
When we say “tailgating” we are not talking about the tailgating where you enjoy food and drinks with friends right before a football game. Tailgating is when a driver rides up on the back end of another car in front of them too closely. According to research by the Highways’ Agency, tailgating is of the top reasons for car accidents. When someone tailgates it decreases the period of time that driver has to react and inevitable leads to car accidents.
Just imagine what would happen if someone’s being tailgated and an animal crosses the road right in front of that car and they are forced to slam on the breaks. What if it was a child running across the road? Because of the immensely short time period that this occurs, the tailgater will have no time to react and end up driving into the back end of the car in front of them or swerving off the road to avoid the car. If you were the one tailgating then you would be responsible for BOTH the car accident and those who were injured. It’s plain and simple, just don’t do it!
Here are some tips to avoid tailgating related accidents:
- Use the 2 second rule- when conditions are good, keep at least a 2 second distance behind the car in front of you.
- Give yourself plenty of time to get to destinations- if you can help it don’t put yourself in a rush! Have plenty of spare time so you don’t need to feel you are late to getting to your destination.
- The larger the car, the greater the distance- larger automobiles require a greater distance to stop so take this thought in if you drive a large vehicle and increase the distance between you and the car in front of you!
- Weathers bad? Double the distance- when the roads are icy or wet don’t ever ride up on someone’s rear bumped, this is just a recipe for disaster that is to come. Use a rule of at least 4 seconds of distance between cars or a distance you know is safe.
Tailgating can cause road rage and also hurt other’s in the process. You may think it will speed up the driver in front of you, but in most cases it just creates problems! If you have any questions about this, or any other insurance related topic, please feel free to contact me at (845) 986-1177.













