Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2010

Article 4. Contributory factors to reported road accidents

Summary

This article describes the scope and limitations of the information on contributory factors collected as part of the road accident reporting system and presents Scottish results from the sixth year of collection.

  • Driver/rider errors or reactions were reported in 91 per cent of all reported accidents with failed to look properly the most common type (involved in 30%).
  • Travelling too fast for the conditions or excessive speed was reported in 13% of all reported accidents and 32% of fatal accidents.
  • Pedestrian only factors were reported in 38% of fatal accidents whilst loss of control and failed to look properly were the most frequently reported driver/rider factors (involved in 40% and 20% of fatal accidents respectively).

1. Introduction

1.1 From 2005, all police forces across Great Britain reported contributory factors as part of the stats19 collection. These were developed to provide insight into why and how road accidents occur. Their aim is to help identify the key actions and failures that led directly to the actual impact: to aid investigation of how it might have been prevented. Care should always be taken when interpreting the factors as they:

  • reflect the reporting officer's opinion at the time of reporting the accident (or the opinion of a person whose duties include deciding which CFs should be recorded based on the officer's report).
  • are based on the information which was available at that time, so may not be the result of subsequent extensive investigation (indeed, subsequent enquiries could result in the reporting officer's opinion changing).

1.2 A reporting office attending the scene of a road accident may select up to 6 contributory factors (from a list of 77) to assign to that accident. Multiple factors may be listed against any participant or vehicles in the accident, (therefore percentages in the tables provided may not sum to 100).

1.3 Because of this, analysis of contributory factor information requires careful consideration; figures will differ depending on the focus of the analysis. Care should be taken when interpreting tables provided here which consider different aspects of the data (i.e. accidents, vehicles/participants, casualties and frequencies).

1.4 This article presents analysis from accidents in Scotland reported to the police in 2010, with the following background note describing the collection of the contributory factor system in more detail.

2. Accidents

Categories

2.2 Each of the 77 contributory factors fits into one of nine categories. Chart M shows the percentage of accidents reported to the police with associated contributory factors in each these categories.

  • Driver/rider error was the most frequently reported category for each type of severity of accident and was reported in 93 per cent of fatal accidents reported to the police).
  • Injudicious action (including travelling too fast for conditions, following too close or exceeding speed limit) was the second most frequently reported category, involved in 26 per cent of all reported accidents, increasing to 39 per cent of fatal accidents.
  • Pedestrian contributory factors (where the factor has been attributed to an injured or uninjured pedestrian involved in the accident), were reported in 26 per cent of reported accidents , rising to 38 per cent of fatal accidents.
  • Road environment factors were reported in 23 per cent of reported accidents.

Chart M: Contributory factor type: Reported accidents by severity, 2010

Chart M: Contributory factor type: Reported accidents by severity, 2010

Factors

2.3 On average there were more than two contributory factors listed per reported accident with more factors recorded for fatal accidents and fewer for slight accidents. Table M shows the numbers (and percentages) of reported accidents in which each contributory factor was reported.

  • Failed to look properly was the most frequently reported contributory factor, involved in 30 per cent of all reported accidents. This was followed by loss of control (18%) and failed to judge other person's path/speed (17%). Slippery road (16%) and careless/reckless or in a hurry and poor turn/manoeuvre (both 11%) were also in the top five.
  • Travelling too fast for the conditions or excessive speed was reported in 13% of all reported accidents and 32% of fatal accidents.
  • For fatal accidents, failed to look properly was the most frequently reported driver/rider factor involved in 20% of accidents. Careless, reckless or in a hurry and travelling too fast for the conditions were both involved in 19 per cent of accidents.

2.4 Table M also shows how the incidence of some CFs varies with the severity of the accident. For example: loss of control is cited in 18% of all accidents for which CFs were recorded but 40% of fatal accidents; slippery road due to weather is cited in 16% of all accidents but 15% of fatal ones; travelling too fast for the conditions is cited in 10% of all accidents but 19% of fatal ones and exceeding speed limit is cited in 3% of all accidents but 13% of fatal ones.

2.5 Note that repeats of the same contributory factor within an accident are excluded from the table however an accident will appear more than once if more than one different contributory factor is reported.

Changes over time

2.6 Table N compares the top 10 contributory factors listed in 2010 against previous years. The ten factors remained the same in all five years, though the order and frequency changed over the 6 years of collection. The 2 most frequently recorded factors, failed to look properly and loss of control, are associated with a larger proportion of accidents in 2010 than when the CF system was introduced in 2005.

