Lorraine Williamson
If you drive in Spain, you’ve probably felt it: headlights filling the mirror, the car behind sitting inches off your bumper, the silent pressure to go faster. Most of the time, it ends with an impatient overtake and a muttered insult. However, sometimes, it becomes something else entirely.
A video circulating online this week shows how quickly that “everyday tailgating” can flip into intimidation on the move — the kind of moment that leaves you shaking, even if you manage to keep control.
Spain has no shortage of dangerous driving hot-spots: fast dual carriageways, busy ring roads around major cities, and the long weekend exodus routes where tempers fray. But tailgating is particularly risky because it removes the one thing that prevents small mistakes from becoming pile-ups: time.
The rule Spain’s traffic authorities keep repeating
The DGT’s advice is blunt. To avoid a rear-end collision, you need, at a minimum, around two seconds between you and the vehicle in front. The DGT even offers a simple method: pick a fixed point on the road and count “1101, 1102”. If you reach the point before you finish, you’re too close.
Two seconds is not a magic shield. In rain, poor visibility, worn tyres, heavy loads, or night driving, the DGT stresses that the distance needs to increase. That’s the part many drivers ignore, right up until the brake lights appear.
What drivers can be fined for — and why it matters
Not leaving enough space isn’t treated as a harmless habit. Spanish traffic enforcement and driving-law explainers consistently cite a typical sanction of €200 and the loss of 4 licence points for failing to keep a safe distance, because it raises the risk of the most common motorway crash: the “alcance” (rear-end collision).
For most drivers, that is where it starts and ends: a fine, a few points, an expensive lesson. The bigger problem is what happens when tailgating becomes aggression — when a driver uses a vehicle to threaten, block, or force another car into panic decisions.
When it stops being “rude” and starts looking criminal
Spain’s road-safety framework draws a hard line around behaviour that creates a real, specific danger to others. The DGT’s own overview of road-safety crimes in the Penal Code explains how reckless driving is treated when it puts lives at risk.
In plain terms, there’s a difference between being impatient and driving in a way that forces other road users to react to avoid a crash. That distinction matters if an incident is reported, investigated, and escalates beyond an administrative fine.
What to do when someone is right on your bumper
The instinct is to “teach them a lesson”. Don’t. Brake-checking is exactly the kind of split-second provocation that turns intimidation into collision.
Instead, focus on keeping the situation boring. Hold a steady speed. Create more space in front of you so you can slow gently if needed. If it’s safe, allow the tailgater to pass rather than staying locked in a contest you didn’t choose. Avoid gestures, eye contact, or sudden lane changes.
And if the behaviour escalates — repeated harassment, dangerous swerves, attempts to block you — prioritise your safety. Move towards a well-lit, populated area or a service station, and contact emergency services if you feel threatened.
Why this keeps happening on Spanish roads
Tailgating is often framed as a personality flaw: impatient drivers, macho posturing, a bad day. But it also sits inside bigger pressures.
Traffic volumes surge around weekends and holiday travel periods. Faster cars and better soundproofing can make speed feel normal while distances shrink. And for many drivers, the two-second rule is remembered as theory, not habit.
The DGT has been tightening enforcement in different ways — from awareness campaigns to more automated controls. The underlying message is consistent: speed matters, but so does space.
A simple Sunday reminder before the cold snap
With colder weather expected, roads change character quickly. Damp patches, low winter sun, foggy pockets and greasy surfaces turn “almost safe” distances into collisions.
Tailgating on Spanish roads isn’t just annoying. It’s the moment when a routine drive becomes a risk calculation. The safest response is not to win the exchange, but to get home without becoming part of someone else’s impatience.