WA drivers struggle to reverse their cars, with data showing the State has the most crashes in Australia of drivers attempting the manoeuvre.

The AAMI Crash Index, which analysed more than 21,000 accidents in WA, found 13.14 per cent occurred while a driver was reversing, higher than the national average of 11.68 per cent.

More than one-third of crashes involved a vehicle hitting a stationary object, including 8.5 per cent of crashes into parked cars.

AAMI spokesman Michael Mills said the key point in many crashes was distraction, and he urged drivers to pay attention when behind the wheel.

“It’s really key when you’re in a carpark or trying to park on a busy high street with shops and pedestrians,” he said.

“You know there’s a lot of distractions and a lot of things going on. It’s key that you do focus the minute you need to park.

“Avoid your mobile phone, don’t play with the radio, don’t fiddle with your GPS and make sure you concentrate and avoid scraping your car.

“If you’re distracted, you’re more likely to misjudge distances — especially in a busy carpark — and end up reversing into parked cars, shopping trolleys, bollards, signs and, worst of all, pedestrians.”

The most common type of crashes were nose-to-tail collisions, making up 28.3 per cent of crashes in WA.

“Congestion is a big factor in the nose-to-tail accidents,” Mr Mills said.

“Where you’ve got large amounts of traffic and large volumes of people and cars and combine those things with impatience, distractions, speeding, peculiarities in the road, that’s where you tend to see those accidents occur.

“Maintaining a good distance between you and the car in front is one of the most effective ways of keeping yourself and others safe, and allows additional time to stop if that car suddenly brakes.”

A research survey found 22 per cent of drivers had a near-miss because they were distracted, and 28 per cent had been honked at because they were inattentive at traffic lights.