Ask RiotACT: What should police do about rear end crashes?

The first few times I heard/read the ACT Police were targeting a particular behaviour I thought “Oh good, we might actually see some Police presence on our roads” but my observation was that there was really no difference at all.
I can’t remember the last time I actually saw the Police patrolling in ACT to just “keep an eye on things” or dealing with traffic infringements.

Mess said :

Maya123 said :

My last car was written off by someone driving into the rear of it, and they weren’t even driving very close…but obviously still too close. It appears a large proportion of drivers don’t know they are driving too close. The ignorance is astounding.

The problem is that when you leave the “2 second gap” other motorists see it as an opportunity to move into that space.

These days when I am being tail-gated I slow down. Once the driver backs off I then move back up to the speed limit. If they continue to tailgate me, then I continue to slow down.

That’s exactly what I do, it does take them some time to get the point sometimes, but they eventually get it.
Of course you get the idiots who always go straight from tail-gating to road rage….

Driver education isn’t going to prevent rear enders as it is quite evident there are many drivers that have only recently done their driving test who tailgate. People know the rules,they simply ignore them because they can get away with it. A police presence on the roads is almost an exciting event for me as it is seen so rarely. Even when I do see them, a road rule can be broken right before their eyes, but they are too busy with other matters to care or just haven’t seen it.
What would be wrong about putting together a team of undercover staff armed with dash cameras to meander in traffic all day? At the end of the shift they can sift through footage and send fines in the mail, photo evidence attached. Most people would pay up and accept the demerit points whilst the stubborn ones may need a bit of convincing. A stern letter pointing out your driving error may have more impact than any campaign advertised on a media blitz nobody is aware of.

Mess said :

Maya123 said :

My last car was written off by someone driving into the rear of it, and they weren’t even driving very close…but obviously still too close. It appears a large proportion of drivers don’t know they are driving too close. The ignorance is astounding.

The problem is that when you leave the “2 second gap” other motorists see it as an opportunity to move into that space.

These days when I am being tail-gated I slow down. Once the driver backs off I then move back up to the speed limit. If they continue to tailgate me, then I continue to slow down.

If a car slips in I back off. Doesn’t worry me a great deal, but I suspect this is why many people drive too close to the car in front. So what if one or two cars during the journey slip in front (it’s usually no more than that number, so that is the reality, not what some people imagine), but some people get very possessive of the road in front. But for some drivers you would think the world would end. I’ve been a passenger in such a car. Very uncomfortable.
I wish slowing down would work for me. It rarely does. Just angry looks in the rear mirror and gestures. Those people don’t think they are driving too close, but they are, and often closer than the car that tail ended me. Many drivers ignorantly believe they will stop in time, until an incident arrives that proves they can’t.

What JC said, not much. As the old Canberra drivers, who grew up with high speed two lane roads with no traffic die off, things will slowly improve. In the meantime everyone else should set a good example, it will catch on one day.

Perhaps education should precede calls for more enforcement or stricter penalties.

In Victoria they do this well, with signage and road markings indicating with painted chevrons what a three second gap looks like between vehicles. This could be done easily and cheaply on the Gungahlin Drive Extension, the Tuggeranong Parkway, & the Monaro Highway and that would provide a daily reminder for a hell of a lot of Canberrans.

Maya123 said :

My last car was written off by someone driving into the rear of it, and they weren’t even driving very close…but obviously still too close. It appears a large proportion of drivers don’t know they are driving too close. The ignorance is astounding.

My point exactly…

“Every year Canberra has more than three thousand rear end crashes.”
And this is why filtering for motorcycles is a good idea. Take note, Canberra drivers: IT’S LEGAL!

Its hard to get in the car for any trip that’s 15 minutes or longer and not get tailgated so its not surprising that we have so many rear end crashes. I never even knew police had targeted tailgating in the past, that’s how ineffective their messaging is. Speed cameras are also spectacularly ineffective on this measure as I reckon the cast majority of these crashes would have to be happening in peak hour when cars are travelling under the speed limits anyway.

Are there any road safety cameras that can measure the distances between cars and their speed? If so replace some of the revenue raiser cameras and start sending out warning notices for say 6-12 months and then start fining people.

Put more cops on the road in unmarked cars who’s job it is to mingle with traffic and look specifically for dangerous driving – I’m not talking someone doing 10kmh over the limit in clear dry conditions outside peak periods, but people sitting 1 second or less behind the car in front rather than a safer 2-3 seconds and aggressive drivers cutting in and out of lanes and all the while too close to the cars around them.

Also, how about getting drivers to retake the road rules test every 5 years when they renew their licenses? From memory that includes some road safety points including safe distances to leave between cars. That way people can’t claim ignorance when they get pulled over or fined.

Maya123 said :

My last car was written off by someone driving into the rear of it, and they weren’t even driving very close…but obviously still too close. It appears a large proportion of drivers don’t know they are driving too close. The ignorance is astounding.

The problem is that when you leave the “2 second gap” other motorists see it as an opportunity to move into that space.

These days when I am being tail-gated I slow down. Once the driver backs off I then move back up to the speed limit. If they continue to tailgate me, then I continue to slow down.