Tailing in America means throwing a party at a football game with the back door of your pickup folded down. That’s not what we’re talking about here – tailgating in Australian parlance is driving too close to the vehicle in front of you. For example, you are driving right over the rear gate of the lead vehicle.
- Following or following the lead vehicle too closely is an offense in most Australian jurisdictions
- Penalties and deductions apply
- There are tips for keeping a safe distance – and almost no one follows them
And This action is not only dangerous because it limits your ability to stop and increases your risk of an accident, it is also illegal in most states and territories in Australia and you have to pay hefty fines.
First, let’s look at what “adjustment” might look like in practice. Each Australian jurisdiction offers advice on what is widely labeled as a “safe distance to follow”.
As a general rule, the recommendation is to keep “at least 3 seconds between your vehicle and the vehicle in front”.
How do you measure that? Keep an eye on the vehicle ahead, choose a marker when the vehicle ahead passes it, then count “one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand.” If you reach the same marker before you’ve finished saying that, you’re too close.
That’s the suggestion, anyway. In fact, you may find that impossible, especially on highways where other drivers seem to think they should be positioned in any gap between other vehicles.
According to the NSW Government: “Reaction time is the time it takes a driver to see and understand a situation, decide how to react, and then take action. A driver who is healthy, alert and unaffected by alcohol, drugs or fatigue, takes about 1.5 seconds to react to a hazard. At higher speeds, it goes up to about 2.5 seconds.
“Response time is the time it takes a driver to act. Most people need at least 1.5 seconds to react, such as to brake.”
And what’s more, different conditions affect response times, with the NSW Government stating that motorists should increase their collision avoidance distance “to four seconds or more when driving in bad conditions, for example such as on open roads (dust or gravel), icy or wet roads, or at night”.
With that in mind, having a penalty for not keeping a safe distance seems like a reasonable thing to do. And every state and territory in Australia has such regulations. Here is a summary of each category:
- New South Wales has the largest penalty of all states and territories in Australia for stalking. General driving mistakes rule 126: “Driving behind another vehicle too close to stop safely” can result in a hefty $464 fine and three demerit points. For context, it’s a similar penalty to what you face for speeding 10-20 km/h over the limit!
- Victoria Use the phrase “failure to drive enough distance behind the vehicle,” and it can result in a point demerit and a fine of up to $248.
- South Australia there are two “Following” rules: “Do not keep a safe distance behind other vehicles” – fine $372 and deduct one point, while there is also a rule about keeping a “minimum distance behind a long vehicle”, a fine of $270 and one point.
- Queensland things are a little different, with the rules stating that drivers must keep a “at least two seconds” gap between their vehicle and the vehicle ahead in “ideal” conditions, or 4-6 seconds in adverse conditions. If you are found doing the wrong thing – in other words, “following the car in front”, you could be fined $335 and deduct one point.
- Western Australia also stipulates a “two seconds” if conditions permit following the distance strategy, although anyone found to be “failing to follow the vehicle at a safe distance” can be fined $200 and fined two driver’s license points.
- IN tasmaniaexpression is “following another vehicle too close to stop safely”, this may result in one point deduction and a $181 fine.
- inside ACTif you are found to be “driving behind another vehicle too close to stop safely,” you could be fined $407 and deduct one point.
- Northern Territory there are no specific rules about tailgating or anything that describes following too closely the vehicle ahead, although the Northern Territory Government recommends the “three-second rule” for following distance in conditions fine or six seconds if the road is wet or slippery. In addition, “drivers of long vehicles (longer than 7.5 meters, including caravans) must not follow another long vehicle at a distance closer than 200 meters”.
Not intended as legal advice. Check with the relevant road authority in your state or territory.
