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Motorists in the Harrow area of London had the worst driving record of
anywhere in the country last year, according to research by a leading
insurer.
Financial intermediary Admiral has looked at the claims frequency of
one million motorists across the UK in 2004 and produced a list of the
ten best and ten worst places in the country. Motorists in the Harrow
postcode area are top of the list, 9.6% of motorists living there had
an accident that was their fault.
The list of the worst places for accidents in 2004 is, not surprisingly,
dominated by places in and around London. Second in the list is Uxbridge
with 9.2% of motorists there having a fault accident and third is north
west London, with 9.0%.
People who want to avoid having an accident should consider moving to
Scotland, as towns north of the border dominate the list of places with
the lowest percentage of accidents. The Galashiels area is top of the
list of areas with the lowest frequency of accidents. Just 3.9% of motorists
there had an accident last year that was their fault.
Northern Ireland's motorists came second with 4.1% of those living in
the Belfast postcode area causing an accident and third was Lancaster
with 4.5%. Other Scottish districts in the list of best areas are Dumfries,
Perth, Inverness and Aberdeen.
Admiral managing director, Jane Stone, said: "Our figures show the
percentage of drivers within each postcode area of the UK who had an accident
that was their fault last year. The difference between the best and worst
area is quite astonishing. Motorists in Harrow were almost two and a half
times more likely to have caused an accident than those in Galashiels.
Our research goes some way to explaining why where you live has such an
affect on insurance premiums."
The tables below show the ten best and worst postcode areas for fault
accidents in 2004. The UK average rate is 6.5% of motorists having a fault
accident.
Best Areas
| Position |
Postcode |
Area |
%age of motorists with accident 2004 |
| 1st |
TD |
Galashiels and Scottish borders |
3.9% |
| 2nd |
BT |
Belfast and Northern Ireland |
4.1% |
| 3rd |
LA |
Lancaster |
4.5% |
| 4th |
FY |
Blackpool |
4.7% |
| 5th |
DG |
Dumfries and Galloway |
4.8% |
| 6th |
PH |
Perth |
4.9% |
| 7th |
WR |
Worcester |
5.0% |
| 8th |
IV |
Inverness and eastern Highlands |
5.0% |
| 9th |
AB |
Aberdeen |
5.2% |
| 10th |
LN |
Lincoln |
5.2% |
Worst Areas
| Position |
Postcode |
Area |
%age of motorists with accident 2004 |
| 1st |
HA |
Harrow |
9.6% |
| 2nd |
UB |
Uxbridge |
9.2% |
| 3rd |
NW |
North west London |
9.0% |
| 4th |
CR |
Croydon |
8.8% |
| 5th |
SM |
Sutton |
8.6% |
| 6th |
N |
North London |
8.5% |
| 7th |
IG |
Ilford |
8.4% |
| 8th |
EN |
Enfield |
8.4% |
| 9th |
TW |
Twickenham |
8.3% |
| 10th |
AL |
St Albans |
8.1% |
Jane Stone, commented: "Although you would expect motorists in London
to have the most accidents, it is interesting that those living in the
outlying parts of the city, such as Croydon, Ilford and Twickenham had
the worst driving record last year. Maybe those in the centre of the city
drive less, or are just more careful."
Issue date: 25-01-05
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