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Who are Britain's best drivers of 2002?

Scottish car drivers had the best driving record in the UK this year. A survey by direct car insurer, Admiral reveals Scots were the least likely to have an accident in 2002 and the second least likely, after the Welsh, to have a motoring conviction.

Admiral surveyed its 350,000 customers and looked at the percentage of drivers in each part of the country that had an accident in 2002 and the percentage that had a motoring conviction. Only 7.3 per cent of Scottish drivers have had an accident, compared with the national average of 9.3 per cent. While only 9.3 have a motoring conviction, compared with the national average of 10.8 per cent. Only the Welsh are less likely than the Scots to have a conviction, only 8.4 per cent of them have been convicted for speeding or dangerous driving.

At the other end of the table, Londoners had the worst driving record. 13.5 per cent of drivers living in London had an accident in the last year, and 14.7 per cent of them have a motoring conviction.

Admiral managing director, Jane Stone, said, "It would be easy to assume Londoners have the highest accident rate just because of the number of cars there. But that doesn't explain the high percentage of drivers with a motoring convictions for things such as speeding. Scottish drivers score excellently in both areas and that includes drivers in big cities such as Glasgow and the empty roads of the Highlands."

Issue date: 30-12-02