Can you legally brake check a driver for aggressive tailgating? Here’s what Idaho law says
Road rage manifests itself in many ways, from drivers honking their horns and yelling to cutting off other people.
However, one of the most stressful forms of road rage may be tailgating — when another driver follows closely behind your car, leaving little room for reaction in case of a sudden stop.
What should you do if a vehicle is at an unsafe distance behind you while driving? Is it legal to brake check another driver to make them back off?
Here’s the Idaho law.
What is brake checking?
According to the Idiart Law Group, a personal injury law firm with offices in California, Oregon and Idaho, brake checking is when “a driver suddenly taps or slams on the brakes to startle the car behind them.”
Idiart Law Group writes that brake checking is often done as either a warning or an aggression toward a car following too closely.
According to the Idaho Transportation Department’s driver safety manual, “there is no perfect formula for following distance.” But the ITD does recommend allowing a three-second count between cars as the “minimum recommended safest procedure to use.” That count should increase with the speed of the vehicle, and in bad weather.
Is brake checking legal in Idaho?
Title 49, Chapter 8 of the Idaho Statutes says that a driver cannot “stop or suddenly decrease the speed of a vehicle without first giving an appropriate signal to the driver of any vehicle immediately to the rear.”
Idiart Law Group notes that brake checking is considered “reckless driving” and an illegal “targeted action.”
“The front driver is not always right,” Idiart Law Group writes. “If you have been the victim of a brake-checking accident, the law is on your side.”
Although it can be challenging to prove someone is brake-checking, a reckless driving charge in Idaho can result in a fine of up to $1,000 and a maximum prison sentence of six months, according to Attorneys of Idaho. It will additionally come with three penalty points on your license.
What should you do if someone is tailgating you?
If someone is tailgating you, the ITD recommends in its driver manual that you slow down, move to another lane and let the person tailgating drive past.
Idiart Law Group also gives the following tips to avoid a brake-checking incident and potentially getting in trouble with the law:
Continue driving at the same speed and see if the tailgater picks up the hint
Don’t give in to the pressure of a tailgater and speed up or slow down
If you cannot move to another lane, find a safe space to pull off the road and let them pass
This story was originally published June 13, 2024 at 8:08 AM.
