Fleet collision rates higher than those of private drivers

Business drivers have collision rates that are 30–40% higher than those of private drivers, research suggests.

Total Accident Management carried out its study into accidents involving high mileage company car drivers between April 2011 and May 2012.

When looking at how weather can play its part in an accident, just over half of the recorded accidents (53%) took place in clear weather, setting corporate drivers apart from their retail counterparts. While accidents in adverse weather conditions, such as rain, snow and sleet accounted for just 4%.

In adverse weather, drivers automatically take more precaution and reduce their speed, while in clear weather drivers are likely to travel faster and concentrate less, which can then result in an accident.

Looking at road types and related accidents, there was a clear indication that A-roads are where drivers need to be at their most vigilant. The most accidents were recorded on major A-roads (20%) with B-roads (11%) in second place and minor A-roads (9%) in third place. Only 2.27% of accidents were recorded on motorways, reinforcing their relative safety compared to A and B-roads.

The other key location where nearly 10% of accidents happened was in car parks. Although vehicles are travelling at slower speeds, drivers have to deal with many other factors as well as maintaining their own concentration. This type of accident is likely to be the most costly to fix overall.

When looking at accident circumstances, 17% of incidents involved a driver hitting a parked vehicle, while 15.2% of accidents were results of a driver hitting a vehicle in the rear, and 11% of accidents involved a vehicle colliding with an object or property. All three could be caused by a combination of excess speed and/or lack of concentration.

“We collect the data at regular intervals, which allows us to get a better picture of seasonality and external influences, and how they impact on accidents,” explained Total Accident Management’s operations director Amanda Mullans.

“If companies and their drivers can be made more aware of how different road types, weather conditions and other external factors have on driving safety, I am sure employers would ensure their employees take appropriate care when driving on company business. Total has developed its DriveSecure package to assist employers with many aspects of risk assessment,” she added.