Summer is the most dangerous time to drive a car on Britain's roads - and this year Saturday July 25 at 11am is the mostly likely time that motorists will have a crash, according to new research.
More motor accidents occur in the summer months of July and August – 2,330 serious and fatal accidents in July and 2,148 in August.
This compares with only 1,578 in January and 1,544 in February - the safest and shortest month of the year.
Despite the fact that winter months generally bring more difficult driving conditions like icy roads and poor visibility, there are 27.5% more road accidents in the summer - 33,312 in July and August, compared with the winter 26,122 (January and February).
This increase is due to the greater number of motorists on the road, with the vast majority of families choosing to take their summer holidays at this time. Accidents rise sharply during June and July, hitting a peak at the end of July.
This year, Saturday July 25 is the predicted to be busiest day of the year on the roads.
Motorists are expected to take to their cars in droves with all schools having broken up for summer and July 25 also coincides with most workers' end of month pay-days.
Saturdays are the worst day for accidents during the summer when car drivers are nearly twice as likely (1.7 times) to be distracted or impaired in their driving than compared with weekdays.
The busiest time on the roads will be at 11am when the 'great escape' begins in earnest.
The most dangerous day on the roads has been identified by SmartWitness, Britain's leading dash cam maker, using official Department of Transport data and its own insurance reports showing peak times for accidents in previous years.
SmartWitness International Sales Director Mark Berry said: “The summer months have the highest number of road accidents and Saturday July 25th is likely to provide the perfect storm for poor driver conditions.
“It will be first day of the summer holidays for many families and there will be extremely large numbers of motorists taking to the roads. Cars will be packed full of children and luggage, which means that drivers will be more stressed and distracted than usual, as they make their way to airports and holiday destinations.
"As a result this day is expected to have the highest number of motor accidents of the whole of the year."
Sales at SmartWitness vehicle CCTV cameras has risen 40% in the last two years as increasing numbers of fleet managers and private motorists have turned to vehicle CCTV systems to provide video evidence of who is at fault in the event of a road incident.
Just 2% of incidents captured on SmartWitness cameras result in disputed insurance claims - against an industry norm of 40% of motor insurance claims.
Mark Berry added: “We are asking motorists to take extra special care when starting out on their summer holidays and realise that the most common cause of road accidents is not poor road conditions or your car, it’s down to bad driving.
“Also it’s essential to keep a look out for children on the roads, as there will be more kids out during day-time, so it’s vital that drivers take extra care during the summer months.”
A recent survey by the Road Haulage Association found that 50% of all fleets now use in-cab cameras. SmartWitness' fleet customers have experienced reductions of up to 80% in their accident rates and savings of 20% on their insurance.
SmartWitness's most successful product is the KP1 Instant notification camera, which provides a full range of high definition footage and instant playback. Insurers can be emailed accident footage minutes after the collision so settlements can be arranged quickly.
Worst Months of the Year For Numbers of Fatalities and Serious Injury on British Roads
(Data from Department of Transport )
- July 2,330
- August 2,148
- October 2,125
- September 2,112
- November 2,111
- May 2,069
- June 2,048
- December 1,959
- April 1,756
- March 1,590
- January 1,578
- February 1,544
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