Admiral logoRussian Dolls top banner

MultiCar Insurance

Combine cars on
one policy for
MultiCar discounts.

Start a quote

Find out more

Retrieve a quote

Single-Car Insurance

Great value car insurance
quotes crammed with plenty
of features.

Start a quote

Find out more

Retrieve a quote

Give us a call

Talk to a friendly
member of staff.

Single-Car Insurance

0844 543 4416

MultiCar Insurance

0844 848 4316

Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

Number injured on roads 'could be four times greater'

25/09/2009

Thirty seven per cent of the road crashes recorded by police in 2008 were caused by drivers failing to look properly - the single biggest cause of all accidents that resulted in injury.

And while a driver breaking the speed limit - or driving too fast for the conditions - contributed to 14% of crashes overall, it was a factor in nearly a quarter (24%) of fatal accidents.

The findings are contained within the annual road casualties report, published yesterday by the Department for Transport (DfT). The report examines the causes behind all of the accidents on British roads which resulted in an injury and were reported to police. It adds more detail to the headline accident statistics for 2008, released in June, which revealed a 14% drop in road accident fatalities compared to 2007.

However, while records of fatalities are thought to be highly accurate, new DfT estimates are likely to heighten concerns that official figures under-report the true scale of non-fatal road injuries.

A previous DfT estimate, cited in July by the UK Statistics Authority, suggested that the number of injuries recorded by police - 230,905 in 2008 - may be only half the true figure, but the department's most recent best estimate is that the real number is between 680,000 and 920,000 - between three and four times the official total.

Commenting on the detailed figures, safety charity RoSPA stressed that driver errors caused four-fifths of all injury accidents, and called for a greater emphasis on skills and training.

"Figures continue to show that basic driving skills and attitudes are behind most road deaths," said head of road safety Kevin Clinton.

"Road accidents caused by a driver or rider error - whether that is failing to look properly, failing to judge another person's speed or losing control - are preventable."