Whiplash claims have recently been identified as the as the biggest factor in pushing up insurance premiums.
Rear-end shunts are the most common accidents and, since many rear impact accidents result in a neck or spinal injury, these are often linked to personal-injury insurance claims.
But, says the Institute of Advanced Motoring, as with all aspects of your driving, there are things you can do to reduce your chances of being a victim of or indeed causing a whiplash injury.
Making sure you have a properly adjusted head restraint is very important. The head restraint should be level with the top of your head for maximum safety. Take a moment before each journey to check that your head restraint is still at the correct height, especially if you're not the only person who uses the car.
Too high is as bad as too low. And always make sure your passengers do the same too, no matter how old they are.
ANTICIPATE TRAFFIC FLOW
You are at most risk of a rear-end impact when you're stationary, so anticipate the traffic flow ahead to keep moving for as long as possible.
Pulling away quickly just means you'll reach the cars in front of you more quickly, so ease away gently, especially in heavy traffic.
If you do need to stop, keep your foot lightly on the footbrake as cars approach from behind, until they've stopped, to show your brake lights as a signal.
Giving other road users information about your intentions as early as possible gives them time to react and lessens risk.
Try and signal as early as possible and, if there's traffic close behind you, brake earlier, but more gently than usual, to give everybody following you a chance to respond.
Ultimately you can't control other people's behaviour, but you can improve your own.
Increase your stopping distance from the car in front, especially in slow-moving traffic - it's easy to get distracted when you've been crawling along for half an hour. - Belfast Telegraph