UK Road Accidents And Cause Statistics
Posted: Wednesday, November 24, 2010
by John Gregory
With more and more vehicles on our roads every year there is no denying that road accidents are always going to be part of life, but there are some factors to consider when looking at statistics involving road accidents. The first is that concerning the definition of an accident, as this will give us a clearer picture of the way the numbers are arrived at.
" An accident is one involving personal injury occurring on the public highway (including footways) in which a road vehicle is involved and which becomes known to the police within 30 days. The vehicle need not be moving and it need not be in collision with anything."
This gives us insight into how the figure of around 300,000 road accidents are recorded each year. Not all of these are accidents in which serious or fatal injuries are present, and quite evidently not all accidents will be reported to, or come to the knowledge of, the police.
Knowing what defines a road accident means we can look at the primary causes. Many people assume excessive speed is the most common cause of accidents, but in fact there are other factors that have as much, and often greater, influence. Motorways, where speeds are naturally highest, represent the safest roads in the UK, and most accidents by far occur on A roads. This is down to the number of possible distractions: motorways do not involve traffic joining from t-junctions or other such places of confusion, and neither are they party to traffic lights or pedestrians.
It is the latter pedestrians that should raise an eyebrow, for it may not be known by many that pedestrians represent one of the most populous sections of road users involved in accidents each year. The reasons for this are clear pedestrians and motor vehicles do not mix, hence their natural segregation.
So, what is it that causes road accidents? Tiredness, leading to a lack of concentration, features heavily and general carelessness also, and the latter is perhaps the most telling point of all paying attention at all times significantly reduces the chances of an accident.
John Gregory writes about whiplash claims and road accidents at www.WhiplashClaims.org a UK based website in the personal injury claims sector. Simon also writes about personal injuries, sports injuries, accidents at work and asbestos related illnesses as well as personal finances.
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