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Washington State’s tailgating laws are strictly enforced, cost quite a bit, and can be issued whether you knew you were tailgating or not. Your best chance of beating one of these tickets is to avoid it altogether. The information in this article will help you to do just that.
What Are the Laws on Following Too Closely in Washington State?
The official name for tailgating is “following too closely.” Following too closely and tailgating are the same thing, though. Just think of “tailgating” as this violation’s nickname. If you fail to leave a reasonable and prudent amount of space between your vehicle and the one in front of you, then you just might get a tailgating ticket. (RCW 46.61.145)
Types of Tailgaters
There are five main types of tailgators: ignorant drivers, unaware drivers, distracted drivers, complacent drivers, and aggressive drivers. Since you’re probably most familiar with aggressive drivers, we’ll leave them for last and explain the less widely understood types first.
Ignorant Drivers
Ignorant drivers are drivers who either don’t know that tailgating is illegal or don’t know what tailgating is. These drivers often commit tailgating violations without having the slightest clue that they did anything wrong. Oftentimes, this stems from a lack of driving experience and many of these drivers have only been driving for a short period of time.
Unaware Drivers
Unaware drivers are drivers who know that tailgating is illegal but don’t know that they are actively committing tailgating violations. These drivers tend to not have a firm grasp on what a reasonable and prudent gap between vehicles actually is, which leads to them not knowing how to avoid breaking this law. Like with ignorant drivers, unaware drivers tend to suffer from a lack of driving experience.
Distracted Drivers
Distracted drivers are the first group of drivers on this list that break more than one law. While tailgating, they also commit distracted driving violations. These drivers often look at their phones, fiddle with their radios, or carry on detailed conversations with their passengers. Any of these actions can result in them paying too little attention to the road, accidentally tailgating other drivers, and getting a ticket for both distracted driving and tailgating.
Complacent Drivers
Complacent drivers are drivers who know that tailgating is illegal and how much space they should be leaving between vehicles but simply choose to tailgate anyway. Many times, they were taught to drive like that by other complacent or aggressive drivers. These drivers tend to think that tailgating is either not that bad a violation or that the risks don’t apply to them.
Aggressive Drivers
Aggressive drivers are drivers who don’t care that the law prohibits them from tailgating. They let their frustration and anger get the best of them and take it out by tailgating other drivers. This is particularly dangerous for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that it might escalate to acts of road rage or reckless driving.
How Much Is a Tailgating Ticket in Washington State?
Tailgating tickets in Washington State tend to cost around $137. That might not sound like much, but keep in mind that the price can increase substantially depending on the circumstances of your violation. For example, if you’re found to have been at-fault in a car accident due to tailgating, you’ll have to pay an additional $50 plus potential civil penalties resulting from a lawsuit.
In addition to that cost, you might find that the cost of your car insurance has increased by 22.5% for the next five years (an average total increase of $1,377).
How Far Apart Do the Cars Need To Be To Not Be Considered Tailgating?
There’s no set distance in the books for how far apart cars should be other than that the distance should be both reasonable and prudent. In other words, the correct following distance increases with speed, changes with other roadway conditions, and isn’t always the same across circumstances.
A general rule of thumb is to rely on the Three Second Rule, which states to keep three seconds of space between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you at all times.
How To Avoid a Tailgating Ticket
Tailgating tickets are surprisingly easy to get. Getting out of them is the hard part. Just think about it: Had you ever heard of the Three Second Rule for safe following distances before now? If not, then you’ve just proved our point, which is that the best way to get out of a tailgating ticket is to avoid it altogether. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you do just that.
Focus on the Road
Keep your eyes on the road. Keep track of nearby vehicles and what their drivers are doing. Remain alert, aware, and focused on the road and you should be able to effectively prevent yourself from accidentally committing any tailgating violations.
Drive With the Flow of Traffic
The flow of traffic determines how fast or slow you can safely travel. When the flow of traffic is below the speed limit, you should slow down as well. Failure to do so can result in you tailgating the vehicles in front of you and potentially causing an accident.
When the flow of traffic is above the speed limit, however, do not accelerate. Just because other drivers are speeding doesn’t mean that you can too. And, in many cases, arguing about the flow of traffic in a courtroom will be construed as an admission that you were in fact knowingly speeding.
Give Yourself Enough Time
Remember the Three Second Rule we’ve talked about? It is quite a bit more important than you might think. To follow it, pick a landmark. The landmark anything (a lamppost, a house, a tree, anything). Once the vehicle in front of you passes it, start counting the seconds until you pass it too.
If you count to three or more seconds, then you’re probably following at a reasonable and prudent distance. If you count fewer than three seconds, you might be breaking the law.
Drive in the Correct Lane
When driving on multi-lane roadways, it’s important to know which lane is the fast lane (left) and which lane is the slow lane (right). If you’re driving beneath the speed limit for whatever reason, stick to the right lane. If you’re driving faster than the flow of traffic, stick to the left lane—but don’t speed!
What Is Brake Checking?
Brake checking is the practice of stomping on the brakes for no apparent reason other than to punish another driver. This is often done by drivers who get mad at others for tailgating them. However, contrary to popular belief, it is just as illegal as it is dangerous.
Brake checking is illegal in Washington State due to the dangers it poses not just to the brake-checker but to everybody around them. In many cases, the brake-checker will be found at fault in the accident (even if somebody else were tailgating them) and charged with road rage, aggressive driving, or reckless driving.
If you’ve received a ticket for brake checking or tailgating another driver, you have options. Contact a lawyer through the WinIt app or online at www.appwinit.com today to get started forming your legal defense.
