This Is Why You Don’t Tailgate

Estimated read time 3 min read

Few people enjoy looking in their rearview mirror to see a car mere feet or even inches from their bumper, clearly tailgating them. It’s usually a tactic to try getting you to go faster or move over, although some people seem to think that’s just how everyone should drive. Whatever the reason, it’s not only annoying but also dangerous, as clearly illustrated in the included video.

Get a refresher on safe driving skills here.

In this situation, we have a freeway with fairly heavy traffic, but still enough room the crappy little car behind this Jeep Wrangler could go around. Instead, whoever is driving the little compact junkyard heap that has some front-end damage (wonder how that got there?) decides riding the Wrangler’s rear bumper is just the thing to do.

Whenever I’m driving SUVs or trucks, I encounter a lot of other drivers who have a serious Napoleon complex. Mainly women, but also some men, in their compact cars or crossovers just love tailgating and showing the larger vehicle whose boss, I guess, although I feel it’s like a chihuahua nipping at a bear’s legs. It’s a pretty stupid tactic, especially when the truck/SUV has solid steel bumpers which would tear their little vehicle, and maybe them, apart if they were to plow their crappy little scrapheap into it.

In this instance, instead of hitting the Jeep, the person in the white compact car drives over a ladder which fell off a truck ahead of the Wrangler. Since that driver is tailgating, he fails to see the obstacle and gets hung up on it. None of that would’ve happened had he been folllowing at a safe distance.

The person who uploaded this video included the advice that if you see someone has turned on their hazard lights, you shouldn’t tailgate them. I’ll do one better: don’t tailgate another car no matter what. It doesn’t give you enough time to stop in an emergency, plus it’s just plain rude. Some people do it because they’re afraid someone else will get into “their” lane ahead of them, as if they’re in a race. Honestly, people need to calm down and realize everyone on the road is trying to get somewhere, not just them.

Now check out the video and see some sweet justice served.

Steven Symes https://writerstevensymes.com/

Steven Symes is an accomplished automotive journalist with a passion for all things related to cars. His extensive knowledge and love for the automotive world shine through in his writing, which covers a diverse range of topics.

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