Hey they only have to pay a couple hundred of dollars for repair. The consequence of tailgating is not as frequent or serious than accidents resulting from speeding. I guess people tend to rationalize for their tailgating. I guess tailgating would reflect our limit of patience we have within ourselves. Not everyone has the time to just cruise to places.
Most people are usually on a schedule, and want to punctual.
In a spiritual sense, I guess all tailgater think that they are accident-prone. Sure they encounter close calls, but always tend to make through, with the help of fate and luck. I assume that many drivers just think that god is on their side everytime they tailgate. It is like having a radar detector, you would think that the chances of you getting caught for doing something you not suppose to be doing if you can detect if a cop is in the vicinity. As for myself, I am a tailgater.