New data reveals UK’s most dangerous roads

New research has revealed the most dangerous roads, conditions and circumstances for drivers, with London identified as the most likely place for collisions.

Local Driving School has analysed data from the Department of Transport and found that the 20 areas with the highest casualty rate in the UK were all London Boroughs.

Hackney topped the list with 2,828 road casualties per billion vehicle miles driven, followed by Camden (2,511), Westminster (2,429), Lambeth (2,422) and Islington (2,348).

This is all well above the nationwide average of 521 casualties per billion vehicle miles driven.

Outside of London the most dangerous areas were Luton (1,090), Blackburn (916), Reading (889), Blackpool (860) and Brighton & Hove (859).

The data also found that 67.7% of accidents on UK roads occurred in urban areas, while 57.2% of collisions took place on roads with speed limits between 21mph and 30mph. In comparison just 2,581 incidents took place on motorways.

Meanwhile, the 71.2% of accidents occurred during daylight and, overall, 62,698 incidents occurred with dry road conditions, making up 68.7% of total accidents in 2020.

Claire Davies, marketing manager, said: “You are far more likely to face a hazard in a densely populated urban area. The motorway is fairly static regarding hazards – there aren’t cyclists, pedestrians, or other events occurring on the pavement.

“The results show that incidents often happen when you least expect them. While more collisions occur in fair weather and daylight than in other road conditions, perhaps due to more drivers on the road at these times, this could also be due to a relaxing of hazard perception and situational awareness in the conditions deemed the safest.”