The UK cities with the best and worst drivers have been revealed in a new study.
Motorists were given a ‘driver index’ based on fatal, serious and minor traffic accidents in UK cities over two years, taking into account pass rates for driving tests and those who have passed their driving license for the first time or without error since April 2022.
The traffic accident data between 2020 and 2021 gives a strong indication in which cities strong drivers are behind the wheel and in which areas there is work to be done.
A spokesman for One sure insurance – who collected the data – said: ‘On average, someone is injured or killed on UK roads every 16 minutes. The majority of these accidents are caused by speeding. Incorrect driving behavior can lead to avoidable accidents, death and damage that can cost you dearly.’
With that in mind, where are drivers located in your city?
The UK’s cities with the best and worst drivers have been revealed in a new study – so where does yours rank?
1. Preston
The City of Lancashire can be proud of its drivers. It is claimed that Preston had only two fatal crashes in two years (0.06 per 10,000), while also having the highest number of people passing without a mistake on their first attempt (174), giving them an overall driver index of 40, yielded 48.
2. Aberdeen
The Granite City comes second with only 6.41 serious or minor traffic accidents per 10,000 people, despite being the country’s third most populous city.
62 per cent of drivers in Aberdeen passed on their first attempt, with 132 strokes without error since April 2022. Their overall score was 35.71.
3. Cardiff
Perhaps English motorists need to work on their driving because another city outside England is due. Drivers in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, are among the best in the UK.
It is claimed that there have been only 0.16 fatal accidents per 10,000 people, with an overall success rate of 59.2 per cent, making Cardiff drivers among the safest. Their score was 34.12.
4. Norwich
Despite having the fewest fatalities in the dataset (0.05 per 10,000), Norwich has more serious and minor crashes (26.18 per 10,000), forcing it to settle for fourth place in the battle for best drivers in the UK.
On average, 53.1 percent of drivers pass their exams, while an impressive 56.2 percent pass their first attempt. The total score was 33.82.
5.Chichester
The town of Cathedral West Sussex is in the top five, with 0.64 deaths and 41.1 serious and minor accidents per 10,000. However, drivers have a high success rate, with 66.5 percent success on their first try. Their final score was 29.48.
Dundee, London, Newport, Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea make up the top 10 UK cities with the best drivers. The success rates in the capital are relatively low with an average of only 44.8 percent passing. It is no surprise that London, as the most populous city, had the most fatal accidents of any UK city with 171 (0.19 per 10,000).
The new data has shown that drivers in Preston rank the highest of any other town in the UK
So with the good drivers out of the way, which UK cities have the worst drivers on the road?
1. Lead
As mentioned earlier, Leeds has the unfortunate distinction of having the worst drivers in the UK. With a population of 455,123, there were 0.64 fatal accidents per 10,000 people, while the success rate was only 41.2 percent. Their score is 15.01.
2.Plymouth
Success rates are even lower in Plymouth, with an average of just 37.9 percent success. However, drivers in the southwestern city rank higher than Leeds due to the lower number of fatal, serious and minor accidents. Their total score is 16.14.
3.Birmingham
‘Second City’ Birmingham has the third worst drivers, with 0.37 per 10,000 fatal crashes and 39.65 per 10,000 major and minor crashes. The pass rates are low at 42.5 percent, giving them a total score of 16.53.
4.Cambridge
Amazingly, Cambridge has one of the highest fatal accident rates (3.47 per 10,000), while there were 118.28 per 10,000 serious and minor accidents. Cambridge is beaten for fatalities only by Ripon, who had 13 traffic incidents leading to death, despite the North Yorkshire city population being 15,600.
5. Doncaster
Ripon doesn’t actually feature in the top five worst cities to drive in, with Doncaster coming in behind Cambridge to take the fifth spot. They had 0.70 fatal accidents per 10,000, while the driving success rate is 41.4 percent. Their total score was 16.77.
Wrexham, Oxford, Lichfield, Southampton and Wolverhampton all make up the rest of the 10 worst driver cities.
