Third of car accidents occur close to home

Posted :14-06-2005

Thirty-two per cent of all car accidents happen within a mile of the driver's home, a new poll suggests.

The Churchill Car Insurance poll found that almost three quarters of respondents (72 per cent) admitted to paying less attention on local roads and 60 per cent said that their driving became lazy when they neared their home.

However, a quarter of drivers also believed they were unlikely to have an accident close to their neighbourhood.

Darren McCauley, head of car insurance at Churchill said: "Drivers tend to make many preparations for longer journeys but on routine trips they can be far too flippant.

"For longer journeys drivers tend to take an early night and make sure the car is safe. However, they can work a 50 hour week and then tackle an hour's drive home on a Friday evening without a second thought."

According to Churchill, the most common accidents that occur close to home include reversing into parked cars, finding unexplained dents and scratches and scraping the side of the car when parking in the garage.

The report also reveals that Londoners are the most likely to crash within a mile of their home, followed by drivers in Scotland, East Anglia and the West Midlands, and more men than women have accidents close to home.

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