This goes to all North Carolinian non-Audi drivers, and especially those annoying SUV drivers (they're the worst):<p>STOP TAIL-GATING ME! I CAN STOP FASTER THAN YOU CAN EVEN THINK, MORON! SO, BACK OFF!<p>There, now, I have said it.<p>I have lived, and driven, in many parts of the country. I have never been anywhere where the tail-gating was this bad. Most of the accidents that I see are rear-enders.<p>Yeah, I know, none those people will be reading this. But, it sure beats killing someone and ending up in jail anyway.

And, if I pull over to let one idiot by, the idiot behind him will just take his place. Besides, I am always speeding anyway, so why should these people follow so close. The one thing that really gets me down here is that I usually drive about 10 mph above the posted limit, and invariably there will be an Explorer about 2 feet behind me. But, I am certain that if the Explorer was in front of me, he/she would be going slower than 10 mph over the limit. This is just a characteristic of a lot of NC drivers that I have noticed.<p>What really set me off today was the Saab yesterday that was driving so close behind me that I could not see his lights. And that was on ice covered roads.

I totally agree. It's all those soccer moms from Cary in SUVs or minivans that tick me off. Once in a while I get the odd idiot in a Taurus that thinks the beltline is another kind of oval -- Too many dumb redneck nascar fans thinking they're drafting. <p>98.5 A4 1.8T QMS in Raleigh

I slow down, no brakes. Let the gap between me and the vehicle in front of me get quite large. (This sometimes gets agravating to the tailgater, and they think about passing). Then speed up, quickly or gently, your choice. But ease off the speed so you close the gap in front without using your brakes. The tailgater HAS to brake, they don't know what you are doing. About 4-5 times of this cycle usually buys me enough space that I just feel that they are still close but no longer so close that I feel their hot breath on my neck! *******s they are.

I too live in North Carolina, but it is not the tailgaters that make me mad it is the complete and total lack of driving ability! <p>1)I swear I have seen more people stopped on highway merge lanes than I have at actual stop signs in this damned state.<p>2)Speed limits mean nothing to these people. They'll be driving 60 in a 65 on I-40 then get off on Wade Ave. (35mph speed limit) and they just keep driving 60. They're all f*cking morons.<p>3)To many frickin' mini-van/SUV wariors. You see these moms cruisin around in 6000lb. suburbans who think they are already driving there husbands mid-life crisis sports car. Hello! That big damn thing just isn't gonna take that corner at 50 with the whole damn soccer team in it!<p>Whew! That felt good. That's about it for now, I'll let you know if I need more venting.

The early 70's - late 60's pickup truck that they are supposedly "restoring", and have no bed, fenders, hood, etc.. I can stop faster by downshifting than they can with their drum brakes!<p>I've used quattro 3 times in just over a year to avoid being rear-ended by one of these smoke-belching frame exposed POS's.. (When stopped, ALWAYS leave yourself enough room to escape to a side!!<p>I can't stand them either (the SUV'ers).. Hmm, let's see.. Bosch ABS 5 w/ 4 wheel discs and ZR rubber @ 3400lbs, vs. 5000 lbs, drums in rear, GM ABS, and a Mom driving who's more watching the kid in the back seat than the road (and car) in front of her.... I'll win, but then I'll lose.<p>Rich Quinlan<br>Nowhere near stock 1.8tqms<p>P.S. Maybe I should get a sign shop to make a decal for the back window that says "This vehicle capable of stopping faster than yours - leave room" Maybe that will be enough to make them think? Naaaahhh<ul><li><a href="http://home.att.net/~richquinlan">Quinland</a></li></ul>

If you dont like the way we raleigh guys drive, stay off the sidewalks!!! :-)<p>I drive harrison ave to I40 to wade to the beltline then up to wake forest road every morning...i usually keep it around 70 on wade...<p>i'll email you when i get back to work...<p>later<p>David White<br>98 2.8qm

All you see here (raleigh/cary) are new ford expdetions and chevy suburbans....about the closest thing you see to what you are talking about is my blazer, and damnit, i am fixing it up!! :-)<p>So how does all this bitchin about SUV drivers apply to those of us that drive an A4 and an SUV?? (but i dont really consider my 1990 S10 Blazer to be an SUV...more like a UV)<p>I bitch about all the suv drivers when i'm in my A4....then i bitch about all the A4 drivers when i'm in my blazer!! :-)<p>David White<br>98 2.8qm<br>90 S10 Blazer 4.3 4x4 (with no interior right now)

