Rear end crashes

Abstract

Due to the common occurrence of rear end collisions in South Australia, and the costliness of Compulsory Third Party (CTP) claims associated with them, a study was undertaken into the nature of, and possible countermeasures for, rear end collisions. This study included an analysis of five years of police-reported crash data, an analysis of a sample of rear end crashes investigated as part of the CASR metropolitan in-depth crash study, and a literature review concerned with countermeasures for rear end crashes. The most common factors contributing to these types of crashes are the lack of protection for right turning vehicles and the inadequate allocation of attention by drivers to the driving task. Countermeasures are available for both of these contributing factors. Providing greater protection for right turning vehicles requires road-based countermeasures, while the most promising countermeasure for inadequate allocation of attention is the installation in vehicles of collision avoidance systems. However, the latter countermeasure will only be available after further testing and refinement of current prototype systems.