Londons bikers top accident league for second year running

A national survey of motorcycle accidents has for the second year running shown London bikers to have the worst safety records in the UK with Northern and Scottish riders once again emerging as the safest.

Carole Nash, the UK’s biggest motorcycle insurance specialist, investigated claims records among its 220,000 policyholders and conducted postcode analysis to pinpoint those with the best and worst accident records.

Its Carole Nash Motorcycle Accident Risk Survey 2003 echoed the findings of the firm’s 2002 research with London’s upmarket EC postcode again topping the accident table and the capital dominating the top ten highest risk areas. A North-South divide was also maintained with only six areas North of Watford suffering worse than average accident records, against 36 in the South.

Dorchester was the only southern district to secure a place among the top ten areas boasting the best accident records, with the Shetland Islands emerging as home to the UK’s most careful riders. Belfast, Lincoln, the Orkneys, Darlington, Doncaster, Dundee, Wakefield and Sunderland were also among the top ten safest districts.

But it wasn’t all bad news for southern riders as Dorchester also emerged as having UK’s most improved motorcycle accident record, dropping 60 places down the league table. Stevenage, Milton Keynes, Cambridge and Colchester were also among the top ten most improved areas.

Scottish districts were among the worst performers year-on-year, with Paisley jumping from 116th to 51st place to become the highest climber in the accident league. Other northern areas showing worsening accident rates included Motherwell, Inverness, Bradford, Wigan and Kirkcaldy.

But overall the North of England, Northern Ireland and Scotland remained home to the UK’s safest riders with Manchester and Wakefield second only to Dorchester in improving their league status. Dumfries was also among the top ten most improved districts.

Carole Nash, which insures around one in four UK bikers, gathered the statistics by comparing the number of accident claims made in 2002 against the number of riders insured in each postcode district. This methodology showed that riders living in London’s EC district were nearly four times as likely to suffer an accident than the average UK rider. Overall London riders were nearly 2.5 times as likely to have an accident than average.

Commenting on the research, Carole Nash’s Operations Manager Dave Bowcock, who oversees over 10,000 motorcycle insurance claims worth over £20m every year, said: “ The fact that London fared so badly comes as no great surprise as it is dominated by highly congested, urban roads and the capital’s bikers are more likely to use their bikes to commute and therefore cover more miles than leisure users. This also explains why the best performing postcode districts are generally those encompassing rural areas and enduring less traffic.”

But he suggested that the situation in London could improve following the recent introduction of the Congestion Charge. “In earlier, separate research we found that around two-thirds of motorcycle accidents are caused by car drivers,” he explained. “It will be interesting to see if the reduction in car traffic brought on by congestion charging will have an impact on motorcycle accident rates. We have already begun separate research covering London and its commuter belt and, whilst it is too early to confirm a definite trend, the indications are that we could well see a reduction in crashes.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Carole Nash Motorcycle Accident Risk Survey 2003 analysed claims received between January 01 and December 31, 2002. The full accident league table by postcode area is available on request. Please note a copy of this release may also have been sent to your news editor.

Carole Nash motorcycle accident survey 2003

2003/(02)	Top 10 highest risk areas
1. (1)	EC – London East Central London
2. (12)	CR - Croydon
3. (4)	E – London East
4. (8)	SW – London South West
5. (7)	SE - London South East
4. (14)	N – North London
7. (9)	WC - London West Central
8. (2)	W – London West
9. (10)	UB – Uxbridge
10. (21)	IG - Ilford

2003/(02)	Highest risk areas (with London amalgamation)
1. (1)	London
2. (5)	CR - Croydon
3. (2)	UB – Uxbridge
4. (14)	IG - Ilford
5. (7)	DA - Dartford
6. (10)	TW - Twickenham
7. (9)	HA - Harrow
8. (8)	KT - Kingston
9. (4)	SM - Sutton
10. (15)	ME - Maidstone

2003/(02)	Top 10 lowest risk areas
1. (10)	ZE – Shetland Islands
2. (4)	BT - Belfast
3. (12)	LN - Lincoln
4. (N/A)	KW – Orkney Islands
5. (20)	DL - Darlington
6. (29)	DN - Doncaster
7. (1)	DD - Dundee
8. (67)	DT - Dorchester
9. (56)	WF - Wakefield
10. (26)	SR - Sunderland

2003/(02)	Top 10 improving areas*
1.	DT- Dorchester
=2.	M - Manchester
=2.	WF - Wakefield
4.	OX - Oxford
5.	LD – Llandrindrod Wells
6.	BA - Bath
7.	SG - Stevenage
8.	DG - Dumfries
9.	MK – Milton Keynes
=10.	CB - Cambridge
=10.	CO - Colchester

2003/(02)	Top 10 improving areas*
1.	PA - Paisley
2.	BS - Bristol
3.	ML - Motherwell
4.	TR - Truro
5.	NP – Newport
6.	IV - Inverness
=7.	BD - Bradford
=7.	WN - Wigan
=9.	EX - Exeter
=9.	KY - Kirkcaldy