How can you avoid being hit by a tailgater?

What to Do If Someone Is Tailgating You

1. Keep your distance. The best way to deal with a tailgater is to stay away from them in the first place.
2. Stay calm.
3. Get out of the way.
4. Maintain a consistent speed.
5. Don’t overuse your brakes.
6. Don’t become a tailgater yourself.
7. Don’t try to police the roadway.

Should I slow down if I’m being tailgated?

Don’t speed up – you’ll only start tailgating the car in front of you. Don’t brake sharply or flash your lights. Ease off the accelerator – if there’s a collision there should be less damage at slower speeds.

What do you do if being tailgated?

When you are being tailgated:

1. Move over to the right, if there is an open lane to your right.
2. If there is not an open lane to your right, wait until the way is clear ahead and reduce your speed slowly to encourage the tailgater to drive around you.
3. Never slow down abruptly.

How far is considered tailgating?

The 3-second following distance works on all roads. When the back-end of a vehicle ahead of you passes a stationary object such as a sign along the road, count how long it takes you to pass the same object – “one-Minnesota, two-Minnesota, three-Minnesota”.

Why do cops ride your bumper?

Sometimes a LEO will crowd your bumper a little (or a lot) while thumbing their nose at the whole ‘Following Too Closely’ law, in an effort to get into the head of someone already having good reason to be paranoid.

Is tapping your brakes illegal?

Brake checking is an illegal action. The person in front of you, in a brake checking situation, suddenly slams on their brakes. They do this to surprise you, and sometimes it’s to intentionally cause a collision. Regardless of where you are, this action puts you and others in danger.

Why is tailgating illegal?

A driver in California may tailgate because the motorist was driving under the influence (DUI). If so, the DUI is treated as a separate offense. Driving under the influence is against the law in California.

Is it illegal to slam on your brakes?

Why do people tailgate?

Why people tailgate Typically, someone is tailgating you because they want you to drive faster. In this case, remember that it’s not your responsibility to follow their desired speed limit, just the posted one. In more severe cases, tailgating may be an expression of road rage.

Why is tailgating bad?

Tailgating can be dangerous to the tailgater, especially if they are driving closely behind a large vehicle (such as a tractor-trailer, or gas tanker). By tailgating, the driver has a shorter distance to stop, decreases the margin of error and blocks the awareness of surroundings.

Why are tailgaters so aggressive?

Sometimes it’s reason one; the oblivious drivers, but often it’s reason two; the aggressive drivers. The actions of an aggressive tailgater span from a simple riding your bumper to flashing headlights, honking horn and not-so-subtle hand gestures.

What should you do if someone tailgates you on the freeway?

Either way, stay classy. Maintain a safe and steady speed, and move out of the way when you can. The more aggressive the tailgating driver, the more important to remain calm and be clear with traffic intentions. Example – I’m traveling on the freeway, in the left lane, passing a car in the right lane.

Why do people tailgate on curvy roads?

If you’re on a curvy road with only one lane in each direction, the tailgater may be hoping for a clear place to pass. Once you reach a straight section of road, stick with the same speed you were going through the curves instead of speeding up right away.

What happens if you brake check a tailgater?

The oblivious driver might not even notice and end up crashing into you, and the aggressive driver may consider your brake check a personal insult and become even more aggressive. It can also work like the boy who cried wolf. Tap the brakes a few times for no reason and the tailgater might ignore it when it really counts.