[sombo]

Originally Posted by FrugalNinja250

Can you find me a cite for that? One of my pet peeves is tailgaters, and I've found no federal traffic laws at all, just laws regulating hardware and licensing. No laws regulating behavior. It's of particular interest to me here in Texas because in Texas tailgating is perfectly legal.

Texas law:

§ 545.062. FOLLOWING DISTANCE. (a) An operator shall, if
following another vehicle, maintain an assured clear distance
between the two vehicles so that, considering the speed of the
vehicles, traffic, and the conditions of the highway, the operator
can safely stop without colliding with the preceding vehicle or
veering into another vehicle, object, or person on or near the
highway.
(b) An operator of a truck or of a motor vehicle drawing
another vehicle who is on a roadway outside a business or
residential district and who is following another truck or motor
vehicle drawing another vehicle shall, if conditions permit, leave
sufficient space between the vehicles so that a vehicle passing the
operator can safely enter and occupy the space. This subsection
does not prohibit a truck or a motor vehicle drawing another vehicle
from passing another vehicle.
(c) An operator on a roadway outside a business or
residential district driving in a caravan of other vehicles or a
motorcade shall allow sufficient space between the operator and the
vehicle preceding the operator so that another vehicle can safely
enter and occupy the space. This subsection does not apply to a
funeral procession.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

They tend to keep these laws broad for a number of reasons. One of the reasons I believe (even if they will never admit it) is to use it in claims against people who rear-end others. They will use this, in this wording in order to justify that you were obviously not maintaining a safe enough distance to avoid the accident and put you at fault for rear-ending the person in front of you. Insurance fraud cases have happened using this where a car will suddenly jump lanes in front of you, slam on the brakes so you hit them, then claim you were tailgating. They will sometimes have a second person in another car that "saw the whole thing" putting you at blame. Luckily that's a scenario that is very rare, but can happen.