How to protect myself from rear-end collisions?

Glad to hear you are ok.

Was this during the day or at night?

Have you considered something like this

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/311702414374-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

 

I'm not sure much will help. I've been rear-ended twice:

• Once by a drugged up young woman who hit me. I was on a main highway when traffic was stopped. I was last in line, stopped waiting for traffic to move. She hit with enough force to cause three other cars in front of me to be damaged. My van was totaled.
  
• The second time I was at the offramp of a freeway, stopped in line waiting for the light to change. I was driving a full-sized van at the time with a spare tire rack on the back door hinges. As I peered in my rear view mirror I saw a cement truck. I could see the driver's face. He was frantically trying to stop the truck. He hit my van with his front bumper square on the spare tire. It wasn't a hard hit. I was about 1 car length back from the car in front of me. I took my foot off the brake and when the van was hit it rolled forward about 3' and I put the bake back on. When I got out I saw the spare tire had taken most of the impact and the van was not hurt. I and the cement truck driver were both relieved.

In both cases, I had nowhere to get out of the way. In one case I had no warning, in the second case I did. IMHO, all you can do is try to take the precautions to leave the other driver without excuse for hitting you.

 

First post from an unusual life experience.
I was rear ended also (not in my prius, but a similar hatchback), and I was surprised to find that my tow hitch ball had absorbed the impact!

I took it to Uhaul (because their tow hitch installation comes with a lifetime warranty) and they said everything was fine and we just needed to buy a new ball mount.

Total repair cost $40,
Total time less than 30 minutes.

Even if you don't tow it's a good idea, It has literally saved my rear end!

 

Yes to a rear camera, getting hit from behind is a closed case, but having film makes any questions go away, bad luck, wind the chances back to zero and continue on your path without prejudice of those you have passed

 

I like the suggestion of adding a tow-hitch! Even if you never use it (which I wouldn't anyway!) it would be a marvelous deterrent, especially if it were sharp and pointy and festooned with lots of the fancy reflective tape stuff seen up-thread! (^^^^)

(…and perhaps add a small note with an arrow pointing to the gnarly ball) which reads "IF YOU CAN READ THIS, you're following too damned close!!!!")

 

I have a blinking LED in my wife's tow hitch light.

amazon.com/gp/product/B072PC2WGD

Here is a stand alone red blinking LED brake light.

amazon.com/Power-Custom-Strobe-Blinking-Triangle/dp/B00A34KQR0

For those of you who whack things with your receiver

amazon.com/dp/B06VW2T588

Finally, any time I am forced to stop in a driving lane, (road construction, flag man, train, school bus, etc) I run my 4 way flashers until several cars are behind me. I want to alert other drivers i am NOT going 55, but not just annoy those parked behind me.

 

If you are going to install a tow hitch, I would also advise that you cover the whole thing in foam. In the three years I had a hitch on that car I must have hit my shin on the tow hitch 11,000 times, and a car hit it once. Cut a foot of material off of a pool noodle and split it down the middle. Hold it on the hitch with GE silicone (the good stuff).

Wrap it up in foam, your shins will thank you.

 

I was also rear ended several years ago by a drugged up woman who had no license or insurance. Unfortunately, if the person is distracted or impaired, I'm not sure anything will prevent them from barreling into any stationary object.

 

Years back we were having trouble with our paper delivery. It had been regular as rain, always early, but more recently was getting later and later. Finally complained, and found out the poor guy had creamed his knee walking past a trailer hitch, had to take it slower.

Felt bad about that.