It’s a good question, isn’t it – where exactly do you feel safest driving your car? As a young driver, my immediate answer wouldn’t be on a motorway because I don’t have that much experience on them, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the roads I travel on day-in-day-out to get to work and to see my mates are safer.

According to the Department for Transport (DfT) Reported accidents and accident rates by road class and severity report, in 2010 there were 154,414 reported car accidents in Great Britain. Of these, 6,500 occurred on motorways, the rest – that’s all 147,914 – occurred on A, B and minor roads.

However, that statistic cannot possibly tell the whole story. Obviously, if you add up the actual mileage of motorways compared with rural and urban other roads, there’s a lot less motorway out there. So, the DfT have worked out stats to show the rates of accident occurrence on the different types of roads per billion miles. So, surely that will show that motorways are more dangerous than other roads, won’t it?

No – in 2010 the rate of reported accidents on motorways was 107 per billion miles, on A roads it was 513 per billion miles and other roads (B, C and unclassified roads excluding accidents where class was not reported) the rate was 685 per billion miles.

In terms of fatal and serious accidents, there were 781 reported on motorways in 2010, whilst on all other roads 21,390 fatal and serious accidents were reported.

By looking at the rate of accidents which occurred on motorways it is easy to see that you are far less likely to suffer an accident on these major routes than if you were to take a back road to your destination.

So, if you’re feeling nervous about driving on a motorway, don’t be. With a bit of experience they can be the safest way to get around the country and if you need some tuition, why not take a Pass Plus course – insurethebox will even give you cheaper car insurance when you get your certificate. It’s a win-win situation.

Image © dingbat2005 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

There’s been a lot in the press recently about young drivers on motorways and how the Government wants to see motorway driving skills taught as part of learner-driver training schemes.

Much of the reaction to the proposal has been positive, with only a few dissenters (mainly individual drivers) who say that they are unlikely to ever use a motorway and so don’t see why they need to learn about how to drive on one.

I don’t know about you, but my first time on a motorway was a bit of a nightmare and not having had any experience made it all the more daunting.

During my driving lessons I was usually taken onto rural roads as I lived in Somerset at the time. My instructor rightly felt that these narrow twisty roads were some of the most dangerous and he wanted young drivers to learn how to drive on them really well.

Of course we went onto main roads as well – some A roads and dual carriageways – and when I passed my test I was under the impression that I knew it all. I was able to travel confidently on my local routes, to and from work and to places I needed to go, so what else did I need to know?

Then came the day when a relative in West Sussex suddenly became very ill and my mum, who doesn’t drive, desperately wanted to get there to visit. We headed for the M27 in my little Fiat Punto and it was a complete and utter shock.

Although we set off as soon as we could, it was winter so it was dark by 4pm and rain was lashing down. All around me I felt like cars were going at a million miles an hour, and, even though I was travelling at around 65mph, it felt like I was standing still.

Overtaking was a nightmare, because I had no experience at judging how far the cars in other lanes were approaching behind me and the whole process of working out which junction I had to exit at was also extremely nerve wracking.

Remembering that horrible journey, I think now how much I would have appreciated some motorway lessons before I passed my test and that as a young driver I definitely did not have all the experience necessary to safely negotiate that unforeseen trip.

If you have any young driver experiences of motorway driving why not let us know. You can comment below or why not tell us about it on our Facebook Page. We look forward to hearing from you.

Image © Phil and Pam via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence

The Times has launched a safe cycling campaign – Cities fit for Cycling – following its major report on a horrific bicycle accident in November which has left one of its news reporters suffering life-altering injuries.

Among the eight points of the campaign manifesto is a call for improved training for drivers and cyclists so both groups are made more familiar with the dangers of cycling on city streets, plus a call for changes to the driving test.

Lots of young drivers are likely to have been cyclists in the years leading up to their driving test and for them, we would hope, the risks of being a two-wheeled road user are probably fresh in their minds.

So, perhaps it is important for established drivers, especially those in large vehicles which negotiate busy city streets, to have some training as well.

Details of the campaign can be found here and it’s easy to get involved.

Here at insurethebox we hope that drivers who have our telematics car insurance are perhaps some of the more safety-conscious on the roads, driving with more positive traits, and who knows, perhaps telematics technology has its own part to play in the overarching campaign to make UK roads safer for all road users.

Image © londoncyclist via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence