Around 33% of car crashes in the U.S. are caused by tailgating. Despite the danger, tailgating is incredibly common on American roads and highways, so it’s important to know some basic information. Here’s everything you need to know about tailgating accidents in Boston, MA, how to avoid them and what to do if one does occur.
What Does Massachusetts Law Define as Tailgating?
Though Massachusetts law doesn’t specifically use the word tailgating, it does still explicitly forbid it. 700 CMR § 9.06 (7) pertains to following too closely and states that motorists are not allowed to follow other vehicles at a closer distance than necessary.
The code doesn’t give a specific number here, as a reasonable distance is context-sensitive. Instead, it instructs drivers to pay attention to factors like the speed and density of traffic, as well as any other relevant road conditions.
Drivers who fail to maintain a reasonable distance between vehicles may be found in violation of this code if an accident occurs. As tailgating is considered reckless driving, doing so will greatly increase the odds that you’re found liable for an accident, so it’s best to avoid it under all circumstances.
How to Avoid a Tailgating Accident
What do you do if you’re the one being tailgated, though? If another driver is tailgating you and making you feel unsafe, it’s important to know how to remove yourself from the situation quickly and safely. Having that knowledge may be the difference between a close scrape and an accident, so be sure to always have a plan to escape a tailgating situation.
Stay Calm
First and foremost, you always need to stay calm when being tailgated. Frustration, stress and anger are all common natural responses to being tailgated, but it’s important to push those emotions back as much as possible.
Letting your emotions get the best of you while on the highway may cause you to drive erratically, endangering yourself and others and making it more likely that you’ll be found responsible for any accidents that occur.
Staying calm, on the other hand, will allow you to escape the situation with minimal risk. When taking any actions to avoid a tailgating accident, be sure to do them calmly and deliberately.
Try to Shake the Tailgater
If you can do so safely, try to get the tailgater to stop following you. Most tailgaters are following closely out of impatience, not malice. Check to ensure that there’s a clear lane next to you and try changing lanes. This is usually enough to stop the tailgater from following you.
If not, you could try pulling into a well-lit parking lot that’s visible to the public. Chances are, they won’t follow you into a parking lot, so you can just wait a few minutes for them to create some distance and continue on your way. If you feel that you’re in immediate danger at any point, though, we recommend having a passenger call emergency services.
Don’t Brake Check
Many drivers get frustrated with tailgaters and attempt to get back at them by brake checking. Brake checking is the act of either tapping on the brakes repeatedly or suddenly slamming on them to force the other driver to stop. People who do this to tailgaters are usually trying to make them back off, but it’s a very reckless idea.
Between your sudden stop and the tailgater’s close proximity, brake checking is likely to cause a crash. Because brake checking, like tailgating, is also considered reckless driving, it’s much more difficult to receive compensation for damages following a brake check-induced crash.
Ultimately, this goes back to keeping a level head. Stay calm, avoid getting frustrated and don’t do anything rash with the idea of sending a message to the tailgater.
Who is Liable in a Tailgating Accident?
The state of Massachusetts uses a contributory fault system for determining liability after an accident. This means that each motorist holds a certain percentage of responsibility for the accident.
Whichever party holds 51% of the fault or more has to pay for the damages and is unable to seek compensation of their own. The party who isn’t held responsible may receive a higher payout if they have a low fault percentage.
In the case of a tailgating accident, the tailgater will usually hold most of the fault. By following you so closely, they put themself in a situation where they were unable to avoid an accident, so they’re responsible for all of the damages incurred.
However, your actions leading up to the accident also play a part in determining fault. For example, if the accident happened because you brake checked the tailgater as we mentioned above, you’ll hold a much larger portion, if not the majority of the fault.
How to Avoid Liability
The best way to avoid liability in a tailgating accident is simply to drive responsibly. Try to remove yourself from the situation and avoid letting frustration or irritation get the better of you. If you did your due diligence to avoid a tailgating accident, it’s unlikely that any insurance company or civil court would find you at fault.
Do You Need a Lawyer After a Tailgating Accident?
Once the dust has settled following a tailgating accident, you may be wondering whether or not you should hire a lawyer. In the case of most severe accidents, you absolutely should.
Car repairs and medical bills are extremely expensive and you’ll need to receive enough compensation to pay for them. In an ideal world, this would be a simple process of sending the bills to your insurance provider, but it tends to get complicated in high-dollar cases.
While insurance companies serve to protect you in the case of an accident, there’s a conflict of interest. Insurance companies are for-profit organizations, which means that their top priorities are to minimize costs and maximize profits.
Because the bills following a tailgating accident are so expensive, most companies are going to try to find ways to pay out as little money as possible, leaving you to foot the bill.
To keep this from happening, you need to hire a lawyer who knows the law just as well as they do. With a lawyer fighting for you, you don’t have to worry about being swindled out of your due compensation. Whether through a simple settlement or a full-fledged civil case, your lawyer will do everything in their power to ensure you receive the money you deserve.
The Best Accident and Injury Lawyers in Boston, MA
Since you’ll be trusting them with the legal proceedings following your car accident, it’s extremely important to hire a legal firm you can trust.
To that end, it’s best to do consultation calls with any law firm you’re interested in to see if they’d be a good fit for you. It’s also best to hire lawyers who are Boston locals, as they’ll have a much greater understanding of Boston’s legal quirks and court system.
If you’re looking for a team of lawyers that checks all of these boxes, you can trust the Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers team. We’ve served Boston for over a decade and have recovered millions of dollars for our clients in that time. If you’re looking for an effective, no-nonsense law firm, get in touch with us today and we’ll see what we can do for you.
