Most humans are risk averse. Sure some will enter every Red Bull challenge they can, but most of us prefer to minimise their odds of injury, damage to assets, or our no claims bonus. This research shows how the perceived risk of potentially meeting a dangerous driver, or hitting that same deep pothole, can alter behaviour. The reality is that a lack of attention is the biggest single cause of road collisions, not the few dangerous 80mph drivers, high on balloons like a Premiership star celebrating a hat trick.
The mundane failure to look properly at junctions, or before switching lanes is perhaps the most event before a crash and factors like constant phone usage are also at play, despite it being illegal. Smartphones are very addictive, IE thinks they are more addictive than cigs or gambling, you only have to look at people on buses, in social settings like pubs or cafes, even walking the streets. Add headphones and you have a perfect low awareness of surrounding dangers.
It can be the same story in cars, regardless of traffic or weather; phone in cradle, messages pinging, ear buds playing music. Then there’s the ridiculous touchscreen menus in modern EVs which require drivers to look away from the road ahead for 3-5 seconds to adjust settings.
For what it’s worth, here’s the survey results, but in reality people just aren’t being honest about their own risky, low attention span behaviours.
Dangerous driving and potholes have been named as the biggest causes of road traffic collisions in local communities across the UK, new research has revealed.
A study of 2,000 UK adults on behalf of national law firm Simpson Millar found almost two thirds (62%) believe dangerous driving is one of the biggest causes of road traffic collisions locally.
Poor road conditions, including potholes, came second, cited by 45% of respondents.
Traffic levels were named by 17%, while 13% blamed a lack of enforcement and 12% pointed to poor infrastructure.
Women were more likely than men to identify dangerous driving as a problem, at 68% compared with 57%.
They were also more likely to blame poor road conditions and potholes, at 47% compared with 43% of men.
Concern about both issues increased with age. More than two thirds (69%) of people aged 55 and over named dangerous driving as one of the biggest causes of local road collisions, compared with 54% of 18 to 24 year olds.
Half (50%) of over-55s also pointed to potholes and poor road conditions, compared with 36% of those aged 18 to 24.
Seven in 10 (70%) people in the West Midlands named dangerous driving as a major cause of road collisions in their local area, followed by 68% in Scotland and 66% in the North West.
Poor road conditions were a particular concern in Scotland, where 52% blamed potholes and similar problems, followed by 50% in the East of England and 49% in the South West.
At city level, dangerous driving was cited by 69% of people in Glasgow and Plymouth and 68% in Sheffield.
Brighton recorded the greatest concern about poor road conditions, with 59% blaming potholes and similar problems for local road traffic collisions, followed by Edinburgh at 58% and Plymouth at 56%.
Safety concerns are also changing the way some people travel. More than one in five (21%) said they now avoid particular roads or routes because of safety concerns, while 15% said they use public transport more.
A quarter (26%) of both 18 to 24 year olds and 25 to 34 year olds said they avoid particular roads because of safety concerns, compared with 20% of those aged 55 and over.
Women were more likely than men to avoid roads or routes they consider unsafe, at 23% compared with 20%.
Men, however, were more likely to say road safety concerns had pushed them towards public transport, at 18% compared with 13% of women.
People in the South West and West Midlands were the most likely to avoid particular roads because of safety concerns, both at 26%.
In Bristol, more than a third (36%) said they now avoid certain roads or routes, the highest proportion of any city surveyed, followed by 29% in Sheffield.
Almost one in five (19%) people in both London and Manchester said road safety concerns had led them to use public transport more.
Susan Vanden, Partner in the Personal Injury team at Simpson Millar, said: “Driver behaviour is clearly the biggest road safety concern for people, but the condition of the roads themselves isn’t far behind.
“Potholes can sometimes be talked about as little more than an annoyance for drivers, but poor road surfaces can pose a real risk, particularly for cyclists and motorcyclists.
“When people start changing the routes they take or the way they travel because of road safety concerns, it shows how much confidence in local roads matters. People should be able to travel without feeling that poor road conditions or the behaviour of other road users could put them at unnecessary risk.
“Where someone is injured in a road traffic collision because of another person’s negligence, they may be able to make a personal injury claim. There can also be circumstances where the condition and maintenance of a road is relevant, so it’s important to get advice based on exactly what happened.”
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