How to handle tailgaters?

[agf]

talkin 'bout road rage
here a pic of me from about 15 years ago.
The studio needed "talent" and as I used to work with the photographers, they rang me...I wonder why

 

[seacliff]

here's some fun with math:

assumption:
car length = 4 meter (13 feet)
tailgating = following the previous car with less then a car's length.
speed traveled : 100 kph (60 mph)
average reaction time: 0.7 sec

100 km/h = 28 m/s
at that speed, it takes roughly 55 meters to stop a car.
at that speed, with the reaction time, you would travel 19 meters

which means that the first car will take 55 meters to break where the second car with take 55 meters to break + 19 meters as a reaction time (considering there is no anticipation of the front car braking).

That means that second car will be 19 meters - 4 meter (following distance) = 15 meters in front of the first car...

follow from a safe distance!