Prevalence and Perception of Following Too Close in Queensland

This paper reports on a three year multidisciplinary research project for Motor Accident Insurance Commission investigating the relationship between rear-end crashes and unsafe car-following behaviours in Queensland. The methodology combined on-road data collection, crash data and self-report behavioural data. On-road measurements (3 million data-points) confirmed that tailgating is a major contributor to rear-end crashes. Results from the community survey (N=495) indicated that most drivers expressed the belief that they are keeping safe distances. However, objective measurements from the larger on-road analysis showed that this is generally not the case. Our findings and the policy implications will be discussed in detail.