ALMOST half of vehicle accidents could be avoided, according to research by Lease Plan, which has more than 30,000 vehicles under its accident management programme.

Analysis of its 1998 accident management statistics showed that 46% of claims were for incidents such as hitting immobile objects, animals and debris, losing control, and reversing into a third party. It all added up to a total repair bill of over £3.8million for 6,452 customer cars involved in 'avoidable' incidents — the most common of which was hitting an immobile object such as a lamp-post, tree or wall.

During the year, Lease Plan handled 7,610 repairs for cars involved in 'unavoidable' accidents at a total cost of over £3.2million. The most common 'unavoidable' accident was being hit while parked.

Graham Rixon, Lease Plan's operations' director, said: 'A significant number of accidents could be avoided by more careful driving.'