Something I see almost everyday, is the at-fault driver in personal injury collision cited for "Following Too Closely". This is popularly know as "Tailgating" and is a top cause for car accidents. Other popular citations include "Failure to Yield" at intersections, and "Failure to Maintain Lane".
Tailgating is when a driver follows the car in front too closely. Doing so decreases the amount of time that a driver has to react. If the driver ahead has to stop suddenly, a tailgater usually cannot avoid hitting the vehicle in front of it. Sometimes, when a driver is being tailgated by another driver, the driver in front gets upset at the person behind them and sometimes will “tap” their brakes in an attempt to get the tailgater to back off and use a safer following distance. This is very dangerous and can cause unnecessary accidents if the tailgater loses control of the vehicle as a result.
Avoiding A Car Accident Caused By Tailgating
- SLOW DOWN: Drive at a speed that will allow you to stop safely in behind the car in front of you (depending on road conditions).
- PAY ATTENTION: It's easy to creep up on someone if you are not paying attention.
- BACK UP: Allow 10 feet of distance between you and the car ahead for every increment of 10 mph you are driving.
- BE AWARE OF OTHERS: Remember that large automobiles and motorcycles require a greater distance to stop.
- RE-EVALUATE: In bad weather (rain, snow, fog, etc.), it is best to double the distance between you and the car in front of you.