Admiral reveals location matters when it comes to accident types

New research into the types of accidents motorists in the UK have has shown people who live in parts of Scotland are the most likely to hit a lamp post, those in parts of the north west of England most likely to have a bump at traffic lights and hitting trees is more common with those who live in areas of the leafy Home Counties.

Car insurance specialist Admiral looked at 1.3 million claims over the last five years to see if they were any patterns in the postcode areas where motorists live and the types of accidents they have.

The study showed Scottish drivers top the list for accidents involving lamp posts with the postcode towns of Paisley, Aberdeen, Motherwell and Glasgow taking the top four spots for this type of claim.

People living in Liverpool and Manchester postcodes topped the list for collisions at traffic lights while those living in the Tonbridge, Redhill, Guildford and Stevenage areas in the Home Counties appeared at the top of the list for accidents involving trees.

Admiral's acting managing director, Dave Halliday said: "The most common type of accidents on the UK's roads are rear end bumps but we wanted to see if there were any trends with the other types of accidents we see as well, and there were some interesting findings."

Admiral's study found motorists who live in the north east part of Greater London, in particular the postcode areas of Romford, Ilford and Enfield, are the most likely to either be hit in the rear or to hit another car in the rear, but for motorists who live in inner London it’s leaving a car parked up that presents a bigger risk. It found motorists in the NW, N and W postcodes are the most likely to have their car hit while parked.

With its many scenic country roads, perhaps unsurprisingly, motorists in the west of England are most likely to experience a narrow lane collision with Torquay, Exeter and Taunton postcode areas topping the list of this type of claim.

Dave Halliday continued: "The stop-start nature of traffic in Greater London may explain the higher frequency of rear-end bumps of motorists who live there, just as the many country lanes in the west of England may explain the narrow lane collisions.

"However, the results in Scotland and the north west were a little more surprising. It's a real mystery why Scottish motorists are more likely to hit a lamp post and why those in Liverpool and Manchester are more likely to have a bump at traffic lights."

Admiral research also found the incidence of car park prangs to be high in Scotland, with the Motherwell postcode area topping the list but Glasgow and Kilmarnock also featuring in the top five.

Roundabout collisions were highest in the Chelmsford postcode area, followed by the Reading and Glasgow postcodes.

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Editors' Notes
Admiral only looked at postcode areas where 100 or more incidents of the claim type had occurred and at the frequency of each type of claim (based on the number of customers in each area against the number of claim type in each area).

About Admiral:
Admiral, (a trading name of EUI Ltd) launched in 1993, and is part of Admiral Group plc. It was set up to target those motorists who traditionally pay higher than average premiums, including those under-35, living in cities or driving hot hatches. It now offers its unique Admiral MultiCar policy for households with two or more cars.

Admiral writes its motor insurance business to a consortium of insurers, these being:
- Admiral Car Insurance Company Ltd
- Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited
- Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) plc

The Admiral Group employs over 4,900 people and has over 3.36 million customers.

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