Leeds deemed one of the safest cities to drive in across UK according to study

Professional driving instructor group Local Driving School analysed data from the Department for Transport to reveal the UK’s most dangerous places to drive.

The top 20 most dangerous areas to drive were all London boroughs, with Hackney claiming the top spot with 2,828 casualties per billion vehicle miles.

Hackney was closely followed by Camden, then Westminster, with 2,511 and 2,429 casualties respectively.

Outside of London, Hull earned a place in the top ten riskiest areas to drive in outside of London with 732 casualties per billion vehicle miles driven.

Keeping in Yorkshire, Bradford ranked second in the most dangerous places to drive in Yorkshire with 584 casualties, closely followed by Sheffield with 577.

These figures are only slightly above the UK average casualty rate of 521 however.

Leeds, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley, and York all have road accident rates far lower than the UK average, with Leeds the lowest of these with just 323 accidents per billion vehicle miles driven.

Despite the numbers of accidents seen across all of these areas, the data shows that UK roads are currently safer than ever before.

Last year, there were 91,199 accidents, down from 117,536 in 2019.

While an element of this decrease will be due to lockdowns and reduced travel, the number of accidents on UK roads has been in steady decline since the figures were first recorded in 2004.

Over twice as many accidents were recorded in 2004, when 207,410 accidents occurred on UK roads.

This study also revealed how road conditions correspond with accidents- 68.7% of accidents happen in fine conditions with no wind, and 71.2% happen during daylight.

25,626 accidents happen on T or staggered junctions, more than double that on crossroads and roundabouts.

Claire Davies, Marketing Manager at Local Driving School said:

“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.

Always stay alert when driving – these results show incidents are far more likely to happen in normal conditions, on low-speed roads.”

Support the YEP and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news and the latest on Leeds United, With a digital subscription, you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.