What does tailgated mean?
Tailgated is the past tense and past participle of tailgate, a verb meaning to follow another vehicle at an unsafe distance. The expression describes driving so closely behind a car, truck, or bus that a driver cannot see the road beneath it and has little time to stop or react if the vehicle ahead brakes suddenly. Tailgating is dangerous because it increases the likelihood of a rear-end collision and can provoke road rage or retaliatory driving. The term can also be used more generally for following someone persistently, though its dominant modern usage concerns vehicles. In legal and educational contexts, tailgating may be identified as a traffic violation, particularly when the following distance is less than a safe following distance.
To drive or follow immediately behind another vehicle at an unsafe distance.
"The sports car tailgated the lorry around the bend."
Commonly regarded as unsafe driving and, depending on the jurisdiction, subject to traffic penalties.
Having followed another vehicle at an unsafe distance.
"The tailgated driver was ordered to pull over."
This is the past-participial use of the verb.
Tailgating turns ordinary traffic into a high-stakes game of inches.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tailgated come from?
The word combines the noun tail, meaning the rear end of an animal or vehicle, with the noun gate. The compound tailgate originally referred to a hinged gate at the rear of a vehicle, such as those fitted to horse-drawn coaches. By the early 20th century, it had also come to denote a vehicle following another closely enough to obstruct the driver's view.
Related word forms
How tailgated is actually used
The term is chiefly used for unsafe driving and may also describe a vehicle following another especially closely. It is normally used in road-safety and traffic-law contexts.