In uk.rec.sheds,  (Carl LHS Williams) wrote in
<g5qb02$pa8$1@registered.motzarella.org>::

>Guy King wrote:
>> The message 
>> from rlb@hoekstra-uitgeverij.nl (Richard Bos) contains these words:
>> 
>>> Bluetooth hack by that tailgating fsckwit behind you, anyone?
>> 
>> It'd be nice to turn that on its head and be able to poke a message into
>> a tailgater's audio system[1] telling him[2] to drop back. 
>> Politely, of course.
>> 
>> [1] You no idea how hard my fingers tried to type anus instead of audio
>> system. Possibly the most egregious thing on the road, tailgating.
>> What's worse is that the culprit probably doesn't even know they're
>> doing it.
>
>I goov they do it as a mechanism for maintaining a steady
>speed or summat. I had one the other day - I was beginning to
>goov she was impatient to get past, but we came up to
>another car going everso slightly slower, and I passed
>it and slowed back down to eversoslightly faster, IYSWIM,
>and had a look and she was tailgating the other car,
>and continued to do so despite plenty of chances to
>pass. Later, after a bit of dual carriageway, I had cause
>to stop in a layby off a roundabout (OK, I was mildly lost)
>and, sure enough, half a minute later she came past, five
>feet from the back of another car, empty lane to her right.

My BiL[1] does this- he seems to be unhappy determining the speed he
should go, so he drives until he comes up behind someone else, and then
sits (slightly too close) behind them, quite happily.

I gather it's known as "driving to target", and is quite common.

[1] Not the lush, t'other one.
-- 
Marc

Being a paper boy or girl is a great first job, and also happens to combine three of the most
dangerous things children can do: riding a bike in the dark, visiting strangers' houses and
handling the Daily Mail.  - Guy Browning.