WHY ARE REAR-END COLLISIONS SO COMMON?

Rear-end collisions are consistently the most common kind of accident that occurs on the roads. There are several reasons that rear-end collisions happen so often, including the unreliable nature of brake lights. Here are some of the reasons drivers are so likely to be involved in rear-end collisions.

Unsafe Following Distance

Often, drivers follow other drivers too closely, which decreases the amount of time they have to react when the front driver puts on the brakes. Ideally, there should be two to three seconds of distance between cars. You can time this by counting how many seconds there are between the time the rear bumper of a car in front of you passes a landmark and when your front bumper arrives at it. To get an accurate picture, use the “one-one thousand” method to count. If you count less than three seconds, increase your following distance to reduce the risk of a collision.

Aggressive Driving

Aggressive driving is another common cause for rear-end collisions. Drivers who are angry at the way another person is driving will commonly drive very closely to that person’s car or may drive erratically and speed. All of these things make it easy for a rear-end collision to occur.

Distracted Driving

Whether because of fatigue, phone use, playing with the radio, or eating while driving, distractions behind the wheel are dangerous. Distracted drivers may fail to notice that the car in front of them is slowing down or coming to a stop, which in turn can cause a rear-end collision.

Pulse® is dedicated to reducing the risk of rear-end collisions by making brake lights provide the most effective alert possible to other drivers. Rather than a static light that may fail to capture the attention of another driver, the Pulse® system causes your center-mounted, third brake light to Pulse® four times when you tap the brake, demanding the attention of the drivers behind you (the pulsing does not repeat upon any subsequent application of the brakes for 5 seconds so as not to annoy trailing drivers in stop-and-go traffic). Find out more about how we can make driving safer for your and your family by visiting our website.