Well I'd take my car in to have it repaired but my preference is to leave it in this malfunctioning mode where both headlights and tail lights are on with the headlamp switch turned off when DRL is programmed in.

 

Wow, I thought it was just me. Some drivers are passive aggressive, I should know. Something about wanting to protect my forward vision when the lanes merge ahead.

 

I guess you got a special one . In any case, at least the DRL's do provide that much more visability.

 

It certainly feels like they're sitting closer to us especially when it's a giant car or SUV.

I think it's also because of our shorter tails - sometimes objects appear closer than they really are and in our tiny cars' cases, it just pays to be more cautious and aware of what's going on all around us.

 

You can adjust the rear wiper squirter to shoot backwards. (Not sure if it is the same in the '07 though.)

 

Guess so. Actually, on my R56, the only difference between DRL mode and turning the headlights on is, the dash display lights are off when just the Daytime Running Lights are on. for that matter, even the license plate light stays on in DRL mode.

 

good for you hun!!!! if more people would start doing this and actually getting a response, the world would be a better place.... for you..... and me... how does that song go?

 

SWEET!!!! Every now and then they get what's coming to them. Right on!

 

I think the tailgating and the "2-second" rule are related--especially on freeways, if there is a big enough (1-second?) space between cars, someone will fill it--but by doing so becomes a tailgater! I have given up trying to keep a safe distance behind traffic since it *always* ends up that I'm looking at a close up of an SUV or truck as it jams in front of me...and there's no doubt you feel more vulnerable in a MINI when surrounded by the behemouths out there. Commuting in traffic is the low point of my day--how sad it has to be in my beloved MCS.

good luck!

 

Well, mommashine, you quote one of my favorite bands and one of the funniest quotes ever in your signature AND I know the song you are referring to, but can't think of its name. It was, in deed, good to get the cop to do something. I think the fact that the guy was still on my tail, and had his teenage son in the car with him, had a lot to do with it.

 

+1

 

I think it's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart," no?

 

I think you are right!

 

Good for you.

 

+1!

Consider for a moment the fate of the lonely windshield washer fluid tanks at your local salvage yard. Would their lives not be FAR more fulfilling if, once again, they could visit the Open Road, loaded with dilute radiator coolant? With nozzles aimed rearward below the field of view of a tailgater, they could act as silent sentinels, informing tailgating drivers that their actions are inappropriate, as their mechanics charge $95 per hour to find a nonexistent (and fairly stanky) fluid leak? Hmm?

That, or load the Sportlink with Estes rocket motors, or smoke bombs...


(DISCLAIMER: The above ideas are not my own. In fact, I have NO IDEA where they came from. Use at your own risk. Your parents would not approve. They may laugh, but would not approve.)

 

DixonL2, I'm really diggin' the non-ideas that are not yours. Perhaps a DIY how-to is in order?

I, however, like to implement the "infuriate" approach: if I am being tailgated and absolutely cannot let them pass (one lane city streets, suburban back roads), I slow down. If the tailgating continues, I continue to slow until I come to a full stop and they have no choice but to sit there and wait it out with me. Always seems to get the point across.

 

My last car liked to backfire. A lot. This resulted in more than one tailgaiter being scared off by the flash and bang. I always wondered what their expressions looked like when they got home and saw the (depending on how close they were) 2 burn marks on their bumper, or the blur of melted plastic on the front of their car.

 

Ahhh... A true passive-aggressive!

When irresistable force meets immoveable object... Hopefully the other guy doesn't have a gun to make his point!

 

Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd

Oops, wrong song you're all talking about.

 

The real rocket launcher is in the SportLink that doesn't have the estes rocket motor... at least that's what my non-idea that's not mine woud suggest...

Nice thing about mounting an auxiliary antifreeze tank under the rear bumper is that the exhaust keeps it nice and warm and fragrant, and, well, it won't freeze.

I've actually used the "stop and think" idea, but it works oh SO much better if you slow, put on the e-flashers, kind of stutter to a stop (discrete and surging use of the e-brake), then get out all frustrated and lift the hood. Diffuses the situation while you use the hood as "cover" while you laugh.

Use the time to reload and reaim the front rocket launcher.

(NOTE: AGAIN with the lame ideas. These are also not mine, they belong to him. No, I don't know his name, but I've driven behind him once or twice. His parents labeled him "cute" and "creative" when he was young, but are now in Denial, which is a small town outside Wichita. They didn't tell him they moved.)

 

Way to GO!! It's not just SUV drivers who love Mini Cooper tail...I've had sports cars, dump trucks, city buses and even one motorcyclist who actually touched my bumper with his wheel. It's a shame that so many folks seem to ignore common road politeness. It's a shame most seem to need glasses!!

 

My Wife's x-boss owns a Hummer H1. When the office would get all a-chatter about SUV's and gas mileage, he would proudly proclaim, "I do not really care about the gas mileage. I just wanted something I could tailgate with and get people to move out of my way.".

In another discussion with a truck owner, he proudly proclaims, "I can't stand to have anything in front of me. It pisses me off. So I drive faster and faster and tailgate people until they move out of the way."

I could write pages of quotes like the above. The police will not do anything about it here. They would have to pull over the entire freeway if they did.

People need to be educated that driving bumper-to-bumper actually causes traffic jams to occur. All it takes is someone in the left lane of the freeway trying to make thier exit at the last second and the whole freeway will get backed up for hours. Where as if everyone was driving with a reasonable distance between thier cars, it would not even be noticed when someone makes that last second exit.

I just turn up the stereo. Drive with the flow and leave room in front of me. I am going to be tailgated, no matter what, so I just leave a lot of room in front of me so I can stop safely without being run over.

 

I only care about what's in front of me.

 

What was that movie, where the Italian driver rips out his rear view mirror, proudly stating "What's a-behind of a-me, doesn't a-matter!" ?

 

Uhmmm, if you are driving something that can stop in half the distance of the guy right behind you, it might pay to know what is behind you when you do have to make that panic stop.

For me, it is an old habit from 20+ years of riding motorcycles. Always on the lookout for the guy/gal that wants to kill you.