more when we had our Volt (and now Trax) then I do in my Crew Cab, Long bed, Truck. But it still happens in that... And the off road,high intensity lighting is really annoying. Luckily right now, the sun is up during all of my driving hours and will be until probably sometime in late August or early September. Sorry you are experiencing this.
Actually I do have rear facing cameras for all of my vehicles. I would have posted a pic of the truck and the headlights but it was a solid white image with a couple of black dots that seem digitally created.
Now I need to find that fuse panel. I already have a 12 volt distribution block in the under floor storage space but I'm just powering it form the back seat 12 volt socket, formerly known as a cigarette lighter. I'm powering the two cams, a USB power block for my various devices plus the Mofi (LTE WiFi router.)
Thanks for that heads-up to look around for that.
And I'll check out the M6 Plus. I'm looking for a cam with a good parking mode. I'm tired of my vehicles getting hit and people leaving. The Volt has already been hit twice, once in the front-right popping the front bumper cover loose and once in the front-left breaking the turn signal lamp assembly.
See, not only can they not drive here, and some are idiots, but they can't park either.
Actually, did you know that it been said that squirrels (yes, the rodent with the big tail), that squirrels get run over in the SE US more than anywhere else in the world?
It's because we have more nuts on the road.
Cheerios!
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DDPai is a Chinese company, so support for their products is quite limited. The first one I got had the speaker go out after a few weeks, so the supplier sent me a second. That's how I got one for my back window. Other than that, they've worked great. The best part about using them for rear dashcams is that they have wireless panic buttons. The DDPai M6 Mini is more ideal for rear camera use and the M6 Plus is for front windows. In fact, you can pair them together through WiFi.
The DDPai parking mode is pretty good. It'll switch to time lapse after the car is stationary for about 5 minutes. If it detects a bump or loud noise, it'll record normal video for 30 seconds (15 before and 15 after). You can set a maximum parking mode time as well so it doesn't waste battery and storage. Unfortunately the parking mode will also record when you're parked at home. Mine records tons of videos of my charge light blinking while the car is in my garage overnight.
Pictured below is where the rear fuse panel is in the Gen 1 volt. I connect my dash cams using this. It worked perfect for the front camera (There's a fuse panel behind the driver door in the dashboard), but you may want a longer one for the rear camera. I also included a picture of the front fuse panel.
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1,170 Posts
Just be glad you don't ride a bicycle. Getting bullied on a bike can lead to serious injury or death. And, some people go crazy when they see a cyclist.
Actually I do ride but I stick to the residential streets for that reason where I haven't had any problems. Well, that and the fact that I can't tackle the big hills anymore.
Unfortunately, some cycling group(s) here have created "situations" by blocking traffic and made the problem worse by not following the rules, running stops/lights and blocking traffic in areas with no/few opportunities to pass.
The second or third day after I got my Volt, I received the brunt of the wrath from a idiot when I had to go 5 mph for a cyclist up a hill. Passing could have been suicide for me or dangerous for the rider climbing the hill, so I waited for an opportunity that was safe for everyone. That idiot deliberately tried to run the cyclist off the road, then me off the road and then brake checked me to a complete stop. It was that moment that reminded me to order a dash cam for the new car!
I've opened that panel once and all I saw was a piece of foam. When I pulled the foam, I only saw the big cable and figured it was emergency access and left it alone. I need to investigate further.DDPai is a Chinese company, so support for their products is quite limited. The first one I got had the speaker go out after a few weeks, so the supplier sent me a second. That's how I got one for my back window. Other than that, they've worked great. The best part about using them for rear dashcams is that they have wireless panic buttons. The DDPai M6 Mini is more ideal for rear camera use and the M6 Plus is for front windows. In fact, you can pair them together through WiFi.
The DDPai parking mode is pretty good. It'll switch to time lapse after the car is stationary for about 5 minutes. If it detects a bump or loud noise, it'll record normal video for 30 seconds (15 before and 15 after). You can set a maximum parking mode time as well so it doesn't waste battery and storage. Unfortunately the parking mode will also record when you're parked at home. Mine records tons of videos of my charge light blinking while the car is in my garage overnight.
Pictured below is where the rear fuse panel is in the Gen 1 volt. I connect my dash cams using this. It worked perfect for the front camera (There's a fuse panel behind the driver door in the dashboard), but you may want a longer one for the rear camera. I also included a picture of the front fuse panel.
View attachment 132730 View attachment 132738 View attachment 132746
Thanks for the tip!
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