Drivers in Leeds (pictured) are among the worst in the UK, with a high accident rate and a low pass rate
| Area | Population | Fatal road accidents 20/21 | Per 10,000 | Serious & Minor Traffic Accidents 20/21 | Per 10,000 | Test center Pass rate | % passed on 1st try | 1st test with 0 errors | Driver index |
| Preston | 313,332 | 2 | 0.06 | 398 | 12.7 | 61.1 | 57.1 | 242 | 40.38 |
| Aberdeen | 196,670 | 3 | 0.15 | 126 | 6.41 | 50.9 | 62.2 | 132 | 35.71 |
| Cardiff | 447,287 | 7 | 0.16 | 516 | 11.54 | 59.2 | 58.1 | 187 | 34.12 |
| Norwich | 213,166 | 1 | 0.05 | 558 | 26.18 | 53.1 | 56.2 | 115 | 33.82 |
| Chichester | 124,100 | 8 | 0.64 | 510 | 41.1 | 65 | 66.5 | 174 | 29.48 |
| Dundee | 141,870 | 3 | 0.21 | 257 | 18.12 | 62.8 | 59.7 | 108 | 28.86 |
| London | 8,961,989 | 171 | 0.19 | 6482 | 7.23 | 44.8 | 45 | 75 | 28.07 |
| Newport | 306,844 | 5 | 0.16 | 325 | 10.59 | 50.2 | 52.8 | 58 | 26.99 |
| Chelmsford | 111.511 | 2 | 0.18 | 270 | 24.21 | 50.5 | 52.2 | 120 | 25.84 |
| Southend on Sea | 295,310 | 3 | 0.1 | 437 | 14.8 | 50.8 | 53.5 | 18 | 25.55 |
| Derby | 270,468 | 5 | 0.18 | 921 | 34.05 | 48.8 | 51.8 | 137 | 25.38 |
| Bristol | 617,280 | 15 | 0.24 | 1466 | 23.75 | 56.2 | 49.1 | 114 | 25.37 |
| Edinburgh | 464,990 | 9 | 0.19 | 909 | 7:55 p.m | 47.8 | 52.5 | 85 | 24.46 |
| Carlisle | 78,470 | 3 | 0.38 | 221 | 28.16 | 52.5 | 59.1 | 76 | 23.61 |
| Swansea | 300,352 | 10 | 0.33 | 339 | 29.11 | 52.4 | 50.2 | 21 | 23.56 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 314.018 | 15 | 0.48 | 1172 | 37.32 | 51.3 | 52.8 | 120 | 23.49 |
| Winchester | 46,074 | 8 | 1.74 | 288 | 62.51 | 51.4 | 56.8 | 137 | 23.41 |
| Stoke on Trent | 372,775 | 4 | 0.11 | 435 | 11.67 | 44.4 | 39.7 | 17 | 23.37 |
| Salisbury | 41,820 | 6 | 1.43 | 298 | 71.26 | 55.7 | 55.6 | 126 | 23.36 |
| Durham | 47,785 | 29 | 6.07 | 978 | 204.67 | 59 | 62.1 | 109 | 23.31 |
| Bath | 94,782 | 6 | 0.63 | 346 | 36.5 | 56.2 | 49.1 | 114 | 23.24 |
| Manchester | 395,515 | 24 | 0.61 | 1242 | 31.4 | 48.6 | 49.1 | 114 | 22.38 |
| Portsmouth | 194.150 | 9 | 0.46 | 846 | 43.57 | 49.4 | 50.5 | 105 | 22.02 |
| Hereford | 61,000 | 12 | 1.97 | 562 | 92.13 | 58.3 | 61.3 | 70 | 22.01 |
| Dunferm line | 53,100 | 6 | 1.13 | 104 | 7:59 pm | 49.7 | 51.4 | 69 | 21.91 |
| Lincoln | 114,879 | 4 | 0.35 | 364 | 31.69 | 52.4 | 50.7 | 69 | 21.91 |
| York | 153,717 | 7 | 0.46 | 559 | 36.37 | 53 | 48.9 | 79 | 21.56 |
| Nottingham | 321,500 | 6 | 0.19 | 1199 | 37.29 | 46 | 51.1 | 49 | 21.02 |
| Peterborough | 163,379 | 16 | 0.98 | 637 | 38.99 | 50.9 | 51 | 81 | 20.97 |
| Colchester | 121,859 | 3 | 0.25 | 368 | 30.2 | 44 | 45 | 79 | 20.83 |
