Absent-minded drivers cause most road Peterborough road accidents, figures reveal

The latest Department for Transport statistics show drivers or riders failing to look properly contributed to 141 accidents in Peterborough last year.

The figures, which report contributory factors for accidents as recorded by police, also show that 69 accidents were caused by drivers or riders failing to judge another vehicle’s speed.

Officers can choose one or more reasons for any accident where at least one person suffers a slight injury in an incident with a vehicle.

These do not have to involve cars and could, for example, include a cyclist falling over or a motorbike colliding with a pedestrian.

Samuel Nahk, senior public affairs officer at Brake, said: “These figures clearly highlight that driver error is one of the main causes of crashes on our roads, all too often leading to death and serious injury.

“Yet every death and injury on our roads is a needless, preventable tragedy.

“We can mitigate the impact of driver error through a safe systems approach with safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and safer road use, enabling people to move around in safe and healthy ways.

“Drivers can also reduce their chances of causing a crash by ensuring they stick well within the speed limit, take more time to look carefully at junctions, and giving the road their full attention at all times.”

Last year, four people were killed and 7,878 seriously injured on Peterborough’s roads.

This was much fewer than in 2017, when police recorded seven deaths and 102 serious injuries.

Overall casualties, which include slight injuries, fell from 749 to 674 over the period.

The DfT cautions against comparing trends from previous years, however, because of changes to the way some forces record the severity of road injuries.

Across Britain, 1,784 people were killed on the roads in 2018, while 25,500 suffered serious injuries.

The trend in fatalities has been broadly flat since 2010, following a sustained drop in road deaths over the last four decades.

A DfT spokeswoman said: “We are committed to ensuring our roads are safe for everyone and our comprehensive Road Safety Action Plan sets out more than 70 different measures to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.

“This includes steps to help children understand the dangers near roads and investing in a digital platform to share best practice around cutting road safety risks for older drivers.”