2.7 It's not currently possible to identify whether changes are a result of reporting officers developing their understanding of the new system or a genuine change in the kinds of factors contributing to accidents reported to the police.

3. Vehicle & pedestrians

3.1 Tables O shows the number and percentage of vehicles assigned each type of contributory factor (for each vehicle involved in an accident reported to the police). Table P shows this for pedestrians only.

3.2 Tables O & P show that:

  • Failed to look properly was the most frequently reported factor both overall (reported in 18% of all vehicles' factors), and for every vehicle except bus or coaches and motorcyclists.
  • Sudden braking was the most frequently reported factor for bus or coaches (15%) whereas loss of control (26%) was the most commonly reported factor for motorcyclists.
  • Loss of control and Slippery road were the second most common factors reported for cars or taxis (11%).
  • Loss of control was the second most common factor associated with cyclists (associated with 7% of bicycles).
  • Failed to judge other person's speed/path was the second most common factor reported for good vehicles (reported in 14%).
  • Travelling too fast for the conditions or excessive speed were associated with a total of 8% of all vehicles involved in reported accidents.
  • Pedestrians involved in accidents were most likely to have failed to look properly as an associated contributory factor (recorded in 47% of all pedestrians), followed by careless/reckless or in a hurry (19%), crossed road masked by stationary/parked vehicle (13%), failed to judge vehicle speed/path (12%) and impaired by alcohol (also 12%).

3.3 Table O also shows that many contributory factors were rarely recorded for most vehicles, for example:

  • loss of control was recorded for 26% of motorcycles but only 2% of vehicles in the bus/coach/minibus grouping;
  • sudden braking was recorded for 15% of buses but for only 4% of all vehicles involved.

3.4 On average, fewer contributory factors were recorded for pedal cycles (an average of 0.72 per cycle involved in a reported accident) and bus or coaches (an average e of 0.76), compared to an overall average of 1.12 factors per vehicles.

3.5 Note that percentages differ from Tables M & N which presents the percentage of accidents with each contributory factor. As more than one vehicle may be involved in an accident, the average number of factors associated with an individual vehicle is generally lower.

Pairing of factors

3.5 Table Q shows the most frequent pairs of contributory factors assigned to the same reported road accident participant in 2010.

  • The most frequently-occurring combination is driver/rider failed to look properly + (driver/rider) failed to judge other person's path/speed, which was recorded on 710 occasions.
  • As would be expected, the CFs identified (earlier) as most frequent to appear in several of the most frequently-occurring combinations - for example, (driver/rider) failed to look properly and loss of control each occur in three of the ten most frequently-occurring combinations.

3.6 However, the numbers indicate that even the most frequently-occurring combination of CFs arose in only a small proportion of all accidents.

4 Casualties

4.1 Tables R & S show the number (and percentage) of fatal and seriously injured casualties involved in accidents where each contributory factor was reported. Unsurprisingly the pattern is similar to that seen in Tables M & N showing the number of accidents with each factor reported. Comparison shows that accidents with pedestrian only factors reported had lower numbers of casualties per accident.

4.2 Note a casualty will appear in the tables against each (unique) factor associated with the accident (resulting in the casualty) and therefore may appear more than once.. As with the accident tables, repeats of the same contributory factor within an accident are excluded.

Fatalities

4.3 Table R shows the Contributory Factors associated with the largest numbers of deaths were:

  • loss of control - 82 deaths (representing 39% of all deaths in accidents for which CFs were recorded);
  • travelling too fast for the conditions and exceeding speed limit together - 67 (32% of all fatalities);
  • (driver/rider) failed to look properly - 42 (20%);
  • (driver/rider) careless / reckless /in a hurry - 40 (19%);
  • slippery road (due to weather) - 31deaths (15%)

Seriously injured

4.4 Table S shows the CFs associated with the largest numbers of serious injured were:

  • loss of control - 538 serious injuries (representing 27% of all serious injuries in accidents for which CFs were recorded);
  • (driver/rider) failed to look properly - 468 serious injuries (24%);
  • (driver/rider) careless / reckless / in a hurry - 275 (14%);
  • pedestrian failed to look properly - 275 (14%)
  • slippery road (due to weather) - 266 (14%)

5 Overall frequencies of recording

5.1 In 2010 at least one contributory factor was recorded in 99.9% of reported accidents (10,293). A total of 21,682 factors were recorded, resulting in an average of 2.11 factors per accident.

5.3 Around 89% (19,323) of all factors listed were related to vehicles (and their drivers/rider) and the road environment). Around 13% (2,732) were related to pedestrians who were casualties. Relatively few were uninjured pedestrians (233 or 1.1%).

