Prevalence and perception of following too closely in Queensland

Rear-end crashes feature significantly in Australian road crash statistics: 21% of reported crashes in Queensland (2005-2013) were classified as rear-end crashes. Social costs associated with rear-end crashes amounted to $1.7 billion in Queensland (2000-2009), with almost $600 million alone within the Brisbane City Council area. Rear-end crashes are linked to many different contributing factors related to roads, environment, vehicles, and driver behaviours. Inattention and distraction might impair the car following behaviour of drivers. Following the leading vehicle too closely or “tailgate” them is a major contributing factor to rear-end collisions, and, indeed, research suggests that it is the primary cause of rear-end collisions on freeways. However, there is no significant evidence yet confirming this link between tailgating and rear-end crashes in general. Thus, this project tested the hypothesis that rear-end crashes are related to tailgating and unsafe following distances. The hypothesis was confirmed and the project identified a set of factors contributing to the occurrence of rear-end crashes and tailgatin