News & Features

Cameras being used to Spot Tailgaters

Posted in General News on Wednesday, January 6th, 2021

Highways England plans to clamp down on tailgaters by installing cameras to spot those who are doing it on the motorway. The cameras which are able to detect when vehicles are traveling to close to each other are being trialled on the M1. before they are used across the country. The new cameras have detected 26,000 tailgating vehicles on the M1 in the first two months of the trial. This means that 419 drivers per day are breaking the two second minimum distance rule found in the Highway Code.

The police have not prosecuted these drivers, instead they have sent warning letters to the offending motorists via the post to remind them of the dangers of driving too close to other vehicles. Offending motorists can usually be fined £100 and receive three penalty points on their licence.

Of the 26,000 drivers who were sent letters, 3,700 of them were repeat offenders. Some of these drivers were spotted tailgating up to 12 times on the same 150 mile stretch of motorway. Tailgating is a factor in one in eight casualties on our nation’s motorways and serious collisions caused by motorists traveling too close to the car in front are now at their highest level in at least seven years according to the Department for Transport (DfT) Highways England’s Head of Road Safety Jeremy Philips said: These new cameras have, sadly, highlighted just how many people are driving too close on our roads.”

 

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Thomas Rennie's Gravatar
Thomas Rennie

Thursday, January, 7th, 2021

I think this is a good thing to educate people driving too close. I also think people staying in the middle lane when there is no vehicle in the first lane should be sorted by having them reset their driving test that would stop it overnight.

David's Gravatar
David

Thursday, January, 7th, 2021

Anyone caught tailgating should be fined and have their licence revoked indefinatly it people like these who cause accidents and also bump up insurance premiums. It might be harsh saying this but if you want to stop tailgating completely THEN DRASTIC ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN NOW

Anit 's Gravatar
Anit

Thursday, January, 7th, 2021

I think they need to fine people driving along in the middle lane when they are not overtaking!

Mick Baker's Gravatar
Mick Baker

Thursday, January, 7th, 2021

This is a very good thing but can these cameras photograph drivers that sit in the middle lane when lane 1 is absolutely empty??

David 's Gravatar
David

Thursday, January, 7th, 2021

This can only be a good thing, I use the M1 and M62/M61 motorways fairly frequently, and am often appalled by the motorists tailgating others at high speed, showing a total lack of awareness of the consequences if something should go wrong. I also think this should be expanded to cover the drivers that spend their whole motorway journey in the 3rd lane, during the last nationwide lockdown I watched a car driver driving at 70mph in the 3rd lane on an almost deserted motorway for mile after mile after mile, this same driver used the same Service area as I did, overtook me as we drove down the slipway back onto the motorway, and go straight over into the 3rd lane again and then disappear gradually into the distance still in the 3rd lane, in common with a lot of other motorists, this driver obviously thought that the law covers everyone else, and does not apply to him.

Charles's Gravatar
Charles

Thursday, January, 7th, 2021

I think this is a good idea as it may reduce collisions. I only hope it will also be used to highlight the dangerous way in which HGVs come as close as they can before bothering to indicate at the last moment that they want to pass a slower moving vehicle. On the continent the minimum distance a HGV has to leave to the vehicle in front is 50 meters.