5.2 Table T presents a ranking of all 77 factors by the frequency of reporting in 2010. (Note that figures differ from earlier tables as repeats of factors within the same accident are counted). It is apparent that some CFs are not used often - for example, many were used fewer than 100 times.

5.3 Note that data relating to all reported CFs were used to produce Tables O to T. In cases where the same CF applies to more than one vehicle in the same accident, it is counted once for each of them. These tables therefore differs from Tables M & N (which exclude repeats of the same CF within an accident).

Possible vs. Very likely

5.4 Reporting officers record whether it was thought very likely or just possible that a factor contributed to the occurrence of the accident. Table T also shows how often each CF was described as very likely, and how often as possible.

5.5 Overall, almost three-quarters of CFs (71%) were described as very likely, but the percentage varied markedly between different CFs. Excluding those used fewer than 100 times, the following were described as very likely on at least 88% of occasions on which they were used:

  • Disobeyed give way or stop sign markings (90%);
  • Crossed road masked by stationary/parked vehicle (88%)

and the following were described as very likely on fewer than 60% of the occasions on which they were used:

  • Pedestrian failed to judge vehicles path or speed (58%)
  • Illness or disability (mental/physic) (D/R) (58%)
  • Following too close (57%)
  • Fatigue (53%)
  • Road layout (e.g. bend, winding rd, hill crest (53%)
  • Travelling too fast for the conditions (53%)

Conclusion

The collection of contributory factors has been part of the GB wide police reporting system for 6 years. It's clear that the contributory factor information can provide useful indications of the circumstances that may have led to a reported road accident. These can also be attributed to the different participants within the accident, which can help build a picture of how the accident may have occurred.

However there are limitations to the system and care should be taken when both analysing and interpreting the results. This should help ensure that the data is used in the correct manner and that consistent messages/results are achieved by users.

We welcome comments on the analysis presented here or any questions regarding the contributory factor system.

Transport Statistics
Transport Scotland
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh EH6 6QQ

Telephone: 0131 244 7254

Email: Transtat@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk

Background: The collection of Contributory Factor data

B1. Guidance on recording road accidents is provided in the Department for Transport's Stats20 document which includes the following points on CFs:

  • CFs reflect the reporting officer's opinion at the time of reporting, and may not be the result of extensive investigation;
  • subsequent enquiries could result in a change in the reporting officer's opinion;
  • the CFs are largely subjective, and depend upon the skill and experience of the investigating officer to reconstruct the events which led directly to the accident;
  • the need to exercise judgement when recording CFs is unavoidable;
  • CFs should be identified on the basis of evidence from sources such as witness statements and vehicle and site inspections;
  • the evidence may be of variable quality, so the officer should record very likely or possible for each CF;
  • when there is conflicting evidence (e.g. conflicting witness statements), the reporting officer should decide on the most credible account of the accident and base the codes on this, taking into account all other available evidence.

B2. Some CFs may be less likely than others to be recorded, since clear evidence of them may not be available, or may be very difficult to obtain, after an accident has occurred (e.g. in the case of the nervous, uncertain or panic factor). Participants and witnesses may provide incomplete or conflicting accounts of what happened. The CF data therefore depend upon the skill and experience of the reporting officer to reconstruct the events which led directly to the accident, and so are more subjective in nature than other Stats 19 data. This should be kept in mind when using these results.

B3. Regardless of the number of vehicles that were involved in the accident, at most six sets of CF data can be recorded per accident. Each set contains three pieces of information:

  • a factor which is thought to have contributed to the occurrence of the accident - selected from list of 77 , such as:
    • exceeding speed limit (CF code 306);
    • travelling too fast for the conditions (307);
    • failed to look properly (405);
    • impaired by alcohol (501);
    • impaired by drugs (illicit or medicinal) (502)
  • the participant in the accident to whom the factor is related:
    • whether this is a:
      • Vehicle - in which case the factor may relate to the driver/rider or to the road environment;
      • Casualty - a pedestrian or a passenger in a vehicle; or
      • Uninjured pedestrian.
    • if a Vehicle or a Casualty, the relevant Stats 19 reference
  • whether it was thought very likely or just possible that this factor contributed to the occurrence of the accident

Therefore more than one factor may be recorded for the same participant and any given factor may be recorded for two or more different participants, subject to the limit of a maximum of six sets of CF data per accident.

