Nearly half of road accidents this year were caused by vehicles colliding while driving – research

Forty per cent of road accidents this year were caused by vehicles colliding while driving, new data has shown.

Breakdown assistance provider the AA analysed 67,000 claims from its Accident Assist support service recorded from January 1 to December 14.

It showed that in addition to vehicles colliding with one another, a further 19 per cent of accidents were caused by a vehicle hitting a parked car, while 10 per cent of incidents involved driving into the back of another vehicle in slow-moving traffic.

Tim Rankin, managing director for AA Accident Assist, said: “Being involved in a crash is incredibly stressful and can affect people in different ways. Aside from any physical injuries, people could be mentally and emotionally affected for some time.”

He added: “Our data reveals that in many cases, a momentary loss of concentration is a key factor in the collision happening. Be that being too close to the vehicle in front, forgetting to put the handbrake on, or misjudging the space in car parks.”

The study also found that two per cent of claims resulted from vehicles hitting kerbs, open car doors, driving over debris on the road and hitting walls. Just one per cent involved coming into contact with hedges, barriers and deer.