Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Dealing with a tailgater
• Method 2 of 2: Etiquette on the road
• Tips
• Warnings

Tailgating is that situation where one car follows too closely to another car. There is no specific distance to precisely define tailgating, it is more based on what you like or dislike and the likelihood of an accident. If you think another car is not keeping enough distance, there are a number of things you can try to resolve the situation and make your situation safer.

To step

Method 1 of 2: Dealing with a tailgater

1. Stay calm and collected. If you notice someone is tailgating, your first reaction may be to panic or get angry. You can get nervous that someone keeps too little distance, or you can get angry. Either way, you will need to take a few deep breaths and put your emotions aside for a moment.
   • By staying calm, you ensure that you are able to maintain control of your vehicle and avoid an accident.
   • Turn the radio down or off if it helps you to focus and calm down.
   • Pay extra attention to the way you drive until you are able to distance yourself from the situation.
2. Get out of the way and let the other person lead. The easiest way to get rid of a tailgater is to step aside and let that person pass. If it's safe, just pull over to the side of the road and let the other person go. Get back on the road when you feel it is safe to do so.
   • Always remember to make it clear that you intend to step out of the way before actually doing this. Keep your turn signal on while standing on the side of the road until you are ready to hit the road again.
   • If possible, you can also enter a parking lot and stay there until the tailgater is out of sight.
   • Do not attempt this on a large, multi-lane highway as it can be difficult to get back into traffic later and the hard shoulder may not be wide (and therefore not safe) enough.
3. Keep right. When driving on a highway, always keep the rightmost lane unless you want to pass someone. By making the other lanes available for other cars to pass you, in principle you ensure that you do not suffer from a tailgater.
   • This is especially important in those areas where the overtaking lane is not constant. When an overtaking lane appears, keep right unless you need to overtake the car in front of you. In these situations, the overtaking lane may only be available for a few kilometers.
4. Slow down on the straight lanes. If you are driving on a road with many curves and only one lane in each direction, chances are there are not many places for someone to pass you safely. When you reach a straight stretch of road and passing is allowed, slow down. Give the tailgater a chance to pass you and drive in front of you before the next turns in the route arrive.
   • If it helps, you can even pull something aside to indicate to the car behind you that it can pass safely.
   • If another driver tries to pass you on an unsafe part of the road, slow down. If the other person gets into trouble, they can instinctively swerve back into your job and hit you.
5. Maintain a constant speed. Tailgaters can get stuck behind you because your speed is not constant and the other person feels that it is not safe to pass you. Keep your speed as constant as possible so that the tailgater has a chance to judge if it is safe to pass you.
   • If your car is equipped with cruise control, now is a great time to take advantage of it.
   • Do not intentionally change your speed to annoy the other person. This can only end in the situation becoming explosive and causing an accident.
6. Do not feel obliged to drive faster than the speed at which you feel safe. When someone keeps too little distance, you can instinctively accelerate, so that the distance between you and the other car increases. However, this is usually only a temporary solution, as the car behind you can also accelerate, causing it to drive too close to you again. The problem is that you are now driving faster, but still with a tailgater.
   • Don't speed up to satisfy a tailgater. Maintain a speed that you feel comfortable with, based on the traffic situation.
7. Follow a truck. When in doubt, follow a truck! If you notice that cars are constantly driving close to you, it may be because you are driving a little slower than other drivers on the road; then try to drive behind a truck (at a safe distance of course).
   • There is a good chance that the truck is driving at a speed that you like, so it is not necessary to pass the truck.
   • The truck is also big enough for other drivers to see from a distance. When they see a truck in the distance, drivers will likely prepare to pass it.
   • If you get stuck behind the truck, they will immediately pass you before they can tailgating.
8. Avoid tapping the brake pedal. While it may seem logical to tap the brake pedal so that your brake lights flash, in an attempt to "ask" the tailgater to keep their distance, it is unlikely to work. In addition, one of the following can happen:
   • One: The driver behind you may not have been paying attention and may panic when he or she sees your brake lights flashing. The person could then suddenly put on the brakes and cause a chain reaction behind it, which in turn could result in an accident.
   • Two: The driver may notice what you are doing and ignore your brake lights. If you do have to brake at a certain point, the driver behind you may no longer respond.

Method 2 of 2: Etiquette on the road

1. Make use of slow traffic alternate areas. Some roads that are winding or go up steep hills have places where slow drivers can take off to give way to other drivers. These alternate places are usually in areas where there is not enough space for an actual passing lane. Use the shelter if you have a tailgater, or if you are unable to keep up with the flow of traffic.
   • Even if you keep to the speed limit, you may still be driving slower than other cars on the road. Use the evasive area or crawl lane to politely let other motorists lead the way and to continue unhindered to their destination.
2. Watch your speed on the straights. Many drivers slow down because of the road conditions. Maybe the road is slippery due to sleet or rain, or really winding, so you have slowed down. When there is a straight track again, or when it is dry again, do not speed up if you have a tailgater. Speeding up the straight so the other can't pass is likely to anger him or her.
3. Do not drive in the left lane. The left lane is for overtaking. If you don't want to overtake anyone, don't drive in the left lane. People who drive faster than you can get behind pretty quickly, especially if you don't look in the rearview mirror.
   • If a car suddenly gets behind you while driving in the left lane, do not immediately shift to the middle lane or the right lane without first checking to see if the other driver is also planning to do so. Because they cannot go any further, it is possible that the driver decides to overtake you on the right.
4. Don't get stuck next to a car in the lane next to you. If you are driving on the highway, regardless of which lane you are in, you should avoid staying in the other lane next to the car. This is especially important if you are driving in the left-hand lane or in an overtaking lane, as the aim is to overtake the other car rather than maintain the same speed. However, if you are in the slow lane and have a tailgater, the fact that the car gets stuck next to you in the fast lane may be the reason the vehicle behind cannot pass.
5. Respond politely to someone blinking their headlights. In some situations, a vehicle behind can flash the headlights. This normally means that they want to pass you, but you are making this difficult for them for whatever reason. Be alert for the blink and try to step aside - don't get angry.
6. Make your intention clear well in advance. If you have a tailgater, make sure you make it clear well in advance that you are going to slow down or move out of the way.Due to the lack of space behind you, the driver of the car may need a little extra time to adjust their speed when you slow down or change lanes.
   • While it is technically the fault of the driver behind you, it remains your car that has been hit and damaged if you get involved in an accident.

Tips

• Remember the three second rule. Regardless of your speed, you should at least stay three seconds behind the vehicle in front of you. This is a general rule of thumb for a safe distance between cars. To measure this distance, choose a spot for you. Start counting when the car in front of you passes that spot (e.g. one thousand, two thousand, three thousand, etc.) and stop counting when you pass that spot yourself. As long as you can count to three, keep a safe distance.

Warnings

• It's never a good idea to "teach tailgaters a lesson." It is not up to you to teach other people how to drive. Teaching another driver a lesson is simply taking revenge and based entirely on emotions. Unfortunately, it can also result in an accident, which is then your fault.