UAE police have announced that they will launch an anti tailgating campaign on Sunday, Jan 24, 2010. The campaign will educate motorists of the dangers of the practice, which causes the majority of rear end collisions.
In a press release, the Abu Dhabi police said that their call for impatient drivers to leave adequate space between vehicles would help stop fatal accidents and pile ups.
Speaking to The National newspaper, major general Nasser al Nuaimi, secretary general for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, said that road intimidation caused drivers to speed and make errors that could kill them.
He stressed the importance of traffic campaigns in educating the public about defensive driving and creating awareness of high risk road behaviour, stressing that traffic safety is “the responsibility of everyone.”
The campaign will see police patrolling the capital in undercover taxis, lorries and unmarked sedans as they keep an eye out for speeding drivers and tailgaters who honk and flash their lights at cars.
Drivers caught offending will be charged fines of up to Dh 400, with the option for four black demerit points being added to their license.
Traffic authorities said that drivers should take into account travel distances between cars in the same lane. A driver should be able to have enough reaction time to be able to perceive a hazard and respond to it.
They added that a travel distance of less than two seconds behind another vehicle could be dangerous, especially if the other driver is tired, elderly or distracted, as this would delay their reaction times.
The traffic authorities also suggested that an adequate space cushion always be maintained around vehicles to give drivers a better view of the road.
They said that this would help lengthen reaction times in conditions when tyres may not respond as effectively, such as in rain or sand.
This latest campaign comes on the back of a previous 10 day campaign that was held late last year in Dubai.
Dubai Police records show that in the last year, more than 43,200 accidents took place due drivers not keeping a safe distance between vehicles.
