Rear Vehicle Matters: How Tailgaters Influence the Car-Following Behaviors of the Ego-Vehicle

Rear-end collisions account for a significant proportion of traffic accidents, highlighting the importance of analyzing drivers’ car-following (CF) behavior for traffic safety research. Previous studies, whether based on modeling or data analysis, have primarily focused on the influence of the lead vehicle’s (LV) state on a driver’s CF behavior. However, in real-world driving, the information perceived by drivers is not limited to the LV; drivers also receive information about the following vehicle (FV), and their behavior may be influenced accordingly. Thus, this paper investigates the influence of FV states on the CF behavior of the ego-vehicle, specifically the impact of tailgating (where the time headway between the FV and the ego-vehicle is less than 2 s) on the behavior of the ego-vehicle. The results indicate that when being tailgated, ego-vehicles tend to keep a smaller time headway to their LVs, confirming the nudging effects of the FV in CF events.