Motorists beware of ‘Black Saturday’
Saturday, July 22 at 2pm is the time you are most likely to have a crash in Britain this year, according to new research.
The most dangerous day on the roads has been identified by in-vehicle CCTV firm VisionTrack, using official Department of Transport data and its own insurance reports showing peak times for collisions in previous years.
More accidents occur in the summer months of July and August – 2,330 serious and fatal collisions in July and 2,148 in August.
This compares with only 1,578 in January and 1,544 in February – the safest and shortest months of the year.
Despite the fact that winter months generally bring more difficult driving conditions, such as icy roads and poor visibility, there are 27.5% more road incidents 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 roads, with the vast majority of families choosing to take their summer holidays at this time. Incidents rise sharply during June and July, hitting a peak at the end of July.
Most dangerous times on UK roads
1) July 2,330
2) August 2,148
3) October 2,125
4) September 2,112
5) November 2,111
6) May 2,069
7) June 2,048
8) December 1,959
9) April 1,756
10) March 1,590
11) January 1,578
12) February 1,544
(Data from the Department of Transport)
“We are asking motorists to take extra special care when starting out on their summer holidays,” said VisionTrack’s Simon Marsh.
“The most common cause of road collisions is not poor road conditions or your car, it’s bad driving.
“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 incidents for the whole of the year.”