Car crunch central

DANDENONG and Springvale are among with worst suburbs in Victoria for common road accidents.
According to the AAMI Crash Index, launched last month, Dandenong had the second highest number of nose to tail crashes in the state with 577, with only Melbourne recording more.
Dandenong and Springvale ranked second and third for collisions from failing to give way, with 400 and 301, and third and fourth for collisions while reversing, with 171 and 143.
Dandenong rated third for parked car dings with 239 and fourth for collisions with stationary objects, with 135 incidents.
The index analysed almost 250,000 accident insurance claims between October 2012 and September last year.
AAMI spokesman Reuben Aitchison said impatience was often overlooked as one of the leading factors behind collisions and could adversely affect drivers’ judgement when they need it most.
“Fender benders and prangs from failing to give way tend to happen because of inattention and driver impatience,” he said.
“Nearly three-quarters of drivers who’ve had a prang say it was avoidable, so if we want to see a reduction in accidents on our roads, drivers becoming more patient would be a great start.”