I wish I was an undercover cop...

[troppo]

Originally Posted by XBROO

be ready to get brake checked. :evil3:

While I'm at it, this is one behaviour I've never quite understood either.
Presumably, you're concerned about being rear-ended because you think the person following is too close, so you react by significantly increasing the chances of being rear-ended? :

I've been accused of tailgating once or twice yet (exclusively by people who sit in the right lane and match speeds with the car on their left), strangely, I've never felt I've been tailgated myself. Sure I've had cars pretty close to my rear bumper but it doesn't seem to bother me very much. After all, if they hit me, it's their fault, and I certainly don't feel the need to increase the risk of being hit by braking for no particular reason. Of course, I also happen to be aware that most people who do 'tailgate' not only keep an eye on the rear end of the car in front, but also the traffic ahead of that car, so they know you don't have any reason to brake and are just doing it to have a little ego/power trip. So, not only do you increase the chances of being rear-ended, you also increase the chances of being involved in road-rage incident.

Clearly, the smart thing to do if you find yourself uncomfortable with the distance between you and the car behind is to keep driving normally and make sure you keep left and give them every opportunity to get past without incident. If you're really insecure about it, pull over and let them past immediately. Just like keeping left, it's not rocket science and certainly preferable to projecting your own insecurities onto the driver of the car behind and compunding the situation by a further act of stupidity which significantly increases your risk of being involved in an accident.