The act of tapping or slamming on the brakes when another vehicle is following too closely. It is an aggressive driving maneuver meant to startle a tailgater into backing off. This action frequently causes rear-end collisions and is universally considered dangerous.
Heard on the job
The guy in the lifted truck tried to brake check me on the highway, but my dashcam caught the whole thing.
Insider tip
Mechanics often see the aftermath of a brake check in the form of front-end damage on the tailgater's car and rear-end damage on the brake-checker's car.