If you’ve ever had someone glued to your rear bumper on the motorway, you’re not alone — and new data shows it’s happening a lot more than you might think.
Almost one million instances of tailgating were caught on camera during UK trials between 2017 and 2021, according to exclusive data revealed by National Highways. These high-tech cameras were tested on four major motorways, including the M3, M6, M20, and M1, and picked up a total of 844,060 cases of cars following dangerously close.
Despite the sheer scale of the issue, no drivers were fined or prosecuted during the trials. Only in the final test on the M1 — where cameras were used in partnership with Northamptonshire Police — were repeat offenders sent warning letters.
The data, obtained via a Freedom of Information request by Select Car Leasing, comes as more and more drivers report being tailgated regularly. A recent survey shows:
- 28% of drivers say they’re tailgated at least once a week.
- 1 in 20 deal with it every single day.
- 68% believe tailgating is an aggressive act.
- Nearly half say it’s become worse in the last four years.
Tailgating isn’t just annoying — it’s dangerous. It plays a role in 1 in 8 motorway crashes, and legally it’s considered careless driving. That means drivers could face a £100 fine and 3 points on their licence — or worse if it causes an accident.
So why aren't we seeing these cameras rolled out nationwide?
National Highways says most tailgating is “unintentional,” with many drivers unaware they're driving too close. And although the camera trials clearly work, the agency says there are no current plans to roll them out permanently. Any enforcement, they say, would be up to local police forces.
Still, campaigners and drivers alike think it’s time to act. Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing, believes most drivers would support tougher action and proper enforcement using tech like this.
"National Highways takes the view that most tailgating is unintentional and perpetrated by drivers who don't realise that they are infringing on someone else's space," he said.
"But that's not how the drivers we surveyed see it. The vast majority - 68 per cent - equate tailgating with a sign of driver aggression.
"With tailgating a factor in so many accidents, and under the sheer volume of incidents identified by National Highways, a full roll-out of cameras designed to detect - and prosecute - those who get too close to the car in front would surely be welcomed by many motorists here in the UK."
And the stats back him up — nearly two-thirds of drivers surveyed want to see police clamp down harder on tailgaters.
With so many incidents happening and lives at risk, the big question is: What’s stopping a full rollout?
