Close-following drivers on two-lane highways

This study was intended first to replicate, on two-lane highways, of the Evans and Wasielewski (Accident Analysis & Prevention 14, 57-64, 1982; 15, 121-136, 1983) results on the connection between close-following driving and traffic offenses and, second, to reveal reasons for close-following. A sample of close-following drivers (N=157) and control drivers (N=178) was picked from the flow on two-lane main highways. The driver records of the past 3 years showed retrospectively that the close-followers had accumulated 2.3 times more traffic offenses than had the control drivers and 2.0 times more when mileage was taken into account. The result is in agreement with the Evans and Wasielewski results for multi-lane highways, with the additional check for mileage in these data. However, the effect only occurred in males and was more marked in young males. Close-following females even indicated a tendency of having fewer offenses than their controls when their higher mileage was taken into account. Another sample of close-followers interviewed on the road revealed that hurry or desire to overtake the car ahead was the justification for the close-following in the majority of cases. It was suggested that on two-lane highways close-following substantially stems from overtaking needs and maneuvering connected to higher target speeds. This study partly confirms the connection between close-following and an increased number of offenses in comparisons between drivers. However, the suggested connection between close-following and accident involvement, as based on interindividual comparisons, still remains somewhat open. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.