In excess of 800,000 motorists have been caught in trials of high-tech traffic cameras that detect tailgating. The state-of-the-art cameras were installed along four major motorways as part of a test scheme.

National Highways ran the tests between 2017 and 2021 and showed 844,060 offences recorded by the temporary cameras during pilot schemes, says The Sun.

Dangerous tailgating is a careless driving offence and comes with a minimum fine of £100, with serious cases leading to a driving ban.

The first test of the cameras was on the M3 between October and the start of December in 2017. During this pilot test a total of 237,648 possible offences were identified by the cutting edge AI cameras.

This was followed by a 12 month trial on the M6 in 2018 during which 319,787 cases of dangerous tailgating were identified.

Another test on the M20 between 2018 and 2019 registered 226,282 instances of drivers tailgating. The final trial on the M1 near Northampton between October 2020 and September 2021 saw 60,343 motorists caught offending.

No enforcement was taken against the hundreds of thousands of motorists caught in the act during the trials, although motorists identified as repeat offenders were sent warning letters by the police.

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