According to a recent survey by Easytrip, it has been found that 'tailgating' - or driving too close to the car in front - has seen a rise on Irish roads. The survey also throws light on how the victims of tailgating react.
Looking at the figures, during the last year, more than 79 per cent of motorists were subjected to tailgating, 55 per cent of road users experiencing it on a monthly basis and about 40 per cent are prone to having a car driven too close to their vehicle's rear on a weekly basis.
Three out of 10 of the surveyed also indulged in the practice (or at least were prepared to admit to it) with 53 per cent of males and 24 per cent of females tailgating other users. The reason behind the behavior was often said to be the slower car in the front.
Of the victims, 30 per cent maintained that they ignore the offensive behavior by fellow users, while 38 per cent respond by letting the offender pass (by switching lanes or pulling over), 27 per cent use brake lights to "ask" the offender to back off and five per cent increase their car's speed to get away.
Along with the increase in tailgating, overall road rage has also seen a rise, with more than 42 per cent of the survey respondents admitting to have flashed lights (90 per cent), beeped (24 per cent) and used, ahem, "hand gestures."
Anything else?
There has to be a solution to all this, and Easytrip's survey points toward that as well. More than 82 per cent were in favour of adopting the German way of doing things, and that is by requesting the vehicle in front to vacate the lane to let the car behind pass by flashing the indicator.
Easytrip's General Manager, Ciara O'Brien said, "The RAC Report on Motoring 2013 puts tailgating in third place of driver stresses while separate research shows that 80 per cent of accidents on our roads are due to driver error. In accordance with the rules of the road, two seconds is the recommended distance between you and the car in front while four seconds is recommended in wet conditions and it was shocking to see that only 30 per cent of those surveyed got this right! We strongly advise drivers to respect fellow motorists and to keep your distance at all times as you never know when the driver in front will have to apply their brakes."