Each year, rear-end collisions account for nearly 30 percent of all U.S. traffic collisions. Almost every one of these two million collisions is a combination of poor awareness and inadequate spacing.

Awareness can improve, but as long as a human is controlling the vehicle, lack of attention will remain an issue.

Space, or rather lack of space, is a different issue. Some will argue that there just isn't any space available and they have no choice but to stay with the pack and hug the tail of the driver ahead. And, if they drop back, someone will just cut in and fill that space. This argument looks good on paper. After all, there are 40 million more vehicles on the road today than just 10 years ago, with few new roads to accommodate this growth.

But in truth, this is just an excuse for poor driving. Most people begin their driving careers very aware of the need for space. Over time, false confidence and complacency set in. Unknowingly, many motorists edge closer as they gain experience, reducing the space ahead. They may get away with it for a while, but risk is increased and consequences will follow. They just don't know when.

I'm not talking about aggressive tailgaters; they are quite aware of the risks they are taking. I'm referring to the well-meaning driver who is unconsciously following from one to 1 ¾ seconds behind the car ahead. We've all ridden with this type of driver. They happily chat along with you while they drive, despite the fact less than two seconds separates you both from disaster. Meanwhile, you're nervously jamming your feet into the floorboards, trying to will the vehicle to back off from the vehicle in front.

Sufficient space ahead is critical. Our daily reviewing of thousands of DriveCam event recordings reveals too few people have the space they need to be in control of their own fate. The problem is that driving becomes routine, with most drivers completely unaware of the poor space they're maintaining. Improvement can only begin with recognition of the problem; when confronted with the issue, the most common response from drivers is, "I didn't even know I was doing that." That's where tools that help carriers observe their drivers' behavior can give them a big head start when it comes to correcting this troubling behavior.

A study done by Daimler-Chrysler found that an extra second of warning could prevent a full 90% of rear-end collisions. This extra second of space is there if only drivers would work to create it. If you can train your drivers to generate that extra second of space, you would dramatically decrease their risk behind the wheel. Their lives depend on it.

Recently, we studied about 200 rear-end crashes that had been captured on DriveCam cameras. Our goal was to find out how much following distance the trailing vehicle was maintaining behind the lead vehicle prior to the crash. What we found was that 47% of the time, the trailing vehicle was less than 2 seconds behind the lead vehicle prior to the onset of the accident. Only 17% of the events involved the trailing vehicle maintaining a following distance of 2 seconds or more. The other 36% of the incidents did not involve following distance at all. The lead vehicle was already stopped and the trailing driver was distracted or locked in thought and had a "blank stare."

I'm not suggesting that a two to three seconds following distance is acceptable in every instance. However, for those fleet executives intent on improving their drivers' space management performance, their initial focus should be on having their drivers get in the habit of regularly establishing a following distance of two seconds or more. Those successful in changing this one driving behavior will have had an exponentially positive impact on reducing risk in their fleet.