B4. Appendix B of this publication illustrates the CF codes and their descriptions, including a brief set of completion instructions for the reporting officer. More detailed information is available in the DfT's Stats 20 document (pages 10; 84 -101) and the procedure for allocating them - for example:

  • the CFs may be recorded in any order (so nothing can be inferred from the order in which they appear);
  • more than one CF may be related to the same road user; and
  • the same CF may be related to more than one road user.

Worked example

B5. Clearly, there could be a lot of CF information in the case of an accident which involved several vehicles, if it was thought that several of them contributed to its occurrence. The following is an example of the potential complexity of the CF data. Car 1 is rapidly travelling along a straight road when Car 2 suddenly appears in front of it, having emerged from a pub car park. The driver of Car 1 brakes sharply, to avoid a collision. As Car 2 drives off, Car 1 is hit from behind by a motorcycle, whose rider and passenger are both killed. The following might be recorded as the CF data for this accident:

CF no. Participant Contributory Factor How likely?
1 Car 1 Exceeding speed limit Possible
2 Car 2 Impaired by alcohol Possible
3 Car 2 Failed to look properly Very likely
4 Car 1 Sudden braking Very likely
5 Motorcycle Following too close Very likely
6 Motorcycle Exceeding speed limit Possible

This accident has three participants and six CFs, two of which are the same (exceeding speed limit) but apply to different participants (Car 1 and Motorcycle). This example will be referred to from time to time, when describing some of the CF results.

Quality

B6. As the CFs were added to the Stats 19 data specification at the start of 2005, the results for 2005 could have been affected by teething troubles. In June 2006, the Liaison Group on Road Accident Statistics (LGRAS) discussed a paper on aspects of the quality of the data. It also remains the case the recording of CFs varies between Police Forces. In 2009, there were around 2.1 CFs per accident for Scotland; varying between 1.5 and 2.6 between Forces. In addition, while most Police Forces' CFs are allocated by the reporting officer, in one Force they are allocated by a small team of specialist crash investigators. It may be that a higher degree of accuracy exists for fatal and serious accidents than for slight accidents, as the former may be attended by more experienced road policing officers.

B7. On introduction inconsistencies arose between the CF code and the Type of Participant code (around 3-4% in 2005). The most frequent problem was the combination of the CF code for pedestrian failed to look properly with the Type of Participant code for a Vehicle. In such cases, it wasn't possible to deduce (from the data) which was incorrect. Since then additional quality assurance was introduced leading to an improvement in quality (currently around 1% of cases).

B8. There may be other changes in some of the patterns of the reporting of CFs, as a result of such discussions, the introduction of additional computer cross-checks of the data, Police Forces' increasing experience of the collection and recording of such information, and the use of the data by the Police, local authorities and central government.

