On Your Side After An Injury

Is someone accidentally tailgating you?

On Behalf of | Aug 26, 2021 | Motor Vehicle Crashes

People tend to think of tailgaters as angry, aggressive drivers. The only reason they’re tailgating, it’s assumed, is that they want to go faster and they’re angry that no one else is doing it. Tailgating is their way of trying to make you speed up or move over. 

This certainly does happen all the time, and it’s a serious problem. But it could also be that the person just doesn’t realize what they’re doing. 

Habitual tailgaters are ignorant of the risk

One category of tailgaters is the habitual tailgater. Some have gone so far as to say that these are the most dangerous of the three — even more dangerous than the person who is running behind and trying to get everyone to move out of the way. 

The problem is that the habitual tailgater just drives within three seconds of the next car all the time. They either do not know or do not care that it is dangerous. They think it’s normal.

It’s not, of course. They’re putting everyone else at risk. When things go wrong and they slam into the car ahead of them, they may be shocked or they may even blame the front driver. The reality is that they caused that crash by driving far too close until an accident was inevitable. 

You could be seriously injured

No matter why someone is tailgating you, you could be seriously hurt in the ensuing crash. You should try to let them by and you should never drive aggressively in return, but an accident can happen even when you do everything in your power to stop it. Always make sure you know how to seek compensation for your medical bills and other costs.