Tailgating. Or, Following too darn close in your car.

[Backroads]

Just finished a text conversation with one of my friends who just arrived home from work with the complaint that someone would not get out of her way no matter how closely she was following. I explained that what she was doing was tailgating/following too close and is a traffic violation in our state. She responded that she thought she was supposed to do that in order to inform someone to speed up/move.

(Yes, I am clearly associated with a lot of lousy drivers).

This is actually one of my greatest road pet peeves. I prefer to stick to the speed limit, in the slow lane, and I'm perfectly happy with pulling over when possible. And yet this friend is not the first one to insist that you're supposed to tailgate as a means of informing people.

Am I just crazy in my belief that it's a traffic violation?

[Just_A_Guy]

In Utah, it's a Class C misdemeanor and I've defended two of those cases (one of which "allegedly" resulted in a rear-ending).

[Backroads]

Thanks! now I have a legal term to throw at her!

So... how is a car "allegedly" come about being rear-ended? I figure it is or it isn't. Then again, I know little of the legal world.

[Guest]

We live on a busy country road with a ridiculously low speed limit. I try to obey the law, though, and I know it's a speed trap, so I heed the limit, give or take 4mph . In the even that someone tailgates me, I go exactly the speed limit and not one mph faster. And I sing to my radio, acting blissfully unaware that someone with ants in their pants is trying to nudge me along. I'm not going to risk getting a ticket because they want me to speed.

[Just_A_Guy]

In one of the cases, my client rear-ended someone and was then charged with following too closely. The thing is, the prosecution used the fact of the collision itself to infer that defendant had been following too closely.

The trouble was that under Utah case law, the fact of a rear-end collision doesn't automatically mean you've violated the tailgating statute. (In my client's case, the car in front of her had made a false start at a red light that had just turned green, and then suddenly stopped again.) The prosecutor wasn't able to produce a witness who had seen the whole thing unfold and could testify that, yes, defendant was actually tailgating the lead car prior to the collision; so we asked for and received a dismissal as soon as the prosecution rested.

[beefche]

I am one who has a lead foot (no comment, dravin!). As a fast driver, I expect someone to get out of the passing lane if I am coming behind them faster than they are driving. In fact, if you are one who goes the speed limit, then you shouldn't be in the passing lane unless you are actually passing someone. One of my huge peeves are those people who get in the left lane and stay there, regardless if there are people behind them and no one is in the right lane.

If, however, there is heavy traffic and I get behind someone in a 2 lane road (one lane each way), and you are at least driving the speed limit, then I just have to suck it up and drive the speed limit until I can safely pass you.

My understanding of the non-written, probably non-legal, road rules are: if you are in a 2 or more lane highway (2 or more lanes each way), then you should always move to the right if there is someone close behind you. If you don't, then one can flash their lights or brights at you to remind you to move it.

[Dravin]

Thanks! now I have a legal term to throw at her!

So... how is a car "allegedly" come about being rear-ended? I figure it is or it isn't. Then again, I know little of the legal world.

Someone alleges it's been rear ended. Alleged is a useful term as one can state what someone is claiming happened without casting one's hat in the ring as to the truthfulness of it having happened. You'll see this a lot as legalese in news stories. They don't want to report "the pedophile' because that is stating they are in fact a pedophile (most likely as protection against libel). The alleged pedophile just means the person has been accused of it and doesn't mean they did or did not do it.

[NeuroTypical]

She responded that she thought she was supposed to do that in order to inform someone to speed up/move.

Utah Driver's Handbook, page preceeding table of contents:

THE TOP FIVE REASONS PEOPLE CRASH ON UTAH HIGHWAYS

Following too closely 14.1%

page 51:

Point Distribution:

Following too Closely (Tailgating) .......................60

Page 56:

Following too close or tailgating. When following behind a truck, if you can’t see the truck driver’s rear view mirrors, there is no way the truck driver can see you. Tailgating a truck or car is dangerous because you take away your own cushion of safety if the vehicle in front of you stops suddenly — and if the vehicle you are following hits something in the road, you

[pam]

Isn't it awesome that we also provide driving tips and rules as another additional service on lds.net?

[beefche]

Page 56:

Quote:

Following too close or tailgating. When following behind a truck, if you can’t see the truck driver’s rear view mirrors, there is no way the truck driver can see you. Tailgating a truck or car is dangerous because you take away your own cushion of safety if the vehicle in front of you stops suddenly — and if the vehicle you are following hits something in the road, you

you, what?????

[pam]

Dodge it?

[Dravin]

you, what?????

Apparently end abruptly. If it was a big rig you were tail gating I'd say that's about right.

[Vort]

In Utah, it's a Class C misdemeanor and I've defended two of those cases (one of which "allegedly" resulted in a rear-ending).