Table M: Contributory Factors: Reported accidents1 by severity, 2010
Fatal Serious Slight All accidents
Contributory factor reported in accident Number Per cent3 Number Per cent3 Number Per cent3 Number Per cent3
Road environment contributed 41 22 381 22 2,046 24 2,468 24
Poor or defective road surface 1 1 20 1 62 1 83 1
Deposit on road (e.g oil, mud, chippings) 3 2 47 3 121 1 171 2
Slippery road (due to weather) 29 15 219 13 1,442 17 1,690 16
Inadequate/masked signs or road markings 0 0 5 0 42 1 47 0
Defective traffic signals 0 0 0 0 18 0 18 0
Traffic calming (e.g road humps, chicanes) 0 0 1 0 8 0 9 0
Temporary road layout (e.g contraflow) 0 0 4 0 34 0 38 0
Road layout (e.g bend, hill, narrow c-way) 7 4 57 3 206 2 270 3
Animal or other object in carriageway 1 1 28 2 113 1 142 1
Vehicle defects 2 1 36 2 94 1 132 1
Tyres illegal, defective or under-inflated 2 1 14 1 33 0 49 0
Defective lights or indicators 0 0 0 0 5 0 5 0
Defective brakes 0 0 11 1 32 0 43 0
Defective steering or suspension 0 0 4 0 14 0 18 0
Overloaded or poorly loaded vehicle/trailer 0 0 7 0 10 0 17 0
Injudicious action (driver/rider) 73 39 397 23 2,179 26 2,649 26
Disobeyed automatic traffic signal 1 1 22 1 110 1 133 1
Disobeyed Give Way or Stop sign or markings 6 3 44 3 275 3 325 3
Disobeyed double white line 1 1 3 0 10 0 14 0
Disobeyed pedestrian crossing facility 2 1 8 0 23 0 33 0
Illegal turn or direction of travel 3 2 7 0 38 0 48 0
Exceeding speed limit 24 13 68 4 233 3 325 3
Travelling too fast for the conditions 35 19 187 11 845 10 1,067 10
Following too close 1 1 40 2 572 7 613 6
Vehicle travelling along pavement 0 0 6 0 22 0 28 0
Cyclist entering road from pavement 0 0 12 1 51 1 63 1
Driver/rider error or reaction 176 93 1,450 85 7,751 92 9,377 91
Junction overshoot 3 2 29 2 166 2 198 2
Junction restart 2 1 6 0 50 1 58 1
Poor turn or manoeuvre 18 10 198 12 964 11 1,180 11
Failed to signal / misleading signal 2 1 10 1 89 1 101 1
Failed to look properly (D/R) 38 20 417 24 2,601 31 3,056 30
Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 16 8 190 11 1,493 18 1,699 17
Passing too close to cyclist/horse/pedestrian 4 2 28 2 185 2 217 2
Sudden braking 6 3 78 5 550 7 634 6
Swerved 12 6 71 4 271 3 354 3
Loss of control 75 40 423 25 1,382 16 1,880 18
Impairment or distraction (driver/rider) 42 22 191 11 761 9 994 10
Impaired by alcohol (D/R) 16 8 75 4 288 3 379 4
Impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) (D/R) 2 1 9 1 33 0 44 0
Fatigue 7 4 25 1 78 1 110 1
Uncorrected defective eyesight 0 0 2 0 5 0 7 0
Illness or disability (mental/physic) (D/R) 10 5 28 2 92 1 130 1
Not display lights at night / in poor visib 0 0 3 0 13 0 16 0
Cyclist wearing dark clothing at night 0 0 7 0 17 0 24 0
Driver using mobile phone 0 0 0 0 10 0 10 0
Distraction in vehicle 5 3 29 2 143 2 177 2
Distraction outside vehicle 2 1 13 1 82 1 97 1
Behaviour or inexperience (driver/rider) 64 34 371 22 1,497 18 1,932 19
Aggressive driving 10 5 35 2 146 2 191 2
Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 36 19 201 12 878 10 1,115 11
Nervous / uncertain / panic 3 2 17 1 97 1 117 1
Driving too slow for condits / slow vehicle 0 0 2 0 2 0 4 0
Inexperienced or learner driver/rider 10 5 80 5 281 3 371 4
Inexperience of driving on the left 3 2 13 1 47 1 63 1
Inexperience with type of vehicle 2 1 23 1 46 1 71 1
Vision affected 8 4 175 10 821 10 1,004 10
Stationary or parked vehicle 1 1 35 2 152 2 188 2
Vegetation 1 1 7 0 15 0 23 0
Road layout (e.g bend, winding rd, hill crest 2 1 20 1 92 1 114 1
Buildings, road signs, street furniture 0 0 3 0 12 0 15 0
Dazzling headlights 2 1 3 0 14 0 19 0
Dazzling sun 2 1 46 3 248 3 296 3
Rain, sleet, snow or fog 0 0 35 2 181 2 216 2
Spray from other vehicles 0 0 2 0 17 0 19 0
Visor or windscreen dirty or scratched 0 0 6 0 9 0 15 0
Vehicle blind spot 0 0 18 1 81 1 99 1
Pedestrian only 72 38 732 43 1,912 23 2,716 26
Crossed road masked by stationary/parked veh 1 1 74 4 219 3 294 3
Pedestrian failed to look properly 20 11 273 16 766 9 1,059 10
Ped. failed to judge vehicles path or speed 6 3 88 5 183 2 277 3
Wrong use of pedestrian crossing facility 3 2 28 2 67 1 98 1
Dangerous action in carriageway (e.g playing) 5 3 41 2 96 1 142 1
Pedestrian impaired by alcohol 17 9 63 4 183 2 263 3
Ped. impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) 4 2 7 0 16 0 27 0
Ped. careless / reckless /in a hurry 4 2 117 7 310 4 431 4
Pedestrian wearing dark clothing at night 10 5 30 2 48 1 88 1
Ped. disability or illness, mental/physical 2 1 11 1 24 0 37 0
Special codes 13 7 83 5 314 4 410 4
Stolen vehicle 2 1 15 1 42 1 59 1
Vehicle in course of crime 0 0 9 1 19 0 28 0
Emergency vehicle on call 1 1 3 0 24 0 28 0
Vehicle door opened or closed negligently 0 0 10 1 24 0 34 0
Other 10 5 46 3 205 2 261 3
Total reported accidents1 189   1,708   8,396   10,293 100
Number of Contributory Factors2 491 3,816 17,375 21,682
Average number of CFs per accident1,2 2.6   2.2   2.1   2.1  

