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What is brake checking?
A friend of mine was complaining the other day that someone brake checked her on the road. That’s a term I’ve never heard before. What exactly does brake checking mean?
Michelle Ballestrasse · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
When I finish explaining what brake checking is, you will immediately understand why your friend was upset. It’s not only annoying, but it’s extremely unsafe.
Brake checking is either tapping or slamming your brakes on purpose when in front of another car with the intention of scaring the other driver or, in extreme cases, forcing them to rear-end you.
The reason people brake check other drivers varies. It may be to discourage tailgating or to get revenge on a driver who cut them off or was driving too fast or slow.
No matter the reason, brake checking is unsafe and can constitute reckless driving. Brake checking can
result in accidents
, injuries, or loss of control of one or both vehicles, which can endanger other innocent motorists on the road.When in the presence of a reckless driver, the best advice is to pull over somewhere safe and
call the police
. Incidents like brake checking are the perfect example of why it’s so important to carry great car insurance. But that doesn’t mean you need to overpay.
Jerry
is an insurance comparison app that shops for low prices with over 50 insurance companies for free. You will get quotes in seconds, and if you ever have any questions, agents are just a text away. The average Jerry user saves $887 a year on car insurance.View full answer
- Gregory R.
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Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.
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