If you are tailgated, which action would best maintain safety?

• A. Speed up to escape the tailgater.
• B. Increase following distance only while staying in your lane.
• C. Increase following distance, move to another lane if safe, and avoid abrupt stops.
• D. Brake abruptly to surprise the tailgater.

Answer: (C)

When someone tailgates, your safety depends on creating more space and reducing the chance of a rear-end collision. The best approach is to increase the following distance so you have extra time to react to sudden stops or hazards. If it’s safe and traffic allows, move to another lane to let the tailgater pass, which removes you from the close pursuit. Avoid abrupt braking because hard, sudden stops give the tailgater little time to react and can trigger a crash or aggressive reaction.

Why the other options aren’t as safe: speeding up to shake off the tailgater keeps you in a high-risk situation and doesn’t address the underlying lack of space; simply increasing distance while staying in your lane may not prevent a crash if the tailgater follows closely; braking suddenly is dangerous and can easily cause a rear-end collision.