| town of Salford | 72,750 | 9 | 1.24 | 566 | 77.8 | 48.6 | 49.1 | 114 | 20.77 |
| Exeter | 117,763 | 3 | 0.25 | 239 | 20.29 | 51 | 44.1 | 28 | 20.63 |
| Leicester | 508916 | 10 | 0.2 | 854 | 16.78 | 39.5 | 41 | 47 | 20.39 |
| Perth | 47,180 | 8 | 1.7 | 271 | 57.44 | 54.9 | 60.1 | 34 | 20.28 |
| Milton Keynes | 229,941 | 8 | 0.35 | 632 | 27.49 | 49.8 | 45 | 50 | 20.17 |
| Sheffield | 685,368 | 20 | 0.29 | 1517 | 22.13 | 44.3 | 45 | 49 | 20.11 |
| Lancaster | 47,162 | 6 | 1.27 | 277 | 58.73 | 56.3 | 53.5 | 40 | 19.82 |
| Liverpool | 864.122 | 17 | 0.2 | 1571 | 6.18 | 41.4 | 43.6 | 23 | 19.78 |
| Sunderland | 335,415 | 11 | 0.33 | 635 | 18.93 | 45.8 | 44.6 | 23 | 7:52 pm |
| Wakefield | 78,978 | 11 | 1.39 | 859 | 108.76 | 49 | 48.5 | 90 | 7:48 pm |
| Brighton and Hove | 139,001 | 5 | 0.36 | 1168 | 84.03 | 52.3 | 53.7 | 30 | 7:43 PM |
| Chester | 90,524 | 2 | 0.22 | 291 | 32.15 | 45.1 | 42.3 | 39 | 19.03 |
| St Albans | 84,561 | 5 | 0.59 | 309 | 36.54 | 43.6 | 45 | 70 | 18.91 |
| Glasgow | 591,620 | 22 | 0.37 | 1098 | 6:56 pm | 41.2 | 43.7 | 26 | 18.7 |
| Stirling | 36,440 | 14 | 3.84 | 140 | 38.42 | 47.4 | 51.6 | 42 | 6:58 pm |
| Ripon | 15,600 | 13 | 8.33 | 364 | 233.33 | 52.8 | 56.1 | 39 | 18.5 |
| Inverness | 46,870 | 9 | 1.92 | 134 | 28.59 | 51.6 | 47.6 | 22 | 6.49 pm |
| Worcestershire | 101,659 | 33 | 3.25 | 1415 | 139.19 | 50.1 | 55.8 | 40 | 6.36 pm |
| Canterbury | 55,240 | 8 | 1.45 | 435 | 78.75 | 49.6 | 50.3 | 47 | 18.27 |
| Coventry | 359,262 | 10 | 0.28 | 805 | 22.41 | 44.2 | 43.2 | 8 | 18.17 |
| Bradford | 299,310 | 29 | 0.97 | 1736 | 58 | 50.8 | 50.9 | 25 | 18.09 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 192.382 | 4 | 0.21 | 804 | 41.79 | 44.5 | 41.6 | 28 | 18.05 |
| Gloucester | 150,053 | 44 | 2.93 | 1400 | 93.3 | 52.6 | 50.9 | 32 | 17.92 |
| Wolverhampton | 252,791 | 6 | 0.24 | 843 | 11:35 pm | 35.2 | 35.7 | 77 | 17.86 |
| Southampton | 246,201 | 12 | 0.49 | 796 | 32.33 | 41.6 | 47.2 | 34 | 5:85 pm |
| Lichfield | 32,877 | 2 | 0.61 | 111 | 33.76 | 47.5 | 43.3 | 19 | 17.27 |
| Oxford | 171,380 | 48 | 2.8 | 1684 | 98.26 | 47.3 | 48.1 | 40 | 16.98 |
| Wrexham | 65,692 | 7 | 1.07 | 275 | 41.86 | 52.9 | 43.8 | 4 | 16.86 |
| Doncaster | 158.141 | 11 | 0.7 | 1106 | 69.94 | 41.4 | 42.4 | 59 | 16.77 |
| Cambridge | 158,434 | 55 | 3.47 | 1874 | 118.28 | 50.1 | 47.3 | 29 | 16.7 |
| Birmingham | 984,333 | 36 | 0.37 | 3903 | 39.65 | 42.5 | 40 | 26 | 4:53 pm |
| Plymouth | 260,203 | 8 | 0.31 | 768 | 29.52 | 37.9 | 37.4 | 24 | 4.14 |
| To lead | 455,123 | 29 | 0.64 | 2371 | 52.1 | 41.2 | 40.2 | 16 | 15.01 |
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