10 killed in tailgating accidents in Dubai this year: All you need to know about this traffic violation

[Editor's Note: This article about the dangers of tailgating — which was first published in 2021 — has been updated following the horrific accident that killed one driver in Dubai earlier today, October 27, 2022.]

To say that tailgating is a dangerous traffic violation is an understatement — as recent reports from the police have shown one thing: It is a fatal offence. Tailgating kills.

On Thursday morning, one driver died and five others were injured in a multiple-vehicle crash that happened in Dubai because motorists failed to keep a safe distance between their cars.

And it wasn't even the first such case in the emirate this year. Since the beginning of 2022, 10 people were killed in accidents caused by tailgating, according to the Dubai Police.

"The department has recorded 538 accidents due to tailgating violations, (which also) left 367 injured," said Major-General Saif Muhair Al Mazrouei, director of the General of Traffic Department.

The authorities and industry experts have repeatedly warned the public against this menace on the road. In this video under Khaleej Times 'KT For Good' campaign, we explain the dangers associated with it:

Dh400 fine, four black points for tailgaters

Tailgating has been a perennial problem, not just restricted to the region but world over. According to a commissioned YouGov research study done by RoadSafety UAE and QIC Insured in 2017, with a representative sample of 1,010 UAE residents, it was said that tailgating is one of the most dangerous behaviours behind the wheel and always among the top five killers on UAE roads.

More than the risk of being slapped with a Dh400 fine, it is safety that must be motorists' primary concern, a local road safety expert has reiterated.

Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE, and who continues to advocate road safety in the country, is no stranger to tailgating himself.

“Of course, yes,” he told Khaleej Times when asked if he had experienced tailgating.

That perhaps sums up the magnitude of the problem. Everyone has.

“We have done a bit of research on tailgating and the root causes of tailgating and why they are doing it," said Edelmann.

Here are the top two reasons why drivers tailgate, according to RoadSafetyUAE's research:

8 in 10 drivers are aware that tailgating is dangerous: Study

The study also revealed that 81 per cent were aware tailgating is dangerous. About 33 per cent admitted to tailgating because of slow vehicles in front, while 23 per cent said that they tailgate because they are running late. Ten per cent were nonchalant as they admitted to tailgating because they too get tailgated. About 59 per cent said that they never tailgate.

“It is a multi-fold approach to improve the situation. One element is more education. This was one of the reasons why we did this research to basically put a mirror in front of tailgaters so that they can reflect and say, ‘well, it is really not good what they are doing’,” said the Austrian.

The study further revealed that a whopping 43 per cent of motorists admitted to not knowing the official safety distance despite the fact that they are taught and learned it at driving school.

When asked for the recommended safety distance at 100 kmph, only 24 per cent know the right distance, which is two seconds or 56 metres.

Two-second rule

Contrary to what is known as the ‘two-second rule,’ 22 per cent believed that a mere one-car length is the recommended distance.

Asked about the ideal distance one should maintain, Edelmann said: “It is actually two seconds.”

“These distances are always measured in seconds and not in metres because the faster you go, the more distance you have to have in between the vehicle in front of you. Now, how do you do that? For example, you are on the road and the vehicle in front of you passes a landmark, for example, a tree, sign post or lamp post, you start counting one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two,” he explained.

In January 2020, the Abu Dhabi Police rolled out a new smart system that used radars to catch tailgaters. The new system detected the tailgaters for not leaving enough space between vehicles, and also the vehicle in front for not giving way to the speeding car on the first left lane (if driving too slow).

And these smart radars, along with traffic officers, recorded 35,073 violations.

In March 2021, the Dubai Police and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) had launched a two-month initiative called ‘Give Way in the Fast Lane.’

Now, it is not just the tailgaters who face a fine and black points but also motorists who fail to give way on the fast lane.