TAILGATING is the dangerous practice of following very close to the vehicle in front. In most circumstances a proper gap is two seconds long or one yard for every kmph
Close following or the advanced driver’s “overtaking position” are about one second behind the vehicle in front.
Anything closer than about one second can reasonably be described as tailgating, although some people only use the term when the following distance is very small, perhaps under one car’s length.
Choose your own rear-guard
The first important idea is that you choose the guy behind to follow you. Advanced driving teaches us that we are in control of all aspects of the traffic and the spaces around us.
Sometimes we might be driving along and our problem tailgater simply catches up. In other situations we have chosen to take a position in front of the tailgater without noticing he’s not leaving good gaps.
The first trick is to only take a position in front of vehicles leaving good gaps. Never overtake or change lane into a small gap.
If you overtake or change lane into proper sized gaps you’ve already noticed that the new vehicle behind is leaving proper gaps and will probably leave a good gap behind you.
This simple strategy will ensure that the tailgaters are behind other vehicles most of the time.
On a long journey you might find that a particular car is following you at a constant and safe distance. Call him your rear-guard. Do what you can to ensure that the trusted car remains behind you.
For example once you have a good rear-guard you might decide not to overtake, or you might decide to stop at an amber light although you could have reasonably driven on. Look after your rear-guard, and he’ll look after you!
Change lane to the left to let him past
If you are being tailgated on a motorway, change lane to the left to let him past as soon as possible. You might add a couple of seconds to your journey, but who cares?
You might even be able to join the original lane behind the tailgater, and allow his aggressive tactics to clear a path that you can use to get there more quickly.
If you do this bear in mind that you’ll need to leave an extra gap to compensate for the gap he isn’t leaving. But see how quickly and easily we got rid of him?
Slow down to encourage the tailgater to overtake
You need a nice safe space all round your vehicle. On a road if there’s a straight with no oncoming traffic simply slow and indicate left.
Consider a hand signal. He’ll get the message and overtake. If he doesn’t and it’s still clear continue to slow gently until he does get the message.
Keep an eye on the traffic behind him. If it’s night in these circumstances be sure to use your main beam headlights so he can see the road ahead of you for his passing manoeuvre
Accelerate to get away
On a motorway (especially) you might find someone tailgates you while you are overtaking a stream in lane one or lane two.
The cars on the left (all driving too close as usual) prevent you from moving left so you accelerate to increase the gap behind.
This works brilliantly if your vehicle is more powerful than the tailgater’s vehicle.
Do not get carried away and accelerate to a speed which isn’t safe! Accelerating to get away tends to be a temporary solution, because he will probably catch up again. Be ready to pull left and allow him to pass easily if he does.
Leave a double gap in front and drive for him
Traffic is dense. You can’t stop, pull left or turn off for a while (no lay-bys, junctions and many more). In this case double the gap in front and “drive for him”. You were originally leaving a safe two second gap. While the tailgater is stuck behind you leave a four second gap.
Now, if something goes wrong in front you can brake very gently for two seconds to warn of the danger. You “pass back” your spare two seconds to the tailgater. Two vehicles with a four second gap in front are almost as good as two vehicles that both have two second gaps.
Stop, turn off or go around a roundabout
If all the above has failed to dislodge a persistent tailgater you must stop or turn off at the next opportunity.
Another option is to go around a roundabout a whole extra turn. It might cost you a few seconds. It might save a big repair bill if the tailgater wasn’t insured or didn’t stop after running into the back of you.
