Last updated 11:19, Monday, 07 April 2008

DRIVERS on their way to and from work are posing a tailgating and speeding threat, new research reveals.

Danger: In 2006 856 people died and 4,998 people were seriously injured in crashes with ‘exceeding the speed limit’ or ‘travelling too fast for the conditions’ a contributory factor

A survey of 4,640 drivers by Brake and Green Flag suggests the majority of at-work drivers are feeling pressurised to get somewhere fast.

Six in ten admitted leaving less than a two-second gap between their vehicle and the vehicle in front, compared to four in ten other drivers.

Tailgating was a contributory factor in at least 54 deaths in 2006.

In the same year, 856 people died and 4,998 people were seriously injured in crashes with ‘exceeding the speed limit’ or ‘travelling too fast for the conditions’ as a contributory factor.

Four years ago, 19-year-old Amy Voysey was killed when her car was ploughed into by a speeding lift repair engineer. She was stranded in the outside lane of a dual carriageway after a lorry collided with her car while overtaking a moped.

Many drivers saw her car and manoeuvred around her. But the van, being driven for work – travelling at 80mph when the limit for a commercial vehicles on a dual carriageway is 60 mph – did not brake in time. The driver was fined £300 and given seven points on his licence.

Amy’s mum Liz, from Norfolk, said: “Why should innocent people like my daughter die because a driver was in a rush and thought he was above the law? A life is more important than being late.

“Speed limits are imposed to protect us all. Amy would probably have survived the crash if her killer had not been speeding.”

Of the 2,510 at-work drivers surveyed by Brake and Green Flag, three-quarters (74 per cent) admitted speeding at 80mph or more on motorways, compared to half of other drivers (49 per cent).

More than three-quarters of at-work drivers admitted driving at 35mph in a 30mph limit, compared to six in ten other drivers.

Brake is calling for all unsafe driving to be classed under the Criminal Justice System as ‘dangerous’, rather than ‘careless’.