It’s playoffs season, but this tailgating discussion is no party.
“This is more than a pet peeve for me. It makes me very angry: tailgaters,” said Gail Love of Marysville. “It doesn’t make any difference if I’m on the freeway or in town. There is always someone on my rear bumper. They risk my safety and those around me as well as their own. The two-second rule needs to be learned by all of these rude, dangerous drivers.”
“Tail-gating” as a term to mean following another vehicle too closely has been around for awhile, with the term being referenced by truckers in a Popular Science article in 1952, for example. Following a large vehicle too closely can put you in their blind spot.
The current advice for dealing with tailgaters urges you to just let the offender by when there’s a chance.
From the state Driver’s Guide: “If you are being followed too closely and there is a right lane, move over to the right. If there is no right lane, wait until the road ahead is clear then reduce speed slowly. This will encourage the tailgater to drive around you. Never slow down quickly to discourage a tailgater. Doing that increases your risk of being hit from behind.”
Trooper Mark Francis of the Washington State Patrol adds this: “If there is a safe shoulder, you can pull over to the right and stop on the shoulder to let the car pass. Also, drivers need to remember there is no minimum speed law in Washington; however, once you get a line of five cars behind you, you are impeding traffic.”
These aren’t very satisfying answers for drivers like Gail and myself, however. So, Gail, I’ll add this advice: Try a bumper sticker. It’s better than the other “reminder” you could give a driver, anyway — the one involving a certain finger.
Two-second rule?
While we’re on the topic, how much space should we leave between our vehicle and the one in front of us?
Turns out “the two-second rule” isn’t the only answer. At 30 mph or slower, two to three seconds is probably enough. At higher speeds, it switches to the four-second rule.
To find out what kind of space you’re leaving, pick a landmark. When the rear of the vehicle in front of you passes it, start counting. Stop counting when the front of your car reaches the landmark.
Leave more space as common sense dictates — in poor weather, or when you’re in a semi’s blind spot, to name just a couple.
There’s another rule of thumb that talks about leaving one car length of space for every 10 miles of speed used, but this has more to do with how far to merge in front of a large truck or commercial vehicle.
Have a question? Email us at streetsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your name and city of residence. Look for updates on our Street Smarts blog.
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