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Viewpoint: Driver intimidation a dangerous tactic

by Katie Cameron I would like to talk about a new type of intimidation. I recently did a housesitting job south of town by Black Point and I had to drive back into town every day to feed my cats. That's where the intimidation came into play.

by Katie Cameron I would like to talk about a new type of intimidation. I recently did a housesitting job south of town by Black Point and I had to drive back into town every day to feed my cats. That's where the intimidation came into play.

I drive a small car, and am an older person, so I usually drive the speed limit or a little over. But I soon found out that wasn't enough. If you are driving south you have to go at least 100 kilometres or you get tailgated.

I get tailgated in town, but people usually settle down and realize they should do the speed limit, but driving south is another matter altogether.  

If I wasn't going fast enough, I was honked at, high beamed at night (which was very dangerous), given the finger, swore at, tailgated and intimidated big time.

These cars would ride right up to my rear bumper and try to push me to drive faster. I spent half of my driving time looking in my rearview mirror.

When there was more than one car, I would always pull over to be nice, but that still wasn’t enough.

There are lots of places to pass legally, but I still got passed at the wrong times, even on a corner. They would even pull out, missing my bumper by an inch, just when the other car went by, scaring them, too. Many times I had to ride on the edge of the road to make way. This didn't happen just once or twice, it happened every time I had to drive in or out of town.

Most tailgating is done unconsciously or negligently, very often by drivers who consider themselves safe drivers. They think they are experienced so they become complacent about how they drive. Tailgating is against the law. Next time your behind a car, and you’re too close, think of this.

What if it was your son or daughter who was being tailgated and had no experience with it? Think what might happen to them.

When I was tailgated it was very hard for me not to follow the car or truck and give them a piece of my mind. I am not a vigilante, but I was tempted, at least to let them know what they were doing was wrong.

Overall, my experience driving south was horrible and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Please slow down, you can get anywhere in Powell River in 10 to 15 minutes. What's the hurry?

Do you know how many accidents there are south of town? Judging by the amount of ambulances and police cars that go that way, I would guess the number is high.  

By the way, this wasn't just men that were tailgating me, it was a lot of women, too. Shame on you.

Katie Cameron was born and raised in Powell River and has lived here for 68 years.