1 Includes only accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported
2 Includes only one count of a CF per accident
3 Columns won't sum to 100 per cent as accidents can have more than one CF

Table N: Contributory factors: Reported Accidents: 2006-2010 comparison1
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Contributory factor reported in accident2 Number Per cent3 Number Per cent3 Number Per cent3 Number Per cent3 Number Per cent3
Failed to look properly (D/R) 3,249 25 3,343 27 3,371 28 3,303 29 3,056 30
Loss of control 2,262 17 2,280 18 2,267 19 2,258 20 1,880 18
Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 1,979 15 1,881 15 1,997 16 1,906 17 1,699 17
Slippery road (due to weather) 1,524 12 1,479 12 1,662 14 1,688 15 1,690 16
Poor turn or manoeuvre 1,431 11 1,413 11 1,359 11 1,397 12 1,180 11
Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 1,695 13 1,664 13 1,520 13 1,357 12 1,115 11
Travelling too fast for the conditions 1,339 10 1,224 10 1,203 10 1,221 11 1,067 10
Pedestrian failed to look properly 1,527 12 1,460 12 1,389 11 1,170 10 1,059 10
Sudden braking 796 6 791 6 800 7 707 6 634 6
Following too close 710 5 689 6 608 5 646 6 613 6
Total reported accidents1 13,066 100 12,485 100 12,128 100 11,528 100 10,293 100

1 Includes only accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported.
2 Includes only the ten most frequently reported contributory factor citied in 2010. Factors not shown may also have been reported.
3 Columns won't sum to 100 per cent as accidents can have more than one CF

