Derby makes list of UK cities with highest risk of road accidents

A new study has ranked Derby among the worst UK cities for risk of road accidents.

The city, which has the 27th largest population of Britain’s 70 recognised cities, came eighth place in a table for fatal and non-fatal accidents on roads.

The city had 20.55 road accidents for every 10,000 people in 2021 after recording 511 collisions – in fact, four of these were sadly fatal. 

The new ranking was published by taxi insurance experts at Zego, who analysed Office for National Statistics data to find the number of road accidents in each UK city in 2021, both fatal and non-fatal. 

The number of accidents was calculated for every 10,000th person to determine the ranking. 

Taking the top spot for the cities with the most risk of road accidents was Doncaster in Derbyshire’s neighbouring county of South Yorkshire. The city experienced 573 accidents in one year, with seven of these being fatal, making that 36.23 for every 10,000th person. 

The West Yorkshire city of Bradford was in second place. The city had 36.11 road accidents per 10,000 people after seeing 1,059 in total in just one year, and 11 of these were fatal. 

The nation’s capital, London, came third. The capital saw a staggering amount of 23,139 road accidents, 73 of which were fatal, equating to 25.70 for every 10,000th person. 

The Welsh city of Wrexham places fourth in the ranking. There was a total of 149 road accidents, including four fatal collisions, making that 24.19 per 10,000 people.  

In fifth place was Brighton which saw 620 road accidents, with two of these being fatal. The city had 22.44 collisions for every 10,000th person.  

Hull and Portsmouth took sixth and seventh place respectively.

Meanwhile, nearby Nottingham came ninth place. Citizens of this city experienced 652 road accidents in total, including three fatal collisions, equating to 20.28 per 10,000 people. 

Birmingham came 10th place after experiencing 19.89 recorded road accidents for every 10,000th person. Out of the 2,137 total collisions, 26 of these were unfortunately fatal. 

On the other hand, the city of Aberdeen on Scotland’s north-east coast had the least risk of road accidents, with just 2.78 per 10,000 people. 

A spokesperson from Zego told DerbyWorld: “The reason for the high risk of road accidents in these cities isn’t clear, but it’s certainly interesting to see that nine of the top 10 cities are in England. On top of that, with no Scottish cities ranking in the top 10 as well as Aberdeen having the least risk of accidents, it appears that Scotland is the safest country in the UK for driving. 

“With that being said, it’s absolutely crucial to stay alert when driving wherever you are to avoid causing a collision and to protect yourself from dangerous drivers. Following the Highway Code, making sure your vehicle is roadworthy and being aware of your surroundings are vital for road safety.”