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Why You Never, Ever Brake Check (Or Tailgate!) Another Driver

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NoblesseOblige said:
It's not about policing others. A brake check is how you say "you're making me uncomfortable with how close you are."
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DMV handbooks instruct drivers to change lanes in this situation. You are explicitly told not to break check. It raises the risk of an accident, not just for you and the tailgater, but for others as well. It also contributes to road rage, which carries its own risks.
 
This is only a mile away from where I live. I had quite a few FB posts talking about it yesterday.

Personally I think both drivers are at fault.
 
TheTurboFD said:
But why do this instead of just driving as you normally was? I never understood brake checking at all. Why would i waste my time with a 50/50 chance that the person behind me will hit me when I can just drive normally and carry on with my life lol.
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It's because brake checkers are distracted drivers, they're driving in their rear view mirrors. It would take consideration to come to the conclusion you presented, and distracted drivers don't consider shit.
 
theepicoftyler said:
I can't watch the video, only the gif, so I guess I don't know how long the guy was hanging out in the left lane, or other factors.

I'd still argue that breakchecking while going at any speed is creating a potential scenario for danger higher than a tailgater being left "unchecked" as it were. In this situation we see the possibility of the tailgater causing a serious accident with several other innocent vehicles. It's stupid.
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Stupid and all the tailgater's fault. Although brake checking can be douchey, it serves a real purpose. The driver was within an illegally unsafe distance and the driver was afraid that he would be killed if he needed to brake suddenly. The tailgater is responsible for leaving himself enough room to brake and being aware of his situations.

Leaving the tailgater "unchecked" probably would have led to a safer outcome in this situation, but it also could have ended up with the tailgater killing the person in front of him.
 
jres80 said:
DMV handbooks instruct drivers to change lanes in this situation. You are explicitly told not to break check. It raises the risk of an accident, not just for you and the tailgater, but for others as well. It also contributes to road rage, which carries its own risks.
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What do you do when there isn't a lane to switch to?
 
Makonero said:
It isn't illegal. In Ohio, for example, you can go whatever speed and hang out in the left lane. Is it courteous or safe? No, but people do it. Stuff like this isn't as universal as the "don't tailgate" or "don't brake check" ideas.
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And when i'm dictator, those people will be the first to go.


In most places it's considered the passing lane. With posted signs saying "left lane is for passing" etc. May not be illegal but it's annoying and very shitty for a person to do.
 
Kind of scary how many people here are defending the brake checker.

The tailgator is in the wrong -- nobody is debating that. But the brake checker is also in the wrong. Guy could have swerved into oncoming traffic and killed somebody, and the brake checker would obviously be partially responsible for that.

Video features two assholes and neither are worth defending.
 
Ray Wonder said:
Don't tailgate me.

Brake checking will occur, and you can't prove I did it on purpose. So you hitting me is your fault.

I'm on the breakchecker's side.
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I find this behavior problematic for your own safety and the safety of the drivers around you. If the assumption is that the person tailgating you is an idiot or an asshole then scaring them into making a split second decision out of spite or a moral highground isn't in service to anything productive or good. Two wrongs not making a right and such.

Luckily breakchecking is so common here that I've never heard of anyone losing their shit and spinning out but still. There is a chance that bad things can happen and I personally prefer safe/ defensive driving than getting mad at for people being stupid or worse, setting possible accidents up just because you know you would be in the right.
 
Someone, let's call him "Tailgater", is pointing a loaded gun at you and your family for doing something innocuous like walking slowly. He's angry and erratic, and someone told you that he PROBABLY won't kill you, but it's also your fault for walking too slow despite there being plenty of sidewalk for him to walk on by.

You do a lurch yourself backwards suddenly to get him to realize how dangerous pointing a gun is at a person is, but he ends up shooting a third party in the process.

Are you REALLY at fault here? Equally at fault by someone bizarre standards of false equivalency?

This is a stupid metaphor, sorry.
 