Table O: Contributory factors: vehicles, 2010
  Pedalcycle Motorcycle Car & Taxis Bus, coach & minibus Goods Other All vehicles
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Road environment contributed 28 3 201 23 2,066 16 40 6 166 13 42 9 2,543 15
Poor or defective road surface 8 1 25 3 45 0 0 0 3 0 4 1 85 0
Deposit on road (eg oil, mud, chippings) 1 0 48 6 102 1 2 0 11 1 2 0 166 1
Slippery road (due to weather) 13 2 72 8 1,499 11 25 4 100 8 27 6 1,736 10
Inadequate/masked signs or road markings 1 0 1 0 42 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 48 0
Defective traffic signals 0 0 1 0 19 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 23 0
Traffic calming (eg road humps, chicanes) 0 0 1 0 6 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 9 0
Temporary road layout (eg contraflow) 0 0 3 0 30 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 39 0
Road layout (eg bend, hill, narrow c-way) 3 0 27 3 217 2 4 1 37 3 7 2 295 2
Animal or other object in carriageway 2 0 23 3 106 1 3 0 8 1 0 0 142 1
Vehicle defects 14 2 11 1 80 1 5 1 15 1 7 2 132 1
Tyres illegal, defective or under-inflated 0 0 3 0 43 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 49 0
Defective lights or indicators 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
Defective brakes 10 1 6 1 20 0 3 0 3 0 1 0 43 0
Defective steering or suspension 2 0 2 0 11 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 18 0
Overloaded or poorly loaded vehicle/trailer 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 8 1 4 1 17 0
Injudicious action (driver/rider) 113 14 130 15 2,151 16 34 5 217 17 82 18 2,727 16
Disobeyed automatic traffic signal 10 1 3 0 114 1 2 0 11 1 7 2 147 1
Disobeyed Give Way or Stop sign or markings 17 2 3 0 270 2 2 0 23 2 11 2 326 2
Disobeyed double white line 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 14 0
Disobeyed pedestrian crossing facility 4 0 0 0 24 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 33 0
Illegal turn or direction of travel 2 0 1 0 37 0 1 0 3 0 4 1 48 0
Exceeding speed limit 1 0 26 3 282 2 0 0 14 1 8 2 331 2
Travelling too fast for the conditions 11 1 65 8 885 7 9 1 96 7 15 3 1,081 6
Following too close 11 1 32 4 507 4 17 3 65 5 24 5 656 4
Vehicle travelling along pavement 6 1 0 0 12 0 2 0 3 0 5 1 28 0
Cyclist entering road from pavement 51 6 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 63 0
Driver/rider error or reaction 303 38 543 63 7,418 56 318 48 755 58 254 57 9,591 56
Junction overshoot 7 1 1 0 167 1 4 1 12 1 7 2 198 1
Junction restart 1 0 1 0 49 0 2 0 3 0 3 1 59 0
Poor turn or manoeuvre 39 5 77 9 917 7 37 6 95 7 39 9 1,204 7
Failed to signal / misleading signal 3 0 3 0 82 1 3 0 5 0 6 1 102 1
Failed to look properly (D/R) 131 16 71 8 2,490 19 90 13 258 20 86 19 3,126 18
Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 44 5 75 9 1,375 10 49 7 185 14 45 10 1,773 10
Passing too close to cyclist/horse/pedestri 1 0 5 1 154 1 10 1 36 3 11 2 217 1
Sudden braking 15 2 59 7 449 3 101 15 29 2 12 3 665 4
Swerved 8 1 26 3 284 2 7 1 20 2 11 2 356 2
Loss of control 54 7 225 26 1,451 11 15 2 112 9 34 8 1,891 11
Impairment or distraction (driver/rider) 38 5 29 3 833 6 15 2 58 4 18 4 991 6
Impaired by alcohol (D/R) 7 1 17 2 331 3 2 0 11 1 8 2 376 2
Impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) (D/R) 1 0 2 0 40 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 44 0
Fatigue 0 0 1 0 91 1 0 0 16 1 2 0 110 1
Uncorrected defective eyesight 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 0
Illness or disability (mental/physic) (D/R) 4 0 2 0 108 1 5 1 7 1 3 1 129 1
Not display lights at night / in poor visib 7 1 0 0 5 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 16 0
Cyclist wearing dark clothing at night 17 2 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 24 0
Driver using mobile phone 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 10 0
Distraction in vehicle 1 0 0 0 160 1 1 0 12 1 3 1 177 1
Distraction outside vehicle 1 0 7 1 77 1 3 0 10 1 0 0 98 1
Behaviour or inexperience (driver/rider) 54 7 154 18 1,557 12 31 5 103 8 51 11 1,950 11
Aggressive driving 4 0 9 1 162 1 2 0 13 1 5 1 195 1
Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 35 4 58 7 893 7 25 4 76 6 41 9 1,128 7
Nervous / uncertain / panic 8 1 3 0 104 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 117 1
Driving too slow for condits / slow vehicle 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Inexperienced or learner driver/rider 4 0 61 7 302 2 1 0 3 0 1 0 372 2
Inexperience of driving on the left 2 0 5 1 49 0 0 0 7 1 0 0 63 0
Inexperience with type of vehicle 1 0 18 2 44 0 2 0 3 0 3 1 71 0
Vision affected 20 2 40 5 864 7 25 4 83 6 40 9 1,072 6
Stationary or parked vehicle 12 1 5 1 161 1 6 1 8 1 7 2 199 1
Vegetation 2 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 27 0
Road layout (eg bend, winding rd, hill crest 1 0 17 2 95 1 2 0 10 1 6 1 131 1
Buildings, road signs, street furniture 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Dazzling headlights 1 0 0 0 16 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 19 0
Dazzling sun 1 0 10 1 267 2 6 1 28 2 6 1 318 2
Rain, sleet, snow or fog 3 0 6 1 196 1 5 1 13 1 6 1 229 1
Spray from other vehicles 0 0 1 0 13 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 19 0
Visor or windscreen dirty or scratched 0 0 1 0 13 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 16 0
Vehicle blind spot 0 0 0 0 68 1 5 1 17 1 9 2 99 1
Special codes 9 1 14 2 210 2 42 6 32 2 10 2 317 2
Stolen vehicle 0 0 2 0 52 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 59 0
Vehicle in course of crime 0 0 1 0 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 0
Emergency vehicle on call 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 0 5 0 5 1 27 0
Vehicle door opened or closed negligently 0 0 0 0 27 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 32 0
Other 9 1 11 1 87 1 41 6 20 2 3 1 171 1
0
Number of vehicle Contributory Factors1 579   1,122   15,179   510   1,429   504   19,323  
Total number of vehicles involved2 808 100% 859 100% 13,160 100% 668 100% 1,297 100% 447 100% 17,239 100%
Average number of CFs per vehicle2 0.72   1.31   1.15   0.76   1.10   1.13   1.12  

1. Excludes invalid codes or pedestrian only factors incorrectly assigned to a vehicle.
2. Includes those without any CFs.

