Followed too closely, created required distance

So I work for the city. My job is to drive around town and respond to citizen complaints (code enforcement - Please don’t comment on my job, I know people don’t like me). I live in a heavily populated city with crazy traffic. Average speed is about 15 mph. I was clocking in about 16 inspections a day. Never had an accident or even close to crashing. Even so, everyone drives so slowly that nothing would happen, but that’s beyond the point.

On Monday, my boss reprimanded me for “following too closely” and “not driving per the city’s expectations.” He said I must maintain a three-vehicle distance at all times. Copy that, chief. I started doing exactly that. I started maintaining that distance at al times, from property to property, through the heaviest trafficked roads. Obviously, people would take advantage of said distance, cut in front me, requiring me to reduce my speed to create a new three-vehicle distance from the new guy in front of me. This resulted in me taking well over an hour between inspections. My output dropped to less than five inspections a day.

He called me saying that he is getting flooded with people complaining that the city is taking too long to respond to their complaints and that we’re doing nothing. When he asked me why the time between inspections was so great, I told him that I was following his instructions and driving per the city’s expectations, and maintaining a three-vehicle distance at all times. He essentially told me to go back to my old driving habits because I had never done anything to endanger city property.