Seriously? Tailgating is a misdemeanor?

Is speeding a felony?

[pam]

Seriously? Tailgating is a misdemeanor?

Is speeding a felony?

Probably only if a cop is chasing you.

[John11111]

For every 10 mph you go you are supposed to put one cars worth of distance between you and the driver in front of you. You can get a ticket here for tailgating.

Misdemeanor traffic violations are the number one cause of death on the road for young people. Drive safe you never know, that tailgating or going only 8 over can cause an accident.

[annewandering]

If a person tailgates me I slow down to get the fool off my back. I really hate tailgaters. Nothing personal unless you are tailgating me!!

[Backroads]

One of the scariest moments of my life connected to driving: I was on a rather empty freeway participating in one of my rare moments of speeding (One of the reasons I rarely speed is because I own a red car and another reason I rarely speed is it seems I always got caught when I do--probably because of the red car. We believe my husband's car is invisible to all but us and he can speed in it all he wants, not bother to put up registration stickers, etc.) Anywho, I am on a freeway, speeding, some teenagers come up behind me, quite fast. As I happen to be in the passing lane, I start heading over to the slow lane (which really doesn't take that long). Teenagers get impatient and speed over to the side of the road in an effort to pass me while I'm still in the passing lane. It lasted all of four seconds, but it was scary.

[john doe]

If a person tailgates me I slow down to get the fool off my back. I really hate tailgaters. Nothing personal unless you are tailgating me!!

And that, my friends, is why Idahoans drive so slow.

[annewandering]

And that, my friends, is why Idahoans drive so slow.

Because Utahans are driving up our tailgates? lol the problem I have with Utah drivers is they dont know what the little lever on the left side of the steering wheel is for!

[john doe]

Because Utahans are driving up our tailgates? lol the problem I have with Utah drivers is they dont know what the little lever on the left side of the steering wheel is for!

Duh, it's to hang the air freshener from.

[Dravin]

Because Utahans are driving up our tailgates? lol the problem I have with Utah drivers is they dont know what the little lever on the left side of the steering wheel is for!

Eh, my big complaint was the general confusion over how a round-about works. I've had people stop in the round-about to let me in, or give me a honk and a dirty look for not letting them in. I doubt it's a Utah specific issue though, any place they are fairly new you probably have people who don't bother to seek out how they're supposed to work and just wing it.

[Jamie123]

One of my huge peeves are those people who get in the left lane and stay there, regardless if there are people behind them and no one is in the right lane..

Whether or not I agree with you depends wholly upon what speed they are travelling. If they were going at the speed limit, and their behaviour prevented you from hitting a hidden speed trap at 80mph, then I think you'd be grateful to them!

One of my huge pet peeves is people who drive six inches from your rear bumper and flash their lights at you for preventing them from arriving at their destination 5 minutes early by daring to obey the law of the land. Speed limits are there for a reason, and if you think they are too low then your argument is with the Department of Transport - not with the driver in front.

Having said that, I agree the best way to deal with a tailgater is to make it easy for them to overtake you by moving over (if you can). If you are driving at the speed limit, and they overtake you, then it is they who are breaking the law, and I seriously hope they get stopped and ticketed. The "you must let them overtake" rule is about getting rid of a dangerous menace to you and your passengers - not about giving way to someone in the right.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Jamie123

[Jamie123]

Two more even huger pet peeves: People who flash their lights at you when (a) you are travelling at the same speed as the vehicle in front, but with a slightly larger gap than they think is necessary and (b) you are yourself overtaking other cars to your left (or right in the US) who are travelling slower than you.

And this goes double for BMW drivers, and everyone who owns a fast expensive car and thinks that the speed limit applies only to poor people (like me) who can only afford second hand not-very-luxurious Vauxhalls which don't have electric sunroofs, with missing hub-caps and driver mirrors which have been repaired with black insulating tape which is already starting to peel away.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Jamie123

[mirkwood]

Am I just crazy in my belief that it's a traffic violation?

Yes it is a violation in Utah.

41-6a-711. Following another vehicle -- Safe distance -- Exceptions.

(1) The operator of a vehicle:

(a) may not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having regard for the:

(i) speed of the vehicles;

(ii) traffic upon the highway; and

(iii) condition of the highway; and

(b) shall follow at a distance so that at least two seconds elapse before reaching the location of the vehicle directly in front of the operator's vehicle.

(2) Subsection (1)(b) does not apply to funeral processions or to congested traffic conditions resulting in prevailing vehicle speeds of less than 35 miles per hour.

Edited April 2, 2012 by mirkwood

[lizzy16]

Isn't it awesome that we also provide driving tips and rules as another additional service on lds.net?

As someone who's just beginning to drive (and failing at it) I find it quite helpful :)