Rear-end collisions remain the most common road incident among UK drivers.

This is the conclusion of a new analysis of tens of thousands of crash reports by accident management specialist AX.

The road realities come as tailgating continues to top driver polls as the most frustrating and annoying motorist action.

Watch out

The AX study reveals that more than a fifth (22.45%) of all recorded incidents involve one vehicle hitting another from behind, making it the leading cause of crashes nationwide.

Close behind are collisions that occur while a vehicle is parked and unattended, which account for 21.8% of all incidents logged by AX.

Both findings reflect a persistent frustration for motorists: many vehicles are damaged in car parks, residential streets, and other stationary settings, and tailgating remains a problem.

 

Shock reality

The analysis sheds light on how incident trends differ across fuel types.

Electric vehicles (EVs) were the most likely to be involved in unattended parking prangs, with these collisions making up 25.14% of all EV-related crashes—higher than for petrol, diesel or hybrid models.

EVs performed marginally better in rear-end collisions, with 21.39% of EV incidents involving a car hitting them from behind.

Petrol vehicles were the most affected by rear-end crashes (23.45%), followed by diesel models (22.29%).

Combining both attended and unattended parking incidents, nearly a third (31.8%) of all EV crashes occurred while parked, far more than any other powertrain category.

AX said this may reflect both how and where EVs are typically parked, as well as increased vehicle size and weight characteristics.

Other Crashes

Beyond the top two categories, the following are the most frequent incidents:

• third parties pulling out from side roads (9.64%),
• roundabout collisions (7.35%)
• lane-change crashes (7.07%)

EVs were proportionally more likely to be involved in side-road pull-out crashes (9.33%) and roundabout incidents (7.3%) than petrol or diesel vehicles.

Lane-change collisions, meanwhile, were more common among diesel vehicles (7.93%), with petrol cars experiencing the fewest (5.96%).

AX says the data provides a clear picture of the everyday risks faced by motorists, especially those operating mixed powertrain vehicles.

Together, rear-end collisions and parking-related incidents account for almost half of all reports the company handles.

 

Behaviour and technology

Scott Hamilton-Cooper, chief commercial officer at AX, said the findings underscore a shift in both driver behaviour and the way modern vehicles are used.

“These findings reveal how driver behaviour and vehicle technology continue to evolve,” he said. “It’s clear that while EVs bring benefits in terms of safety features and lower emissions, they also display unique patterns of risk.”

He added that the data is invaluable for helping dealerships, fleets and insurers understand where crashes are most likely to occur, and how to prevent them.

“Understanding those nuances helps us not just to manage claims efficiently, but also to educate drivers about how best to prevent avoidable accidents,” he said.

The company says its research highlights the importance of targeted driver education, tailored risk management strategies and continued investment in safety technologies across all vehicle types.