Rush-hour crashes paralysed roads in two parts of Canberra on Wednesday morning. It was the second day in a row that accidents halted the commute to work.
In one incident, multiple tailgating led to four cars smashing into the one in front after the fifth at the head of the line stopped near Sandford Street. In the other crash, two cars collided on the Tuggeranong Parkway.
Nobody was seriously injured in either incident but traffic was severely disrupted.
Police repeated their frequent plea to motorists not to tailgate.
"Drivers should maintain a safe distance between their car and the vehicle in front," a spokesperson said.
The crashes were the latest in a series of traffic disruptions on the Canberra rush to work.
On Tuesday, three people were taken to hospital after a head-on crash between a truck and a car on Pialligo Avenue between the airport and Queanbeyan. Two of the victims had to be freed from their vehicles on the notorious crash blackspot.
Though nobody was seriously injured in today's spate of crashes, police have been worried about the rising toll bad driving takes on the ACT.
In January, a man in his 20s died when the car he was driving crossed into the path of a truck. The rush-hour crash occurred on William Hovell Drive.
As the police reported this first fatality of the year, they said that 2022 was a "horrific" year for deaths on ACT roads.
Acting Inspector Travis Mills said it was "regrettable" that this year's first road death continued a pattern from the previous year.
"The message is consistent - slow down, drive to the conditions, do not be distracted while operating a motor vehicle and, quite honestly, think of your family and arrive at your destination safely," he said.
