Grey nomads who hate being tailgated by other drivers may want to think twice about how long they spend in Victoria, following the release of the annual crash index from insurer AAMI.
For the third year in a row, the state has the worst record for nose-to-tail collisions, indicating perhaps a predilection for drivers to follow too closely behind the people in front.
After analysing more than 130,000 insurance claims across Victoria between July 2017 to July 2018, it was discovered that a third of all crashes recorded by insurance claims in the state were nose-to-tail.
AAMI said that drivers becoming distracted and multi-tasking continued to be a leading cause of these sorts of accidents.
“Maintaining a good distance between you and the car in front is one of the most effective ways of keeping yourself and others safe as it allows additional time to stop if the car in front suddenly brakes,” said AAMI spokesperson, Ashleigh Paterson. “If you get behind the wheel of a car you should be concentrating on what’s in front of you, what’s happening around you, and driving to the conditions.”
While driving in Victoria then does have specific challenges, so too does driving in the other states. For example, Tasmanian drivers are the worst in the country for hitting parked cars, and motorists on Tasmanian roads are also almost twice as likely as those driving on the mainland to hit an animal.
Crash index data from more than 8,000 accidents on the Apple Isle revealed 11% of all car crashes in Tasmania were instances of drivers running into parked cars, well above the national average of 8%.
The data also revealed that 1pm-4pm was the worst time of day for crashes in Tasmania, with 27% of the total happening then.
And in Western Australia, the state’s drivers have retained their dubious title of being the worst reversers in the country. Based on an analysis of almost 18,000 WA accidents last financial year, the AAMI survey found that 17% of WA crashes occurred while reversing. It is the third consecutive year that WA has topped the rankings, with the national average being 12%.
Oh, and if you’re wondering what day of the week is the safest for getting some kilometres under your belt, the answer is Sunday … when just 10% per cent crashes were recorded. On the other hand, Friday – as the most common day of the week for accidents – might be a good time to stay in camp.
It is little wonder that Victoria is the leading state with these accidents, the other stat that should be shown are overall collisions. Victoria does not believe in having police on the road, they are only concerned with revenue raising. Just drive from Sydney to Melbourne on any highway, in NSW you will find police cars patrolling all of the roads, as soon as you cross the border into Victoria police cars become non-existent. But don’t worry we have promises to build all sorts of projects using money raised from speed cameras, a really great may to discourage good driving behaviour.
Is this purely based on state or does it go by the percentage of the drivers in the state? Twice the drivers crashing is not bad if there are 5 times as many driving km.
Exactly. Lies, damn lies and statistics. Driven trucks in every state and Queensland drivers are really scary. No idea about driving around trucks. Pleased I am now retired so I can travel and become another road hazard. (Joking, I am not. Please believe me)
Dennis,
The stats are expressed as percentages or fractions, therefore it doesn’t matter what the population is. 17%
(percent) of accidents means 17 out of every 100. One third (fraction) means one in every three. The total number of accidents in different states will vary greatly depending on the number of drivers in that state. That would be like comparing apples to oranges. By expressing the results as percentages or fractions, you are able to achieve a number which is the same regardless of the number of drivers or cars in the state. That is like comparing apples to apples.
Hope I haven’t confused you any more.
Another thing. Driving in Victoria is now like driving in Russia. So many people new to Australia who have no idea about driving on the left, driving with due care, traffic lights, lots and lots of traffic, etc, that they become an accident waiting to happen. Our children grew up in cars and became used to conditions.
Victoria has nearly the same population as NSW but is so much smaller in size.
You can make statistics look anyway you want, just ask the question the other way around.But I suggest if you really want to raise your heart rate and give yourself that feeling of not making it home alive take a short drive in Bundaberg QLD. Stevo.