Select Car Leasing Survey Reveals Road Accident Risk by Region

There are now over 25.8m cars on the road in the UK today and the figure is increasing at a rate of around 600,000 every year. But even given the vast number of vehicles on the road, you’ll rarely encounter someone who openly admits they’re a bad driver.

So how do people’s perceptions of their driving compare to the actual statistics?

Select Car Leasing conducted a study of 1,200 Brits to find out the UK’s bad driving habits. Are we really as safe as we think we are? See the findings here:https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/news/britains-bad-driving-habits.html

Key findings include:

• 98% of Brits believe they are safe drivers, but less so if they are Welsh or from Northern Ireland.

• The South East and London have a high opinion of their driving but are the most deluded of everyone. Londoners believe that they are more likely to be safe, but in reality they are much more liable to be in a crash

• Londoners have the worst driving habits – but these are common across the UK. Our habits behind the wheel show that Brits are failing to abide by some of the most basic driving laws and Londoners are the worst offenders

• Whilst people in Northern Ireland have a higher likelihood of casualty, they are evidently very clear that this is the case. They are quite aware they are not as safe drivers and the casualty statistics match.

• Move to Scotland, the North East or East Midlands – People from these areas are much less likely to have a crash. Drivers in this region are sensible, whose confidence is backed up by the low chance of an accident.

• People in Wales need to stop worrying so much. They don’t believe they are safe drivers, but in fact have the 2nd lowest level of casualty in the UK and their awareness of driving laws is strong.

• We are not heeding the Government bans regarding using mobile phone in cars. Four in ten across the UK have used their mobile behind the wheel and this grows to more than half of drivers (55%) in London using their mobile while behind the wheel in the last 12 months.

• We don’t understand how safe our cars are. Less than 7% of UK drivers know their car’s EuroNCAP Safety, however drivers in Scotland once again showed their proficiency when it comes to vehicle safety, with 13% aware of their NCAP rating, almost double the national average.