What Does the Law Say About Following Too Closely in New York?
It probably happens to you every day when you're on your way to or from work and you look in your rear-view mirror and someone jackass is riding your bumper. My wife and I argue about this all the time when we're out and about. She thinks I ride people's bumpers, "follow too closely", or tailgate people. I don't agree with that in the least bit, as I feel I leave enough space in case something happens. I try to leave at least one to two car lengths between me and the car in front of me. I feel that is appropriate, but my wife is grabbing the "oh s*@$" handle every three seconds, so I must be doing something wrong. All these years I've been driving, you think I would have heard about some sort of specific law that states the exact distance you should follow other drivers. Because technically one such law does not exist. According to New York State:  The driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of such vehicles and the traffic upon and the condition of the highway. Look at that, it's up to us to decide what's a reasonable amount of space. Bet You Cant Name All the Route 9s in the Hudson Valley