Victoria and New South Wales top the charts for rear-end accidents, crash data shows, while you’re much more likely to get your windscreen smashed in Western Australia. Tailgating is the most common cause of car accidents, the 400,000 crashes reveal, with nose-to-tail crashes most common in Victoria.
Been rear-ended and want to make a third-party claim for your car damage and belongings on the at-fault driver’s insurance policy? We can help.
Why is rear-ending so common?
The cause of nose-to-tail car accidents is primarily a driver not paying attention in traffic. This is despite a lot of newer cars being equipped with automatic emergency braking, which stops the car in close proximity traffic if the driver doesn’t do so.
These safety features will become the norm as newer cars are put onto the road, and older cars disappear.
The state of our worst drivers
South Australians are the most likely to have an accident in a car park and to have a ding while reversing, with 19 and 18 per cent of all claims respectively in the state.
Western Australia and Queensland are more likely to have a broken windscreen. Windscreen damage can be linked with driving too close, but is also likely linked to the array of debris on outback roads, like gravel. These flying missiles can be kicked up from the car in front, so following too close can be a cause of windscreen damage.
Victorians are crashing more often when they don’t give way (13 per cent of claims), but are just two per cent higher than NSW (11 per cent), three per cent higher than South Australia (10 per cent), and five per cent ahead of both Western Australia and Queensland (both eight per cent).
Where these numbers come from
These statistics have been drawn from Allianz, with three years (2015 – 2017) and 400,000 claims’ worth of data. Around one in seven drivers make a car insurance claim every year.
How the states stack up
- Nose to tail crashes – VIC 23 per cent, WA 15 per cent
- Damage while parked – SA 19 per cent, QLD 14 per cent
- Broken windscreen – WA 27 per cent, VIC 12 per cent
- Reversing accident – SA 18 per cent, VIC 14 per cent
- Failure to give way – VIC 13 per cent, WA and QLD 8 per cent
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