A CAMPAIGN urging motorists to been their distance from the car in front has been launched by Highways England following 272 Yorkshire and North East casualties.

‘Don’t be a space invader’ - stay safe, stay back, is backed by former Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell who says good drivers leave plenty of space for themselves and others.

New figures show that one in eight of all road casualties are caused by people who drive too close to the vehicle in front, with more than 100 people killed or seriously injured each year.

While a small minority of tailgating is deliberate, most is unintentional by drivers who are simply unaware they are invading someone else’s space and struggle to stop when they brake.

In Yorkshire and the North East, figures from 2016 show that tailgating was a contributing factor resulting in 272 casualties.