Ive got a silver 2.8 (stock) and i live off of harrison ave in cary and work off of wake forest road near the beltline?? <p>Where are you at??<p>David White<br>98 2.8qm

The highest rate of accidents for Porsches, in particular 911, has to do with being rear ended. People love to tailgate them down the bahn until the 911 wants to slow down and you CANT! Sucks huh.<br>Chris

n/t<br>

Not an SUV, but an idiot in a Subaru Legacy Waqon. It snowed here in Seattle last night, and this morning it was very icy in some places. Well, I'm traveling along this road at about 40, and right as I'm starting up a mild hill, this moron pulls out right in front of myself, and a car coming the other way, and it's pure ice. While he was turning, he throttled it to try and get out of our way, and the front wheels just started spinning like crazy. Anyway, it forced me to stop, while he slid all over the road, and finally went sideways into the curb. It was very slippery, because it took a second for me to get traction again after stopping, even with quattro and snow tires, but then I drove past him and stopped at the light just ahead. I know this has nothing to do with your post, but I was just so amazed that someone would have the nerve to pull out with cars coming both ways, and on ice, and then not know that giving full throttle just makes things worse. Sure it was slippery, but someone competent enough would have been able to make that car move. I hope he didn't drive anymore until the roads cleared up!<p>Charles<p>PS: I had a lady a few weeks ago tailgating me while I was already doing about 10 over. She was only a few feet behind my bumper. When the road finally opened into four lanes, she sped by me in her Explorer, and then didn't really pull away from me. Well, when we got near the freeway on-ramp, whe was right in front of me, and then switched to the left lane. I didn't realize that she was trying to speed by the car in front of her, and then return to the right lane to enter the freeway (it was much too close to the on-ramp for anyone with common sense to even consider it). Well, whe got into the left lane, and there was a car there in front of her moving slower than the right lane, so without even looking or anything, she darted right back into the right lane and hit her brakes to make the corner (essentially making a right turn from the left lane via the front of my car), and I almost had to drive onto the curb to avoid having her run over my hood with that damn thing. Well, I layed on the horn and let her know what I thought of the way she was driving. This was just one example of my SUV experiences. <br>

Last weekend we had a pretty bed ice storm here. It had been raining all morning while freezing on contact. Well it was no secret that it was slick as hell as soon as you walked outside.<p>I start off to Kansas City and take it slow in the quattro. Of course all the SUV drivers think that the laws of physics don't apply to them. Not ten miles from my home an SUV with a 33 year old women at the wheel has crossed a large median at high speed and has killed another driver in a small mercury. The SUV driver had slammed her brakes when she came up on an accident that was being worked by the sheriffs dept, lost control (bet she pumped the ABS) and crossed a wide median. If she was driving at a safe speed she never would have made it across the median to begin with.<p>The rest of the way to K.C I saw 9 vehicles in the ditch, 8 of which were SUV's. Seven of the SUV's had rolled and two of them caught fire. I couldn't believe my eyes. <p>The crazy thing is all this road carnage didn't seem to slow down other SUV drivers because they just kept flying by everyone like it was a nice spring day, then you would get down the road a couple of miles and you would see one of these morons off the road. Are people really that stupid? Do people really think that 4wd makes them invincable? People must actually believe the inflated crap that the car companies put out about SUV's. I wish they would stop endangering others with there 6000 pound mush mobiles.

My favorite way to deal with SUV tail gaters is to start raising my speed before I get to a curve. The jerk in the SUV will stay on your a#@ until his/her tires start to loss traction. I is always funny to take a quick look in the rear view to see the look on there face. I always hope they have learned something from the experience, but I doubt it. Many of my quattro pals handle these jerks in much the same way. I thought it was funny when a group of us started to compare notes on this subject.

Worst drivers in the nation are in Fayetteville, NC

I feel your pain. I live in Fayetteville (worse than in Raleigh). One year to go then off to Nevada.

f