A new RAC survey has revealed the most common rules drivers see broken on Western Australian roads.
According to WA drivers, speeding is the most common rule they see broken, with more than a third of survey respondents admitting to regularly seeing other motorists exceed the legal speed limit.
RAC General Manager Corporate Affairs Will Golsby said the results are alarming and is urging Western Australians to put their safety first and obey the rules.
“Road rules and laws are there for a reason, so it is worrying that so many drivers are openly breaking them – especially when WA has the worst road fatality rate of any State in Australia,” Mr Golsby said.
“Last year, 195 Western Australians were killed on our roads, with many more seriously injured. Speed continues to be the leading cause of crashes, so it is both unacceptable and heartbreaking that more than a third of survey respondents regularly see drivers breaking speed limits.
“A further quarter of respondents said they see people tailgating and using their mobile phone behind the wheel – two dangerous habits which have been shown as being the main contributors to rear-end crashes.
"Seventy-six per cent of crashes on the Kwinana Freeway are rear-end crashes. While tailgating and phone use are not the only contributing factors to rear-end crashes, putting our phones away and maintaining a safe following would help make a real difference.
“The impact of inattention is now comparable to the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by speed and drink driving. Furthermore, texting while driving at 100 kilometres per hour is the same as driving the length of the MCG blindfolded.^
“RAC is urging drivers to obey the road rules. They are in place to keep you safe. Our State’s road fatality and serious injury rate is unacceptable, and WA drivers need to take more responsibility for their actions.
“You’re in control of what you do behind the wheel, but you’re not in control of the consequences of your decision.”
The Top 10 Most Commonly Broken Road Rules
- speeding (37 per cent)
- failure to indicate (33 per cent)
- tailgating (27 per cent)
- using a mobile phone (25 per cent)
- running red or amber lights (21 per cent)
- incorrect use of roundabouts (20 per cent)
- incorrectly merging (19 per cent)
- failure to keep left (10 per cent)
- changing lanes over a solid continuous lane marking (9 per cent)
- failure to give way (9 per cent)
Based on a survey of RAC members. Respondents could nominate more than one road rule.
*An analysis of all reported crashes from 2009 to 2013 on the Kwinana Freeway, between the Mitchell Freeway and Canning Highway, found 76% were the result of rear-end crashes.
^ While travelling at 50 kilometres per hour, looking at a phone for just two seconds means a person has travelled 27 metres without even looking at the road. On average it takes around five seconds to read a text message, therefore reading a text while travelling at 100 kilometres an hour on the freeway is the same as driving blindfolded for 138 metres, which is almost the length of the MCG. (The MCG is approximately 171 metres long.
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