Motorists who drive too close to the car in front are the target of a new campaign to reduce the number of whiplash injuries.
“Tailgating can result in crashes and injuries which could otherwise have been avoided. All it achieves is suffering for the driver in front and probably a higher insurance premium for the offender,” explained Deborah Evans, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). “We’re simply asking for motorists to back off.”
The national not-for-profit safety campaign group has produced a short animated video for social media about the consequences of tailgating, titled A Lesson in Social Graces.
Deborah explained: “Even putting aside the fact that tailgating is dangerous, it can be intimidating for the driver in front. It would be completely unacceptable for someone to stride closely behind you in a shop or to breathe down your neck in a queue, yet it’s almost tolerated on the road.”
“Driving closely behind others should be as socially unacceptable as not wearing a seatbelt,” she went on. “It’s also utterly futile, as you won’t get anywhere any quicker anyway”.
“The UK has an average of 77 cars on each kilometre of road, which at 79 per cent more than the EU average means that our roads are busy enough already,” added Deborah. “There’s really no need to get even cosier.”