Too Close for Comfort: How to Avoid Tailgating and Being Tailgated
Tailgating reduces the time it takes to react to the vehicle in front and is a major cause of road accidents. More training and driver awareness can help eradicate the problem.
According to National Highways 87% of motorists have witnessed incidents of drivers driving too close to the vehicle in front. Tailgating is a major road safety issue and a big factor in road accidents. If a vehicle is too close to the one in front, there is a greater likelihood of the tailgater being unable to take emergency action. The practice of tailgating itself creates unnecessary stress and tension for the driver of the tailgated vehicle and might influence them to drive unsafely by braking sharply, for example, simply to try and unsettle the driver behind to drop back.
In 2020, Northamptonshire Police caught 10,000 tailgaters in just two weeks, including an example of an HGV tailgating a driver on the M27. Research has suggested that some drivers are ‘sensation seekers’ who actively look to reduce safety distances with the car in front as a way of countering boredom, or simply because they are late for a pick-up or an appointment.
Two-Second Gap Whatever the reason, for hauliers and their drivers, reducing incidents of tailgating should be a priority. Most important is for professional drivers to assess what is a safe driving gap to the vehicle in front. According to the Highway Code, drivers should leave at least a two-second gap between themselves and the car in front to allow time to both think and stop – this time should be doubled when the roads are wet or icy to allow for an increased stopping distance. It also states that drivers of large vehicles going through tunnels allow a four-second gap between themselves and the vehicle in front.
Avoid Tailgaters Reducing a driver’s own habit of tailgating is important but so is looking at ways that can help them try to avoid being tailgated. National Highways offers some simple and practical advice for drivers:
• Drive normally Don’t let the tailgater’s poor behaviour negatively influence your own driving • Allow them to overtake Keep a steady speed so they may overtake. Alternatively, pull over, but only if it is safe to do so • Signal clearly Signal early and change your speed well in advance of a turn off • Keep left Keep in the left-hand lane unless overtaking
More Training Accidents following a tailgating incident are difficult to defend from an insurance perspective given the driver behind is normally deemed at fault, so hauliers will want to make sure that their businesses aren’t affected by tailgating incidents. Increasing levels of driver performance monitoring and driver training can be helpful, as well as making sure all drivers are aware of the two-second rule.
For more details on keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front see QBE’s ‘Road safety and driving too close’.
To discuss any of the issues raised in this article, please contact the Hauliers Team on 03301 624 992.
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