Highways England launches “Don’t Be a Space Invader” campaign

Recent research has revealed one in eight of road accidents are caused by vehicles being too close to the driver ahead of them, this has factored into over 100 deaths or serious injuries every year.

In many cases drivers unintentionally tailgate vehicles ahead, which invades other driver’s spaces and causes an increased chance of more collisions if an accident were to occur. This is why Highways England has launched the “Don’t Be a Space Invader”, in reference to the retro arcade game.

However, the aim of the campaign is to remind drivers that this is no game and is easily avoided by keeping a reasonable distance from other vehicles while on the road. Highways England completed further research to see driver’s responses while being tailgated, with the use of emotion tracking and heart monitors their research found that responses are often drivers being surprised, giving an aggressive response with an increased heart rate.

Over 25% of drivers admitted to tailgating during research. The campaign also received endorsement from previous Formula 1 world champion: Nigel Mansell, who is also President of the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Nigel spoke about tailgating: 

“Tailgating is a driving habit I utterly deplore. Not only is it aggressive and intimidating, but it can lead to a crash with a tragic outcome.

There is absolutely no upside to it – you will not get to your destination faster, you are not a skilled driver for doing it, and you are putting so many innocent people at risk. So I very much back this campaign to highlight the dangers of tailgating.”

Highways England has also developed a dedicated webpage for the campaign, where drivers can get more information on how to stay safe.
 

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