Why must people tailgate?
You know what really grinds my gears, as Peter Griffin says?
Tailgaters.
Why must some drivers tailgate? The consequences of it are usually always negative.
Like, are you trying to scare me? Are you trying to intimidate me with your big F-150 because my Civic is smaller than your truck?
Or are we playing a game of chicken to see how close you can get to my car without making out with my rear bumper? Because, ya know, oftentimes you can just switch lanes and go around me. It’s not like I’m holding up traffic in the passing lane.
Or does tailgating make you feel powerful? Does it stroke your ego when you bully a smaller car?
Well, guess what? You don’t have power in this situation.
I do.
Ya’ know why? Because I just slow down to 1 below the speed limit and you just have to slowly drive behind me.
Yeah, that’s right. I slow down to teach you how to be Zen and patient.
Who’s the one with authority now?
But do you know who the worst type of tailgater is?
It’s the people who tailgate in a playground (or school) zone while there are two cars in front of them. And when you’re the jam in the middle of this sandwich -which I usually am for some reason- you can’t do shit.
I can’t go faster because there’s a car in front of me and we’re in a slow driving zone. And I’m not tailgating the car in front of me because I despise these types of drivers and also don’t want to get into a 3-car collision.
It’s so annoying!
So, here’s my plea to all of the tailgaters out there:
To the aggressive tailgaters, please manage your time better by leaving earlier, and please be more patient on the road. I understand that time is probably of the essence, but a car accident isn’t going to improve that. You’ll just waste more time.
And to the passive tailgater, please stay 2 to 3 seconds behind me. You may feel that half a second is safe because you’re an “experienced” driver, but it is not. So, slow down -you’ll get to where you’re going.
And to both groups, please be mindful while driving and think of the consequences of tailgating… or else the insurance premiums are gonna run up on you and beat your wallet to a pulp.