Tailgating drivers on the 100kmh sections of Tuggeranong Parkway have been blamed for a rash of nose-to-tail crashes in the past week.
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Police attended several multi-vehicle collisions along the southside busy dual-lane carriageway, many of them nose-to-tail incidents.
On Wednesday, May 22, police were called to two crashes on the northbound lanes of the parkway, one involving four vehicles and the other involving seven.
A third collision involving three vehicles occurred in the southbound lanes a short time later, causing significant delays in both directions.
The following day, another two multi-vehicle collisions along Drakeford Drive and the Tuggeranong Parkway, as well as a collision between a car and a motorbike where the motorcycle rider was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
There were also a further three collisions in the northbound lanes of the Tuggeranong Parkway near the Arboretum between 5.15pm and 6.15pm on Friday, May 24.
In 2018, more than $1.85 million was spent on parkway upgrades including animal fencing, roadside lighting, signage, line marking and barriers.
Then in 2019-2020, the ACT government marked selected 100kmh sections of parkway with chevrons to indicate to motorists how far apart they should be driving, indicating that two chevrons apart was the safe travelling distance. The 28-metre distance between two chevrons is equal to one second of travel time at 100kmh.
However, motorists now appear to be ignoring the safety advice and failing to allow much-needed stopping distances from high speed. In the ACT, if you are found to "drive behind other vehicle too closely to stop safely", you might find yourself the recipient of a $407 fine and one demerit point.
Nose to tail crashes make up more than one-third of car accidents in Canberra, according to a report by car insurer AAMI.
In another concerning development for police, there were two instances of high-range drink driving, with one driver returning a blood alcohol concentration of 0.153 on the Majura Parkway and the second driver returning a blood alcohol concentration of 0.140 detected on Isabella Drive, in Gowrie.
In a further display of poor driver behaviour, a 47-year-old man was issued with an immediate suspension notice, suspending his licence for 90 days, and had his vehicle seized after he was caught travelling at 137kmh in an 80kmh zone.
He was fined $1841 and received a penalty of six demerit points.
ACT police superintendent Brian Diplock said despite the serious consequences of inattentive or impaired driving, people continued to take risks on ACT roads resulting in serious injuries .
"If you are getting behind the wheel, make sure you can clearly see where you're going, pay attention to the road and leave enough room between you and the vehicle in front of you to allow you to stop in an emergency," he said.
"We are seeing far too many incidents of people driving distracted, impaired, speeding, or not paying attention through intersections.
"Poor driving behaviour can have tragic consequences and the risks are multiplied if you're speeding or driving impaired.
"Please consider others who are sharing the road with you.
"Drive to survive and make it home at the end of the day."
