Sir, - You have published many excellent letters on the subject of excessive speed in relation to road deaths which continue to rise at an alarming rate. However, there is another major cause of crashes (not accidents) which gets little publicity. I refer to the common fault of driving much too close to the vehicle in front, otherwise known as tail-gating. This practice makes it impossible for a driver to stop in time, in the event of an emergency.
There have been several multiple crashes on English motorways, and at least one on a French motorway, in recent times, involving up to 100 vehicles. The cause of this type of crash is officially given as driving much too close to the vehicle in front.
There is a well authenticated formula for safe distances between vehicles but it is little known and seldom practised. The formula is: allow one yard for every mile per hour of speed. That allows for brain-reaction time, car efficiency, and road adhesion. If that formula were followed the crash-rate would drop dramatically. - Yours, etc., Douglas McCowen,
Templeville Road,
Dublin 6W.