The data in this report have been obtained from police accident reports where the reported details are the appraisal of the incident by the police officer concerned based on the evidence available to him. The report considers collisions which could possibly have been avoided if the driver concerned had maintained a reasonable distance from the vehicle in front and the analysis shows a substantial increase in this type of accident over the past two years considered. The collision rates have been analysed according to motorway section - traffic flow, collision, location, weekly and monthly variations being presented. A substantial number of the collisions occurred during the hours of darkness in the evening peak period and this aspect requires further study. There was also a high concentration of this type of accident on the elevated section where there is no hard shoulder or central reserve and an incident can therefore cause a lane closure. The report highlights the problem of the effects of close-following from a driver behaviour viewpoint, a factor under current investigation at the Laboratory.
Abstract