Tailgating and Following Distance

A recent study by the Transport Research Laboratory in association with Direct Line Insurance has shown that drivers adhering to speed limits are forced to drive faster by following vehicles who get too close and tailgate to bully them into driving faster.

Incidents of tailgating rose four times where a driver was driving within the speed limit. The study was making a comparison between drivers when they complied with the Highway Code as against when they drove in their “normal” style. 93% were tailgated at 30mph whereas those driving faster were tailgated far less at just 47%. The study also showed that 40% of drivers with their vehicle kept within the speed limit were over or undertaken by other motorists.

The stress caused by being tailgated was monitored and showed much more use of the rear view mirror and a raised heart rate. Those who are most likely to comply with the Highway Code are novice drivers and older drivers. Tailgating contributes to 7% of road crashes (I won’t use the word “accident”).

As a driving instructor in Surbiton, I see it all the time; the following driver taking the most outrageous risks by driving too close and then often making a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre to pass the learner driver. One dreadful example was the driver who went round the wrong side of a keep left bollard to pass my learner driver and 200 yards further along the road pulled over to park outside a local newsagents!! When it comes to driving I have found that intelligence is unevenly distributed!

I believe the figures above barely touch the real problem – driving too close to the vehicle in front. Motorists seem totally oblivious to the reality of having to react to a sudden incident ahead. It only takes a cat to dart across the road or a hubcap spinning towards the car in front for sudden braking and there they are, faced with a car braking heavily and nowhere to go – and you get the concertina effect. A series of vehicles slamming on their brakes to avoid the vehicle in front and hoping the car behind can stop in time.

I recall seeing what had been a nine-vehicle pile up on the right hand lane of the A3 Kingston-Upon-Thames. I’ve no idea what caused the lead car to suddenly brake but I remember it was a Friday afternoon and there had been a light shower, the first rain for some three weeks. The result was a slippery road surface due to a fine coat of rainwater on top of the build up of exhaust fumes and tyre deposits over an extended dry period. A recipe for disaster when the wet conditions are not taken into account.

The “two second rule” drummed in to the new driver for a minimum safe following distance (four seconds in the wet) soon gets forgotten as complacency takes over. Now, I’m being a complete hypocrite here, because I had a life before I became a Surbiton driving instructor and I was as guilty as everybody else when it came to driving as a means to an end without remembering the responsibility that goes with it.

Advanced driver training has made me realise that leaving a good following distance takes all the stress out of driving. The driver is no longer keyed up for sudden braking because there are two or three more seconds to assess the changing situation ahead. The following driver can see beyond the vehicle in front, even a bus or lorry, and can plan for the speed fluctuations that come with town driving. On faster roads, dual carriageways and motorways there is so much more time to gently brake or change lanes to suit a developing situation without the fear of somebody crashing into the back of you.

Leave space – it’s not a race!