Tailgaters told to “back off” ahead of Injury Prevention Day

TAILGATERS and lane-hoggers are being urged to steer a coarse towards safer driving following the issue of 194 on-the-spot fines for antisocial driving.

A freedom of information request by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) showed how motorists who have fallen foul of new rules — which came into force two years ago — ahead of Injury Prevention Day, which takes place tomorrow (19).

APIL is a not-for-profit group for injured people which is campaigning to make tailgating socially unacceptable.

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Fixed penalty fines of up to £100 were introduced for motoring offences including tailgating and hogging the middle lane of the motorway in August 2013. 

"Driving too closely to the car in front, or 'tailgating', is a serious safety issue and leads to unnecessary crashes and injuries," said Jonathan Wheeler, APIL's president. 

"We hope that Injury Prevention Day gets people thinking about what they can do to prevent injuries which could be avoided.

"Tailgating is incredibly antisocial, as well as dangerous, and can be really intimidating for other drivers. 

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“It's also entirely pointless as it's not going to get anyone to their destination any faster.

"We're asking simply for people to 'back off'.

In a recent poll of motorists, APIL found that more than half (56 per cent) do not know that the typical stopping distance when travelling at 30 miles per hour is 23 metres, including thinking time, according to the Highway Code. This distance equates to six car lengths.

National Police Chiefs' Council Lead on Roads Policing, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, said: "Tailgating is not only a very dangerous thing for drivers to do — putting themselves and others at risk of death or serious injury in the event of a sudden halt — it is also a criminal offence, punishable at the very least by three points on your licence and a £100 fine.”