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One in 20 adults involved in UK road accident in 2012, IAM claims

One in 20 adults was involved in a road accident in the UK in 2012, according to road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). Referring to information from the National Travel Survey (NTS) published by the Department for Transport (DfT), the IAM says the survey shows that 5.2% of the population admit to having been involved in an accident. The IAM says the DfT figures also reveal that men (5.6%) are more likely to be involved in an accident than women (4.8%). Overall, the IAM adds, the fi
August 8, 2013 Read time: 3 mins
One in 20 adults was involved in a road accident in the UK in 2012, according to road safety charity, the 5125 Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

Referring to information from the National Travel Survey (NTS) published by the 5432 Department for Transport (DfT), the IAM says the survey shows that 5.2% of the population admit to having been involved in an accident.

The IAM says the DfT figures also reveal that men (5.6%) are more likely to be involved in an accident than women (4.8%).

Overall, the IAM adds, the figures mean 2.4 million Brits were involved in the trauma and stress of a road crash last year, with around 800,000 actually injured.  In the vast majority of these crashes those involved were car occupants.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said, “The good news is that our roads have never been safer and the headline death and serious injury figures continue to fall. But we still kill five people every day, and these government figures suggest that millions are involved in minor bumps and scrapes every year.  Car and road design have delivered a safer driving environment, but it is clear that we must all share the responsibility of reducing accidents and collisions.”

Since 2007, the NTS interview has asked adults (aged 16+) whether or not they have been involved in a road accident in the previous three years and/or in the previous 12 months, and, if so, whether or not they had been injured. In 2010 the NTS also asked whether children in the household had been involved in a road accident.

In 2012, 11% of adults said that they had been involved in at least one road accident in the last three years including 4% who had been injured in a road accident. Males were slightly more likely to say that they had been involved in a road accident than females. Involvement in road accidents was highest for those aged 20-24 (16%) and lowest for those aged 60+ (8%).

Averaged over the period 2010 to 2012, in the majority of incidents the respondent was a car occupant at the time of the accident (70% of injury accidents and 91% of non-injury accidents). According to respondents, the police were made aware of 55% of injury road accidents and 28% of non-injury road accidents.

In 2012, 5% of children had been involved in a road accident in the last 3 years, of which 2% had been injured.

The 2012 National Travel Survey (NTS) is the latest in an established series of household surveys of personal travel in Great Britain. The survey is primarily designed to track long-term development of trends in travel, although short-term changes can also be detected.

NTS data is collected via two main sources - interviews with people in their homes, and a diary that they keep for a week to record their travel. The NTS covers travel by all age groups, including children. In 2012, diary data was collected from 8,200 households, covering over 19,000 individuals.

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