Ray Wonder said:
But what if he swerved off and ended up hitting another car filled with innocent people?
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You must allow sufficient space to brake and bring your vehicle to a stop without damaging the vehicle in front. If someone braking causes you to brake so heavily you lose control of your vehicle, you were fucking up, and it's your fault you lost control.

I don't necessarily agree with either driver. I've had cars sitting about half a metre off the back of my ute. I don't care, I'm doing the speed limit, and if I brake their car is going to eat my towball.
 
Breads said:
I find this behavior problematic for your own safety and the safety of the drivers around you. If the assumption is that the person tailgating you is an idiot or an asshole then scaring them into making a split second decision out of spite or a moral highground isn't in service to anything productive or good. Two wrongs not making a right and such.

Luckily breakchecking is so common here that I've never heard of anyone losing their shit and spinning out but still. There is a chance that bad things can happen and I personally prefer safe/ defensive driving than getting mad at for people being stupid or worse, setting possible accidents up just because you know you would be in the right.
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I don't brake check hard. Just let them know they're an unsafe following distance.
 
DoctorWho said:
If the tailgater had swerved into a car packed with innocent people and killed them all I would consider both the tailgater and the aggressive break checker responsible for their deaths.
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Why is that? If they hadn't been tailgating in the first place, none of this would have happened. The reason tailgating is so dangerous is that you never know how the car in front of you is going to react. What if they had to slam on their brakes suddenly to prevent hitting something or someone?
 
Passing on the right and a look of disapproval is way more effective than tailgating. This is assuming the person in the passing lane is cruising below the speed limit. The person nearly always goes back into the right lane after you (safely) pass on the right.
 
Oxn said:
By honking you are doing exactly what they want you to. They get off on this shit
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I think mainly they want you to get the fuck out of the way.

And if they want me to honk they are welcome to it - better than stepping aside with no acknowledgment that they are being assholes.

What I care about is not getting rear-ended. It's not fun. Been there, done that, no fucking thanks.
 
Makonero said:
It isn't illegal. In Ohio, for example, you can go whatever speed and hang out in the left lane. Is it courteous or safe? No, but people do it. Stuff like this isn't as universal as the "don't tailgate" or "don't brake check" ideas.
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Thats why Ohio drivers are awful. Its illegal in Pennsylvania
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_lane

but yes you shouldn't break check or tailgate regardless of whether the other person is breaking the law
 
jres80 said:
On a country road you find the safest place to pull over.

Otherwise you drive safely until you can get to a place you can move over.
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And risk an event where you have to make an emergency stop, guaranteeing that you'll get a nasty rear ending from the tailgater?
 
Violence Jack said:
Why is that? If they hadn't been tailgating in the first place, none of this would have happened. The reason tailgating is so dangerous is that you never know how the car in front of you is going to react. What if they had to slam on their brakes suddenly to prevent hitting something or someone?
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The tailgater created the situation but the break checker exacerbated it. You're right, if there was due reason for the person in front to break, they should be at fault. That isn't the case here though. The break check was an aggressive attempt to piss of the tailgater when the better recourse would be to simply switch lanes.
 
jres80 said:
DMV handbooks instruct drivers to change lanes in this situation. You are explicitly told not to break check. It raises the risk of an accident, not just for you and the tailgater, but for others as well. It also contributes to road rage, which carries its own risks.
Click to expand...

My state doesn't even have a DMV (we have a 'Secretary of State') and unless something changed 10 years ago there was no protocol for any of this. The onus was always on the tailgater.
 
The tailgater obviously created the situation, but the brake-checker could have defused it. Either driver could have. Both are at fault.

When you have conflict with another driver, your priority should be to defuse the situation.
 
Ark said:
Jesus Christ, I can't believe how many people here are advocating brake-checking.
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It's road justice! Or at least, that's what people have decided. Who cares if it isn't safe or smart, it feels good! Road rage goes both ways.

The old adage, "People who drive slower than me are jerks and people who drive faster than me are assholes" comes to mind.
 
