This dashcam owner was confronted over tailgating despite following this Jeep Grand Cherokee driver at a safe distance.
Illinoisan and Redditor /u/Effective-Challenge5 posted confusing dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit from earlier last this week (Sept 4, 2024) showing a driver in a Jeep Grand Cherokee confronting /u/Effective-Challenge5 over tailgating despite following at more than a safe distance.
Check out his dashcam footage below.
The incident first started near the intersection of S Randall Rd. and Corporate Parkway and continued for a little over half a mile until the intersection with County Line Rd.
OP stays in the left lane as, according to a comment, his left turn was two miles from where the video begins.
Most of the dashcam footage is uneventful, that is until we see the driver in the Jeep Grand Cherokee stop in the middle of the road to confront OP over tailgating.
“Tailgate me again and I’m gonna…,” we hear the driver in the Grand Cherokee threaten after exiting his vehicle and approaching OP’d driver-side window.
Was OP tailgating?
Tailgating is,
“is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly.” (Wikipedia.)
Because of the dashcam footage, anyone can estimate how far OP was following this Jeep Grand Cherokee driver.
We see OP and the Cherokee between trees at this location linked here.
Measuring, OP was following this Cherokee at a little over 70 feet, well within the accepted following distance rule of thumb of 1 car length per 10 MPH.
The speed limit in this area is 50 MPH so, OP should have five car lengths between him and the car in front of him.
Judging by time, or shooting for three seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you, OP could’ve increased his following distance slightly.
Choosing a single point around that area screenshot above, OP had about a two-second gap between himself and the driver in the Jeep.
However, in the second half of the video, OP increases his following distance even more.
By distance and time, anyone looking at this video would agree that OP wasn’t tailgating.
OP does comment on what set this driver off.
“He (the Jeep Grand Cherokee driver) was getting pissed he couldn’t pass anyone earlier and then got behind me to tailgate me before he passed me on a left turn lane and then eventually it led to this confrontation,” OP clarified.
“But it ok for him to tailgate the car in front of him,” /u/NewToTradingStock pointed out.
34 seconds in you can see a Burgandy SUV change lane to a turning lane, showing how close the driver in the Grand Cherokee was following them.
“He is a tool, but like a wish version of a Temu tool, not a useful one,” /u/Ok_Sand_4207 added.
“I WISH people left that much space. Where I live if you leave a gap like that, regardless of speed, someone WILL change lanes in front of you, and they’ll almost DEFINITELY slam on the brakes for no apparent reason,” said /u/Wolf-Diesel.
Some people just want to pick a fight.
Thankfully, nothing came of this confrontation except some hurt feelings and confusion on the dashcam owner’s part.
As always, it’s best to avoid road rage and to not further escalate a heated situation.
In that regard, OP did everything right here.
