Rules of the Road: Following Too Closely
Drivers can often look to the Tennessee Code to see what constitutes negligence, because the rules of the road often embody safe driving standards. One can be reasonably sure that if a certain driving behavior is prohibited in the Tennessee Code, it is probably an unsafe driving behavior and will likely be a sufficient basis for recovery in a personal injury suit should the prohibited behavior cause an accident.
A good example of this can be found by looking at T.C.A. §55-8-124, which is Tennessee’s statute for Following Too Closely. The first part of a statute says that a driver may not follow another vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent. If this language seems familiar, it is because reasonable and prudent driving is the standard for non-negligent driving in Tennessee. Thus, if a driver looks to this section of the Code, he or she can see exactly how to avoid responsibility for causing injuries by following too closely.
The problem for drivers in interpreting this statute, however, is figuring out how much distance between a driver and a car in front of them is “reasonable and prudent.” This determination will depend on the circumstances surrounding the driver at the time. For example, if it is raining, a reasonable driver will leave more distance between his car and the car in front of him in order to have more room to come to a stop. Likewise, if a driver is driving in a high-speed area, she would reasonably decide to leave more space between her and the car in front of her to maximize the allowable room for ever. As a general rule, adverse weather conditions would require the driver to leave more room in front of them to have more of a safety net. Tennessee puts the burden on drivers to understand what is reasonable in any given situation and to drive accordingly, or else face being the defendant in a personal injury suit.