DoctorWho said:
The tailgater created the situation but the break checker exacerbated it. You're right, if there was due reason for the person in front to break, they should be at fault. That isn't the case here though. The break check was an aggressive attempt to piss of the tailgater when the better recourse would be to simply switch lanes.
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Nah, i loved this outcome.
 
I never brake check anyone despite the temptation. My wife makes a good point when she says you never know who you're messing with.

And with so many folks with guns these days you don't want to draw the ire of someone packing heat.
 
Dali said:
Brake. They're brakes. Sorry, but this is the second instance of misuse. Not you but just within the thread.

We also say "on my ass" and the like.
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Shit just realized I was typing "break" too, wtf is wrong with me hahah.
 
ISWThunder said:
Stupid and all the tailgater's fault. Although brake checking can be douchey, it serves a real purpose. The driver was within an illegally unsafe distance and the driver was afraid that he would be killed if he needed to brake suddenly. The tailgater is responsible for leaving himself enough room to brake and being aware of his situations.

Leaving the tailgater "unchecked" probably would have led to a safer outcome in this situation, but it also could have ended up with the tailgater killing the person in front of him.
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I'm not arguing that tailgating is acceptable. I'm just saying that breakchecking is also a reckless act. I don't care if you're break checking someone when you're driving on a two-lane road with a reasonable speed limit, but if you're on an interstate/freeway and people are traveling at very high rates of speed, EVERYONE's reaction time is impaired by the virtue of the speed you're traveling, and you're unnecessarily risking something like this happening.

I'd rather move over and let someone like that by and continue on my way than count on them to be able to control their car (or being rear-ended by someone going 75 mph).
 
Brake checking that hard is stupid. You risk injuring yourself, the tailgater and potentially others. Obviously the tailgater is culpable, but that's outside of your control.

I sometimes drive slowly, and maybe even sidle up to a car in the other lane, when I'm being tailgated. Proves my point. But I never brake check.
 
Brake checking is just as bad as tail gating. It's such a passive aggressive maneuver that can get someone killed. Actually it's not even passive. Do you feel better about break checking? if you do you're just as much an asshole as the person tail gating you. Grow up and move over because You should let the tailgater get in their own accident than possibly be a contributing factor to someone's death.
 
I drive mostly on 2 lane roads, so tailgating is the only way I can tell someone they are being a cunt. But if they don't take the hint after a few seconds, I usually back the fuck off because I assume that they are of reduced mental capacity and inherently unpredictable.
 
They say the road is a dangerous place; If you flip me off, I'll get in your face.
If you drive on my ass, your foot's on the gas; And your next breath is your last.
I guess I got a bad habit; Of blowin' away - Yeah, Yeah
 
shiftplusone said:
why did he overcorrect so god damn harshly

that seems like poor decision making

I mean don't break check unless you're being a dickhead but wow

that looks like swervy mctailgate was on their phone or distracted otherwise
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Except you know, having the thought that someone is possibly dead because you couldn't get out of the lane or ignore them and instead insisted on break checking them.

I am not for either side, both people are at fault. though when i drive and i am in the left lane, if someone seems like they are going faster than me i get over even if it takes time awhile for a spot to be open.
 
Rockandrollclown said:
You should always leave enough room between you and the person in front of you to safely come to a stop. While brake checking is slightly dickish, what if the person had a legitimate reason to brake? This person just tapped their brakes, what if they had to slam on their brakes for something? Whole thing is avoided by following at a safe distance.
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Yep

Brake checker in this instance only tapped the brakes. He didn't slow down at all.

Tailgater overreacted 200% more than what they needed to do(presumably on their fucking phone and just saw brake lights) and fucked up as hard as possible.
 
Had to look up what break checking is. What the fuck? That's the stupidest shit ever. Yeah tailgating is dumb but you're being even dumber when you break check. Don't escalate shit. It could get you or someone innocent killed. If there's a lane next to you then just move out of the way and let him pass you.
 
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