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On the tail of the tailgater
By Joseph Dunn of The Sunday Times
A new system of “tailgating cameras” designed to prevent drivers following too close to the car in front will begin trials
this month in a bid to
put the brakes on the motorway menace.
The pilot scheme will use video cameras attached to overhead gantries or bridges to monitor traffic. Software will detect when a car is following too closely behind another and activate a roadside sign warning the driver to pull back. Traffic flow readings will be taken further down the road to assess the impact of the warnings. The cameras contain automatic numberplate recognition software, enabling the sign to illuminate the numberplate of the transgressor.
The technology is similar to that in use in some other European countries, including Germany and France, where drivers caught following too closely are automatically fined.
Traffic officials here admit the new cameras could eventually be used as enforcement cameras. But the Highways Agency (HA), which is running the trial on a stretch of the A34 in Oxfordshire, insists there are no plans as yet to fine drivers caught tailgating.
“We have already experimented with chevrons and this trial is designed to research the most effective way to influence driver behaviour and stop them driving too close,” says Roger Jones of the HA.
“If it is effective then it will be rolled out to other areas, including motorways. If it is not effective then we might have to start looking at other ways to influence behaviour. There might be other things to follow, such as using the technology to aid police with prosecutions. But that is not where we are at the moment.”
The prospect of more cameras on the road will cause relief and concern in equal measure among motorists. Tailgaters have long been seen as the most irritating and dangerous drivers on the
road. However, more cameras and the potential for more
fines will bring little joy to Britain’s motorists, who are already taxed and fined more than any others in Europe.
The need to curb tailgating is clear. According to the HA, in 2002-3 tailgating was a contributory factor in 29% of all personal injury accidents on the motorway and trunk road network. A separate report published last week by the Institute of Advanced Motorists claimed 26% of motorists are “an accident waiting to happen” because they drive too close to the vehicle in front on motorways.
Its survey of 22,105 vehicles, released to coincide with the start of National Motorway Month last week, found the worst offenders were on the M4 in Wales, where more than 50% of drivers were too close to the vehicle in front. The next worst were Midlands motorists on the M42 (39%), and the M9 in Scotland (26%). The best motorway behaviour was on the M5, where fewer than 10% of drivers were tailgating, followed by the M20 and the M2.
There is no separate offence for tailgating. Police must prosecute under the laws covering dangerous driving or driving without due care and attention, but this rarely occurs. The Highway Code specifies the two-second rule where drivers must remain two seconds behind the car in front. Some newer cars, such as the forthcoming Honda Legend and several top of the range Mercedes and BMWs, feature distance-measuring sensors in cruise control mode that keep cars a safe distance from the one on front.
The idea of fining drivers for tailgating was first mooted three years ago by Richard Brunstrom, the chief constable of North Wales police, who has been dubbed “the mad mullah of the traffic Taliban” for his evangelical backing of speed cameras.
Brian Gregory, chairman of the British Drivers Association, admitted tailgating was a problem, but warned against fining drivers via cameras. “This is a very serious issue but it is no use the government trying to solve it with cameras. They must start taking education seriously and get more traffic police on the road taking action against those causing danger.”
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