Brake Checking is a Menace

Q: On my morning commute I often find myself behind a certain car that comes to a complete stop, not at stoplights, to let other cars enter from side roads and driveways. Ostensibly, the driver is doing this to be polite, but she’s really backing things up. The other day another car honked at her each time she stopped. She apparently didn’t like this, and “brake checked” the car several times. I think this driver is a menace; am I wrong?

A: Three traffic violations by two drivers in one question; well done. I’ve written before about politeness and driving, so you might already know where I stand. I’m a big fan of being kind while driving. And the kindest thing you can do is to follow the law. With that in mind, let’s work through the violations one at a time.

Violation one – stopping in the roadway: If you’re not coming up to a stop sign or traffic light, following the directions of a police officer, or avoiding a conflict, you’re not allowed to stop in the roadway.* The law only allows stopping if you pull over to the curb or shoulder like you would if you were parking. This seems obvious. Stopping in a lane of travel when other drivers expect free-flowing traffic is a hazard. There’s no clause in the law for, “but I was being nice.” [*There are actually a few laws that make exceptions to the prohibition to stopping in the roadway – some examples: stopping for pedestrians, school buses, and public transit buses.]

Violation two – non-emergency honking: Horns are meant as an audible warning to “insure safe operation.” Drivers “shall not otherwise use such horn when upon the highway.” What about when the light turns green and the person in front of you doesn’t go? That’s not a safety issue, so honking would be against the law. People do it anyway, so if you’re going to break the law, at least be nice and do it with a quick beep rather than a long honk.

Violation three – brake checking: For anyone unfamiliar with the term “brake check”, it’s when a driver intentionally slams on their brakes to force the driver behind them to brake suddenly or swerve into another lane to avoid a rear-end collision. Yes, total jerk move.

There isn’t a law called, “brake checking.” Before anyone starts shouting, “Well, there should be,” let’s recognize that writing a specific law for every possible dangerous act of driving is a losing battle. As the internet has repeatedly proven, humans continue to invent newer and dumber ways to injure themselves and others. That doesn’t make brake checking legal. We have a negligent driving law that covers a lot of these sorts of behaviors. The law states that a person is guilty if “he or she operates a motor vehicle in a manner that is both negligent and endangers or is likely to endanger any person or property.” It goes on to define “negligent” as, in part, doing “some act that a reasonably careful person would not do.” Any reasonable person would know that slamming on your brakes just to get back at the driver behind you is a bad idea.

You are not wrong. The driver is a menace. She started at potentially hazardous by stopping in traffic but followed it up with brake checking, which is outright treacherous (and intentionally so). Regrettably, you and I can’t control the actions of other drivers. As demonstrated by this question, trying to do so by honking just intensified poor driving behaviors. When faced with a dangerously polite driver who practices selective kindness, your best bet is to give yourself extra room and recite a good driving mantra, like, “I only use nice hand gestures while driving.”