Some car crashes occur at intersections. Drivers fail to monitor their surroundings or use their turn signals, which causes a collision. Other crashes may occur in traffic. One driver turning left without sufficient space might collide with other motorists.
Drivers may swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid an animal that ran into the road. Other drivers may cause crashes because they habitually drive in an aggressive manner. Drivers who speed and swerve all over the road to pass others can cause crashes because of their aggressive behavior.
Drivers who tailgate can also cause collisions. If they do, they may be responsible for the economic fallout of the wreck.
Tailgating is an unsafe habit
Many drivers do not give themselves adequate time to reach their destinations. Instead, they find themselves running late and frantic to make up for lost time. They choose to exceed the speed limit and may become irritated with other drivers who do not drive as quickly.
Instead of maintaining an appropriate following distance and passing when it is safe to do so, a driver in a rush may tailgate others in traffic. They reduce their following distance and get far too close to the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of them in traffic. They may hope that by doing so, they put pressure on the other driver to speed up, which in turn allows them to increase their speed.
However, tailgating rarely has the desired effect. Instead, it makes the driver in the front vehicle anxious while the driver in the rear vehicle becomes increasingly irritated. The driver in front has to suddenly stop or if the driver in the rear vehicle looks down at their mobile phone or otherwise becomes distracted, they may end up causing a rear-end crash.
Drivers who tailgate violate the law. They are typically responsible for the crashes that they cause by failing to maintain a safe following distance. The driver in the front vehicle may be able to file an insurance claim requesting compensation for property damage losses and any injuries that they sustain. Rear-end crashes can sometimes put people in the hospital and force them to take time away from work due to their injuries.
Learning more about traffic laws and common crash causes can help people determine who was at fault for a recent car wreck. Holding tailgating drivers accountable can potentially inspire them to embrace safer driving practices in the future.