Tailgating is a dangerous driving behavior because it greatly increases the likelihood of rear-end collisions. If the vehicle in front brakes suddenly, the driver is less likely to avoid a collision. Tailgating collisions can cause expensive vehicle repairs, insurance claims, and even legal consequences if the tailgating driver is at fault.
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The vehicle is dangerously close to the vehicle in front while traveling at least 25 mph (40 km/h). If the vehicle in front brakes suddenly, the driver is unlikely to avoid a collision. This can happen if the vehicle in front enters the driver’s lane suddenly, or the driver gets too close due to unsafe driving.
To keep a safe following distance, many experts recommend drivers use the “2-second rule.”
To apply the 2-second rule while driving, do the following:
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Pick a fixed object on the side of the road, like a signpost or a tree.
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When the vehicle in front of you passes the object, start counting "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two".
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If your vehicle passes the same landmark before you finish counting, you are following too closely and need to increase your following distance.
The AI detection overlay shows the distance in seconds (headway) between your driver's vehicle and the vehicle in front.
When tailgating is detected, a red box appears around the vehicle that the driver is too close to. The headway, in seconds, is displayed on the video.
The overlay is on by default. To switch the overlay on or off, choose the AI detection overlay toggle 
in the video player.
Note
This functionality may be unavailable if the object detection analysis is incomplete or has failed.
When Tailgating is detected, it negatively impacts the Video driver safety score. Riskier behaviors impact the score more negatively than others.
You can also discuss the 2-second rule with a driver.
A Safety Manager can customize their video notifications, video events detected by the camera AI and uploaded to Reveal, as well as the in-cab alerts a driver hears in real-time.
Set up and customize the desktop or email notifications you receive when a Critical, Major or Moderate video event occurs.
Video events of each unsafe driving behavior must be enabled in the AI driving assistance settings for the camera AI to detect the behavior and generate a video, which is then uploaded to Reveal and analyzed. Enabling video events allows a Safety Manager to:
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Receive a notification, if enabled
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Watch a video event in Reveal
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Allow the video data to generate a more accurate weekly Video driver safety score and fleet safety score
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View the event in a coaching session to facilitate a conversation about unsafe driving behavior.
Enabling in-cab alerts allows a driver to hear an alert in real time, prompting them to rectify the unsafe driving behavior.
When in-cab alerts are enabled, fewer events are triggered compared with when alerts are disabled.
|
In-cab alert |
Occurrence of events |
|---|---|
|
Phone call detection |
-50% |
|
Tiredness |
-50% |
|
Distraction |
-33% |
|
Smoking |
-30% |
|
Tailgating |
-25% |
Based on Verizon Connect customer data.
Learn how to update video triggers and in-cab alerts.
