TAILGATE TERROR
Page 22
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Recently, a car driver stopped suddenly when a bonnet flew open, a lorry crashed into the back of the car and a child died as a result. One might reasonably conclude that tailgating played some part in this tragedy.
Sudden chest pains, a bee sting, smoke billowing from the dash—these and many other events can justify an emergency stop, either for you or the driver in front of you.
A new form of digital camera is to be installed on motorways which can detect the speed of each and every vehicle (CM12-18 Aug). It would not take a software engineer long to write a program which would compare the speeds of two successive vehicles and thereby calculate the separation time or distance.
There is no evidence to show that speed, per se, causes accidents, but it is patently clear that tailgating most certainly can, as multiple shunts are almost a daily event.
Speed cameras have never endeared themselves to drivers and poison police/ public relations, yet this new technology could be used in a positive way. After all, what real use can you make of the few seconds saved by latching onto the bumper in front? Anthony G Phillips,
SHrisbury, Wilts.