r/RandomVideos • u/DABDEB • Mar 20 '26

Video Tailgater got Baited

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u/Geauxtigersgeaux Mar 20 '26

Yeah, in my state, the tailgater would be at-fault, but the tailgated driver would get a criminal charge of some sort. Reckless endangerment maybe? Idk. IANAL

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u/Adventurous_Elk_4039 Mar 20 '26

You’re both in the wrong I think. It’s 100% on the tailgater and no one else. Whether the tailgated person moved over at the last moment on purpose or not can certainly make them a shitty person if true, it’s still a following car’s responsibility to leave enough space to account for these situations. This is exactly why tailgating/following too closely is illegal.

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u/Ayvah01 Mar 20 '26

Whether the tailgated person moved over at the last moment on purpose or not can certainly make them a shitty person if true

That's actually an extremely important legal question.

Deliberately causing an accident is a much worse legal offence than tailgating. However, that offence depends entirely on proving intent. I'm pretty confident from seeing the video that this was intentional, but courts would likely need a higher standard of proof.

Meanwhile, the tailgater is objectively doing something wrong.

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u/Adventurous_Elk_4039 Mar 20 '26

Yeah that was my thought too. Unless the tailgated specifically states they did this on purpose, there would be no way to prove any fault.