New research of official data has revealed the areas of the country where you are more likely to be involved in a crash.

This means that car insurance is not only a legal requirement but also a financial necessity.

Westminster in London takes the top spot. 

Bang

Analysts at One Sure Insurance analysed data from the Home Office on reported road collisions in the UK in 2022.

The total number of collisions was weighed against the population in each area to determine the final ranking.  

Westminster ranks at the top, with 602.75 road collisions per 100,000 people in 2022. The area experienced 1,274 collisions during the year; this is the highest number of collisions among the top ten locations in the ranking.   

North and south

Coming in second is Doncaster. Perhaps a little surprising considering it isn’t in the high density city space of the capital, and at the other end of the country.  It recorded  503.62 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants, reporting a total of 553 road collisions throughout the year. 

Back to the capital, third in the ranking is Kensington and Chelsea. Here, 417.37 collisions per 100,000 people took place. The borough reported 610 road collisions in 2022. 

Rotherham places in fourth, with 371.95 road crashes per 100,000 residents. There were 408 collisions during the year. Rotherham and Doncaster are the only two areas outside of London in the top ten.  

Back to the capital

In fifth comes Lambeth, with a staggering 1,167 road collisions in 2022 – the second highest among the top ten. Against the population, Lambeth experienced 368.36 collisions per 100,000 inhabitants.   

Camden comes in sixth, with 344.88 accidents per 100,000 people and 752 reported road collisions throughout the year.  

Seventh on the list is Haringey, with 339.56 collisions per 100,000 residents. The area had a total of 889 road collisions in 2022. 

In eighth place is Southwark, with another high number of total collisions – 1,026. Against the population, that equates to 328.94 road collisions per 100,000 inhabitants in the area.  

Tower Hamlets ranks ninth, with 318.92 road collisions per 100,000 people. The borough reported 1,039 total collisions in 2022 – the third highest among the top ten.  

Landing the tenth spot is Hackney, with 304.03 road collisions per 100,000 residents in 2022. Hackney experienced a total of 795 collisions throughout the year.  

East Dunbartonshire ranks last with the lowest number of collisions per 100,000 people – 28.53, to be exact. There were only 31 reported road collisions in East Dunbartonshire in 2022. 

Crash ranking 

Rank  Area  Collisions per 100,000 people 
1  Westminster  602.75 
2  Doncaster  503.62 
3  Kensington and Chelsea  417.37 
4  Rotherham  371.95 
5  Lambeth  368.36 
6  Camden  344.88 
7  Haringey  339.56 
8  Southwark  328.94 
9  Tower Hamlets  318.92 
10  Hackney  304.03 

 

Gaining understanding

A spokesperson for One Sure Insurance commented on the findings: “Although it’s a legal requirement to insure your vehicle, identifying the areas of the UK most in need of insurance is incredibly insightful. By pinpointing these regions, we can try to understand why motorists face challenges in these locations.  

“Eight out of the top ten spots are occupied by London boroughs. This could indicate that city driving comes with a lot more risk than being behind the wheel in the countryside.” 

This study was conducted by One Sure Insurance from data on reported road collisions in the UK in 2022 sourced from the Home Office.  

The number of road collisions per local authority was weighed against the population to calculate the total number of collisions per 100,000 people. 

The areas of the UK with the highest number of collisions determined the ranking for the locations most in need of car insurance.