| Tailgating is not just a safety problem, It's also a social | | | | takes time to see what you need to see, and if you |
| problem. We human drivers are very social critters, | | | | need to see more, then you need more time, and that |
| and along with that goes a territorial element of our | | | | means more space. |
| makeup that makes us respond to space around us in | | | | There's been much research over the years into how |
| ways that vary from individual to individual and from | | | | drivers see. We know now that drivers are not looking |
| culture to culture. | | | | where they are going all the time. In fact that's just not |
| That means that when you or I look in the rear view | | | | possible. Instead, our eyes dart about to wherever we |
| mirror and see that car behind looming large, our | | | | think is most important in our visual field, pulling in bits of |
| reactions can vary depending on individual psychology, | | | | information, evaluating them, darting about again. |
| circumstances, and what we perceive to be accepted | | | | We know also that there's a huge psychological |
| norms and rules. | | | | element to this, based on each driver's experience and |
| In other words, when it comes to tailgating and | | | | abilities. We know, as well, not every driver's eyes are |
| whether other vehicles are too close or too | | | | the same physically. Individuals have to deal with |
| aggressive, there are no absolute fixed rules, at least | | | | everything from shortsightedness to color blindness, |
| not as far as individual perceptions are concerned. | | | | and even visual styles that determine what we are |
| That could explain why those two police highway | | | | likely to see and what we are not. |
| patrol cars zoomed out on to the New York State | | | | In short, it's a complicated world! In the real world of |
| Thruway recently and headed for the fast lane, where | | | | following distance, the farther back you are determines |
| they 'tailgated' one another, and cars in front, for a mile | | | | how much your eyes can move around, how much |
| or two. Mind you, they might have had a motive - a | | | | information you can pull in, what level of driving tactics |
| police car in your mirror is a pretty good reason to | | | | you can achieve. |
| move over, even if their lights are not flashing. | | | | Situational awareness 'Situational awareness' has |
| All that aside, "following too close," in addition to being a | | | | become a hot term in driving circles in recent years. |
| social problem, is regarded as a major traffic safety | | | | You could say that in driving there are three levels of |
| issue. Consequently, over the years, safety experts | | | | situational awareness. |
| and driver educators have worked out rules.The first | | | | At the most immediate level, the driver is aware of little |
| of these was the car length rule. This was a rule of | | | | more than those objects or events that directly affect |
| thumb decreeing that for every 10 mph of speed the | | | | them - the car they're following, for example. |
| following distance should be one car length. At 20 mph, | | | | At the next level, the driver has awareness of what's |
| following distance would be two car lengths, and at 60 | | | | affecting those objects or events that are most |
| mph six car lengths. | | | | immediate - for example, what problems are affecting |
| Later this gave way to the more scientific 2-second | | | | the driver ahead. |
| rule. This means being two seconds behind the car | | | | At the top level, a level of very expanded awareness |
| ahead, and it was applicable to any speed. Two | | | | akin to aspects of zen, the driver is sensitive to what's |
| seconds in stop and go traffic might be a car length or | | | | affecting the first two levels. |
| two but at highway speeds it would be much more. | | | | The third level of driver, or zen driver, if we want to |
| The 2-second rule is loosely based on perception and | | | | call it that, is a super sensitive, super skilled, very |
| reaction time. If the driver ahead slams on the brakes it | | | | relaxed and controlled state in which the driver is using |
| will take a certain amount of time to see it's happening, | | | | high levels of techniques, tactics, strategies. It's probably |
| and then some more time to react (foot from gas | | | | not a state that can be achieved by very many |
| pedal to brake). If you don't begin braking before you | | | | drivers for anything more than short periods. |
| reach the point as which the driver in front began | | | | In fact, it's likely that the vast majority of drivers |
| (assuming both sets of brakes are equally powerful) | | | | oscillate between levels one and two and never, |
| then, in theory at least, you hit the car ahead. | | | | despite years of experience, reach level three. One |
| Driver education textbooks used to estimate | | | | important reason for that is that level three requires |
| perception and reaction time as about half to three | | | | intellectual ability, combined with education and training |
| quarters of a second each. The rest might be | | | | at a level which is rarely available. |
| described as 'safety margin.' | | | | Combating tailgating Laws against tailgating are easy |
| As simple as it sounded, principles of the 2-second rule | | | | to pass but not easy to enforce. |
| were not always clear to either student drivers or their | | | | It's not just the distance between vehicles that's the |
| instructors. | | | | issue. There's also the length of time, and the |
| As a case in point, some years back chevrons were | | | | circumstances. A driver slides into the lane ahead of |
| painted on a very busy motorway near Toronto, | | | | you. Now you're tailgating. Should you try to get away, |
| Canada, as a way to demonstrate how far cars | | | | slow down, disrupt the flow of traffic? If a patrol cop |
| should be apart at the 100 km/hr speed limit of the | | | | spots you should you get a ticket if you linger too |
| highway. They received much criticism as a | | | | long? |
| "distraction" to drivers. Drivers, the critics said, should | | | | Obviously it's the more aggressive tailgaters that are |
| not be looking down at the pavement when moving in | | | | the real issue. Establishing a case against a tailgater |
| busy traffic, but rather eyes up and far ahead. | | | | would require observation over time and establishing |
| The critics missed the point. the 2-second rule is not | | | | that the tailgater has shown a pattern of tailgating |
| something to be counted out frequently as you drive | | | | behavior. |
