When you tailgate other drivers (drive closely to their rear bumper):
- You can frustrate the other drivers and make them angry. ✓
- Your actions cannot result in a traffic citation.
- You help reduce traffic congestion.
Answer: A. You can frustrate the other drivers and make them angry.
Tailgating can frustrate the drivers ahead of you and make them angry, so keep a safe following distance instead.
Why this is the answer
The handbook treats tailgating as a following-distance problem, not a way to save space on the road. It explains that hanging close behind another vehicle blocks your view of the road and leaves you too little time to react if that driver brakes suddenly, and it gives the three-second rule as the way to keep a safe gap. The handbook also notes that when a tailgater is behind you, you should keep your course and speed and change lanes when it is safe, which shows how much pressure close following puts on other drivers.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Your actions cannot result in a traffic citation. — Nothing in the handbook says close following is exempt from a citation, and the passages never describe tailgating as free of legal consequences.
- C. You help reduce traffic congestion. — The handbook only connects tailgating to a smaller safety distance, a blocked view, and less reaction time, never to easing congestion.
Remember it
Count three seconds behind the car ahead, and if someone is riding your bumper, hold your speed and move over when it is safe to let them pass.