WINSTON-SALEM, NC -- Police in Winston-Salem are keeping a close eye on drivers who follow other cars too closely.
Officers have responded to 1,085 crashes caused by drivers following too closely in just the last three months.
Officer Bradley Richardson with WSPD says that’s a 33 percent increase from the three months prior.
“The number of rear end slow stop crashes is the number one reason for crashes,” said Richardson.
Constance Scales, a driver in Winston-Salem, says she’s had plenty of close calls.
“It's like they just trying to make me speed up or something and we're not going anywhere,” said Scales. “We end up at the same light together at the same time.”
In an effort to make the roads safer, police are stepping up their patrols and cracking down on tailgaters.
The law says drivers should keep a reasonable distance between their car and the car in front of them.
Police say a good rule of thumb to remember is one car length for every 10 miles an hour you're driving.
Richardson says drivers should also consider the “two second rule.”
“Let the vehicle in front of you pass a fixed object. Whether it be a utility pole or a speed limit sign or some fixed object. Then count...one thousand 1, one thousand 2,” said Richardson. “If your vehicle passes that same fixed object before you count to two seconds, you're following too close.”
If you get a ticket for following too closely, four points will be added against your driver's license.
“Obviously that's increase insurance rates and time and money spent in court,” said Richardson. “It's really a hefty fine for following too closely.”
Drivers who get 12 points in three years lose their license.