I was driving to the mall the other day on I-95 with two of my girlfriends at a speed of 60 mph when suddenly, a middle aged guy seated in a blue Honda Accord begins to tailgate us. He tailgates us for about 4 miles until we finally reach our exit. And then, upon returning home, a few other cars happen to do the same the thing “tailgate”. Meanwhile, I’m alternating between speeds of 60 mph to 70 mph and the whole time, I’m thinking, what do these people want, for me to go 100mph? This is a crisis, because let’s say that I’m driving down the highway at a speed of 60mph with my kid in the backseat, while some prick is driving right on my tail, and suddenly, I abruptly press on my brakes because a deer races across the road in front me, then where would that lead us? Not only would my kid and I be thrown through the window because of the large impact from behind despite the fastening of our seatbelts, but the guy or gal behind me would have been injured or rather crushed by the back of my car. It’s pure ignorance that is driving many people to do the stupidest things. It seems like humans are becoming more intelligent each day when it comes to the innovative discoveries of technology and science but when it comes to using logic for the simple things in life, many people fail tremendously.

Ironically, I use to be one of those people who tailgated others. For years, I tailgated people thinking that it would make them either drive faster or move to the next lane so I could pass, but one day the blinders came off and I saw the light. I was tailgating a man who was simultaneously driving and talking on his cell phone. He suddenly slammed on his brakes for no apparent reason and I came crashing into the rear of his car. The front of my car was crushed and glass from the windshield flew towards my face. If I had not been tailgating him, I would have had enough time to hit my brakes and spare myself the anguish of going to the hospital, filing a police report and having my car insurance pay for his repairs, which ended up increasing my six month premium.

Just think, how would you feel if it were your mother, father, husband, son or daughter in the car and by unfortunate circumstance, they didn’t make it out of the car accident alive? It’s time for many of us to stop being egotistical and think about the affect of our actions on others. One of the ways that we can start sparing our children and family members’ lives is to stop tailgating!