Tailgating on UAE’s roads explained (research)

·       Only59% ‘never’ tailgate

·       Slow vehicles in front and ‘running late’ are the leading causes

·       Little empathy for those being tailgated

·       Poor knowledge levels must be addressed by education efforts

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 31 October 2017, (AETOSWire): RoadSafetyUAE and QIC Insured release the findings of their most recent YouGov research study, shedding light on tailgating, being one of the most dangerous behaviours behind the wheel and always among the top 5 killers on UAE’s road,according to official data sources.

Tailgating is one of the most impolite, irresponsible and reckless behaviours we can observe on our roads pretty much every time we hit the roads. It is vital to understand the reasons for tailgating, to enable the concerned stakeholders to develop truly meaningful improvement initiatives.

Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE summarizes the key findings: “The majority of UAE motorists recognize the dangers of tailgating, however only 59% ‘never’ tailgate! Tailgaters blame slower vehicles in front or their own ‘running late’ for their offensive behaviour. There is little empathy for the ones getting tailgated, despite the fact, that tailgaters are well aware of the stress and distraction they cause. Most of those being tailgated just want to move out of the way and they admit getting nervous by tailgating.”

A whopping 43% of motorists state not to know the official safety distance, despite the fact that we alll earned this at driving school! When asked for the recommended safety distance at 100 km/h (correct is 2 seconds or 56m), only 24% know the right distance!Almost as many, namely 22% believe that a mere ‘1 car length’ is the recommended distance! UAE motorists however see education as the main opportunity to improve the behaviour, followed by more police presence and enforcement, as well as by in-vehicle technology and higher fines.

As seen in previous behaviour studies conducted by RoadSafetyUAE and QIC Insured, once again the segment of the young drivers scores worst: they tailgate others more, their ‘running late’ results in more tailgating, they have less empathy with the ones they tailgate and they show the least willingness to get out of the way when they get tailgated themselves, all in comparison to the average. Once again it can be stated, that the older the motorists get, the more experienced and ‘wiser’ they become.Education efforts must aim at the young drivers once more.

The study was commissioned by QIC Insured and RoadSafetyUAE and was conducted by YouGov between August 21-28, 2017 with a representative sample of 1,010 UAE residents.

Summary of the key findings:

Top Line:                                                      Rationale:

81% … State:‘Tailgating is dangerous!’             33% … I tailgate because of slow vehicles in front

59% … ‘Never’ tailgate                                          23%… I tailgate because of ‘I am running late’

                                                                        10%… I tailgate, because they get tailgated

 Empathy:

32% … I tailgate and it causes other motorists to be stressed &distracted

27% … I tailgate and it does NOT cause the ones being tailgated to be stressed & distracted

12% … I tailgate and it causes aggressive driving of the ones being tailgated

11% … I tailgate and I don’t care about how the ones being tailgated feel

Reactions Being Tailgated:

36% … Of motorists who get tailgated just want to move out of the way of tailgaters

25% … Of motorists who get tailgated get nervous by it

9% … Of motorists who get tailgated don’t mind it

Knowledge about Safety Distance:

43% … Don’t know the official safety distance

24% … Know the recommended safety distance at 100 km/h in good weather (2 Seconds or 56m)

22% … Think ‘1 car length’ is the sufficient safety distance at 100km/h in good weather

Improvement Potentials:

55% … Situation can be improved by educating motorists

48% … Situation can be improved by more police presence and radar installations

42% … Situation can be improved by in-vehicle technology

39% … Situation can be improved by higher fines       

Details of the survey can be found on www.RoadSafetyUAE.com/statistics in the ‘Featured Research’ section.