If you line up bumper-to-bumper at a red traffic light, you're doing it wrong.
Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers reviewed footage of 10 volunteer drivers at traffic lights and found those who stopped close to cars in front of them had no advantage over drivers who stopped at a distance of up to 25 feet.
The reason?
The close-together crowd had to wait for space to open up in front of them before accelerating once the light turned green.
The findings, published in the New Journal of Physics, also confirmed that tailgating leads to more rear-end collisions.