Rear-end collisions RISING, despite safety tech boom

RISING: Rear-end crashes becoming more common

Rear-end crashes have INCREASED over the last three years, new figures have revealed – despite the rise of new safety technology.

Research by Accident Exchange shows that rear-end shunts are up 7% since 2011, with each accident causing an average £2,000-worth of damage.

The figure is seemingly still rising, with year-on-year increases over the past three years coming despite the adoption of collision avoidance systems, powerful brakes and ABS.

In addition, autonomous technology, while not always standard equipment, is provided on most new models by manufacturers including Audi, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Skoda and Volvo.

The majority of rear-end collisions occur at low speeds in urban areas but, overall, constitute over a third of all accidents.

Liz Fisher, Director of Sales Development at Accident Exchange, said: “There’s no obvious explanation because the nation’s roads are full of safer, more advanced vehicles which, in some cases, are supposed to help a driver to avoid collisions.

“However, it could be argued that increased connectivity in cars means the modern driver has more distractions while at the wheel from other technology, like mobile phones or MP3 players.”