Tailgaters are exacerbating Perth’s increasing congestion problem with new research showing they account for the significant majority of crashes on the city’s freeways.
Commuters were hit with particularly bad congestion on their way to the office this morning, with accidents closing lanes and slowing traffic in Kewdale, Currambine, South Perth and Peppermint Grove.
The RAC findings suggest many delays of the kind experienced today are the result of cars travelling too close to the vehicle in front.
It has analysed crashes on the Kwinana Freeway between the Mitchell Freeway and Canning Highway from 2009 to 2013.
The results showed 76 per cent of crashes on that stretch of road were incidences of one car rear-ending another.
On the back of the research, the RAC is lobbying for the trial of strategies intended to increase the distance between cars.
Such trials could involve markings advising drivers on safe distances between cars, which RAC general manager of corporate affairs Will Golsby said had proved effective elsewhere.
“[Such solutions] have the potential to reduce the risk of rear-end crashes and help smooth traffic flow by providing greater awareness of appropriate following distances,” he said.
“International trials show these relatively low-cost infrastructure solutions can be an effective way of increasing gaps between vehicles and reducing rear-end crashes."
A trial on the M1 motorway in the UK, which used road markings and signs to advise people of appropriate following distances, resulted in a 56 per cent reduction in crashes.
