Tailgating represents such an intense level of impatience that one willingly endangers others in an ineffective attempt to eek out an infinitesimal reduction in commute time.
It is a symptom of the greater Shell of Anonymity and the power it bestows. That freedom from possible (or at least probable) reprisal for one's actions results in a significant dehumanization of others. When in vehicles, we behave in such a way that would be abhorrent were we interacting in a more intimate fashion. We cut in line, we berate, we chastise, we endanger others - all as a result of that Shell.
The Shell of Anonymity is likely the cause of many more societal woes - we do not engage with one another on a meaningful level. Most people are simply faces to be mistrusted and maligned in the moment, and dismissed and forgotten in the next.
The practice I have developed in an attempt to counteract this phenomena in myself is to try to add humanity to a stranger's story. Instead of assuming that the person who is speeding is an arrogant jerk worthy of my hatred, I instead assume that the individual is in some manner of emergency - often something amusing and worthy of pity, rather than scorn. For example, maybe the driver is suffering from a bout of terrible gastric distress, and is racing to a restroom!
The key point here is to assume in everyone a level of dignity that you would expect others to grant you. I would want strangers to assume the best of me, and therefore I should assume the best of them. Unsurprisingly, this is quite similar to the classic Golden Rule, which is always a good starting point (emphasis starting point) for morality.
