What is considered following too close or "tailgating" another vehicle in Texas?
While a number of creative tactics are taught at defensive driving and driver safety programs throughout the US, the Transportation Code definition of 'tailgating' actually quite murky. It says:
"An operator shall, if following another vehicle, maintain an assured clear distance between the two vehicles so that, considering the speed of the vehicles, traffic, and the conditions of the highway, the operator can safely stop without colliding with the preceding vehicle or veering into another vehicle, object, or person on or near the highway."
Defensive Driving Online & Tailgating
Tailgating tickets are not overly common. Often law agents will opt to issue a warning. In some, albeit rare, cases, tailgating can be seen as a form of reckless driving. It is within a law enforcements officers right to levy a driver with this increased charge. Given the severity of these citations, and that a driver is unable to simply dismiss the ticket by attending an online defensive driving program, it is recommended persons receiving these tickets seek and secure legal counsel.
In most cases - a vanilla "following too close" citation - counties and courts in Texas allow tickets issued for following too closely to be dismissed by taking an online defensive driving course. Often called traffic schools, these online programs offer convenient options for keeping unnecessary and potentially costly tickets off your driving record.
Preventing Tailgating Tickets
A popular tool taught by defensive driving programs to ensure a driver has sufficient distance between his vehicle and the one in front is known as the two-second (or three-second) rule. This exercise has the rear driver mark the preceding vehicle's location as it passes a stationary marker (a parked car, a tree, and so on) on the road. From there, the rear driver counts slowly to two (or three). If the driver does not reach the end of the count before his vehicle reaches the same physical marker, he's considered too close and should add more distance between their vehicles.
Ultimately if you can read the text messages of the driver in front of you while they're busy updating their Facebook status to read "Jus' drivin to work at 90mph. I'm soo bored" - you're likely following too close. While there are countless statistic on the ground covered by a vehicle at XYZ speeds and the time it takes to stop, it's really more simple than that: the driver doing the rear-ending will always be found at fault. Unless you enjoy paying more than you already are for insurance...