| but rather a way to gain a sense of what two | | | | Undoubtedly the latest technologies will make this not |
| seconds looks like at different speeds. Better is to | | | | only feasible but easy. Traffic tracking technologies |
| have a passenger check the following time and tell the | | | | already enable the tracking of speed and traffic flow, |
| driver. | | | | so why not following distance? |
| Some driving instructors say they will test a student by | | | | There could be all kinds of objections to using |
| asking them how many seconds following distance | | | | technologies in this way. However,privacy concerns |
| they have, but they want the answer immediately. In | | | | notwithstanding, undoubtedly technology will play a |
| other words, the student should not start counting but | | | | serious role in the future of tailgating as a driving style. |
| make a practiced guess, based on previous counting. | | | | The zen driver Imagine you're the quintessential 'zen |
| "If the student starts counting I tell them to forget it," | | | | driver.' You know what's in front of the car ahead of |
| says one long-time instructor. "I tell them to practice it | | | | you, and ahead of the one in front of that. You've |
| on the bus or while a passenger with their parents." | | | | taken note of the number of cars and amount of |
| Tailgating motivations You're in the 'passing' lane and | | | | space in each lane. You're aware of that car coming |
| you're passing, but the driver behind wants you to pass | | | | up behind, and you know the driver will probably want |
| faster, so you've got a tailgater on your rear bumper. | | | | to get in front of you (past behavior predicts future |
| Well OK, so now you're in the middle lane with space | | | | behavior). You're also aware of a myriad of other |
| on both sides and still you've got a tailgater. This one is | | | | details, such as the bus that may stop, the truck that |
| probably just absent-minded, or just lazily following your | | | | may turn into the warehouse (it's got the name on the |
| rear fender. Later, you're in busy multi-lane traffic and | | | | side), and the timing of lights, road construction, etc. |
| everybody is tailgating, but maybe in this case they're | | | | You're checking two or three traffic lights ahead and |
| just defending their territory, not wanting anyone to get | | | | noted when they turned green or red. |
| into the lane ahead of them. | | | | Can you keep that up? Probably not, at least not |
| One of the most foolish and extreme reasons for | | | | continuously. But with training, this level of driving can |
| tailgating is the "slipstreaming" argument (see wikipedia | | | | be achieved to an increasing degree. With training and |
| definition). Somehow the driver behind thinks it's worth | | | | practice,your human brain can handle much more than |
| the extra risk of tailgating to save a little fuel. Car | | | | you think. |
| drivers have been known to do this behind large | | | | Will it be very intense, destroying your enjoyment of |
| trucks. The problem is, apart from the risk of collision, | | | | that pleasant commute to work with the radio as |
| reduced visual field for the car driver normally means | | | | company? No reason why it should be. In fact the high |
| far less ability to anticipate. | | | | level of driving skill described above should be far |
| At the funny end of the tailgating spectrum is a case | | | | more relaxing, not to mention safer. |
| of parking lot cheating from Singapore (see link at end | | | | The technological zen driver As you scan through the |
| of this article) | | | | various articles on Drivers.com, particularly the sections |
| In this case, the first car pays for the parking while the | | | | on technology and the intelligent highway system, you |
| "buddy" car sneaks in so close behind that the gate | | | | will find the bits and pieces of the technological world |
| system can't catch it. Probably not too many crashes | | | | that will bring to us, at some time in the future, the |
| with this one, unless it's the parking gate coming down | | | | driverless car. |
| on the roof of the second car. | | | | In that, perhaps not too distant future, here's how things |
| However, these examples just offer a sense of the | | | | might work. |
| scope of the problem. The reality of driving is that the | | | | Your car will know the speed and direction of nearby |
| full range of human emotions and rationalizations is | | | | vehicles because vehicles will exchange information. It |
| involved. you could have an enraged maniac on your | | | | will know the location of stop signs and traffic lights |
| tail, a psychopath, a calculating bully, an overly intimate | | | | because it will also be exchanging information with |
| fellow traveller, or evan a doctor on the way to an | | | | those. It will know when the traffic lights changed color, |
| emergency. | | | | how long the red will last, if there's a red-light-runner |
| It may even be simply someone who doesn't | | | | coming through. It will also know about traffic patterns, |
| understand the dynamics of following closely. | | | | congestion, road construction, surface conditions. |
| The physics of tailgating Car lengths and 2-second | | | | This technological Zen Driverless vehicle will, in theory |
| rules are useful tools but basically they are minimum | | | | at any rate, always operate in level three. Information |
| safety margin rules. | | | | will stream at it from sensors in road surfaces, mobile |
| In later manifestations the 2-second rule became the | | | | phones, traffic managers, satellites, other vehicles, and |
| 3-second, then the 4-second, even the 5 second rule. | | | | from roadway features such as signs, signals and |
| But what really counts in following distance is what | | | | markings that are also equipped to communicate. |
| kind of a driver you want to be. In terms of driving | | | | It will know how to get to its destination - by the |
| dynamics anything less than 3 - 4- seconds means | | | | fastest route, the most eco-friendly route, the most |
| that the vehicle ahead occupies so much of your | | | | scenic route. It may even be able to decide whether |
| visual time that your driving tactics and strategy will be | | | | the trip is a good idea or not. However, a driverless car |
| dramatically effected. | | | | world does not necessarily mean a driverless world. |
| The physics of tailgating is closely related to the | | | | We humans like our driving too much for that. |
| physiology and psychology of vision and perception. It | | | | |