Table P: Contributory factors: pedestrians1, 2010
  Number %
Pedestrian failed to look properly 1,065 47
Ped. careless / reckless /in a hurry 433 19
Crossed road masked by stationary/parked veh 296 13
Ped. failed to judge vehicles path or speed 277 12
Pedestrian impaired by alcohol 264 12
Dangerous action in carriageway (eg playing) 143 6
Wrong use of pedestrian crossing facility 101 4
Pedestrian wearing dark clothing at night 88 4
Ped. disability or illness, mental/physical 38 2
Ped. impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) 27 1
Number of Contributory Factors2 2,732
Total number of pedestrians involved1 2,247
Average number of CFs per pedestrian 1.22  

1. Includes pedestrians injured and non injured in the accident
2. Excludes pedestrians incorrectly attributed a vehicle factor or special code

Table Q: Most common pairs of contributory factors reported together, 2010
Factor with lower code Factor with higher code Number
Failed to look properly (D/R) Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 710
Slippery road (due to weather) Loss of control 559
Poor turn or manoeuvre Failed to look properly (D/R) 549
Travelling too fast for the conditions Loss of control 486
Slippery road (due to weather) Travelling too fast for the conditions 434
Failed to look properly (D/R) Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 377
Pedestrian failed to look properly Ped. careless / reckless /in a hurry 295
Following too close Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 253
Crossed road masked by stationary/parked veh Pedestrian failed to look properly 231
Loss of control Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 220
Poor turn or manoeuvre Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 214
Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 204
Disobeyed Give Way or Stop sign or markings Failed to look properly (D/R) 189
Pedestrian failed to look properly Ped. failed to judge vehicles path or speed 174
Poor turn or manoeuvre Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 165
Swerved Loss of control 164
Poor turn or manoeuvre Loss of control 152
Following too close Failed to look properly (D/R) 148
Loss of control Inexperienced or learner driver/rider 139
Loss of control Impaired by alcohol (D/R) 134
Slippery road (due to weather) Rain, sleet, snow or fog 130
Exceeding speed limit Loss of control 125
Slippery road (due to weather) Sudden braking 124
Pedestrian failed to look properly Pedestrian impaired by alcohol 121
Travelling too fast for the conditions Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 120
Failed to look properly (D/R) Dazzling sun 116
Slippery road (due to weather) Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 105
Slippery road (due to weather) Inexperienced or learner driver/rider 105
Sudden braking Loss of control 105

NOTE: the basis upon which the combinations are produced is described in the text.
However, an additional example may be helpful.
Suppose that the "defective brakes" CF has been allocated to participant A,
the "failed to look properly" CF has been allocated to two participants A and B, and
the "failed to judge other person's path/speed" CF has been allocated to participants A, B and C,
The following combinations of CFs would be allocated to the same participant:
A defective brakes + A failed to look …
A defective brakes + A failed to judge …
A failed to look ... + A failed to judge …
B failed to look ... + B failed to judge …

Table R: Contributory factors: Casualties in reported accidents - fatalities, 2010
Person who was killed as a % of all fatalities
  Pedestrian pedalcyclist motorcyclist Car/taxi user Other All
Road environment contributed
Poor or defective road surface 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Deposit on road (eg oil, mud, chippings) 0 0 1 2 0 3 1
Slippery road (due to weather) 2 0 1 24 4 31 15
Road layout (eg bend, hill, narrow c-way) 1 0 3 3 1 8 4
Animal or other object in carriageway 0 0 0 2 0 2 1
Vehicle defects
Tyres illegal, defective or under-inflated 0 0 0 4 0 4 2
Injudicious action (driver/rider)
Disobeyed automatic traffic signal 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Disobeyed Give Way or Stop sign or markings 1 0 1 4 0 6 3
Disobeyed double white line 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Disobeyed pedestrian crossing facility 2 0 0 0 0 2 1
Illegal turn or direction of travel 0 0 0 5 0 5 2
Exceeding speed limit 6 0 5 15 1 27 13
Travelling too fast for the conditions 2 1 7 28 2 40 19
Following too close 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Driver/rider error or reaction
Junction overshoot 0 0 0 4 0 4 2
Junction restart 0 0 0 2 0 2 1
Poor turn or manoeuvre 2 0 7 14 0 23 11
Failed to signal / misleading signal 0 0 1 0 1 2 1
Failed to look properly (D/R) 12 1 13 15 1 42 20
Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 4 0 5 8 1 18 9
Passing too close to cyclist/horse/pedestri 4 0 0 0 0 4 2
Sudden braking 0 2 3 0 1 6 3
Swerved 3 0 2 9 0 14 7
Loss of control 5 5 16 52 4 82 39
Impairment or distraction (driver/rider)
Impaired by alcohol (D/R) 2 2 1 13 0 18 9
Impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) (D/R) 0 0 1 2 0 3 1
Fatigue 1 0 0 4 2 7 3
Illness or disability (mental/physic) (D/R) 0 1 1 9 0 11 5
Distraction in vehicle 1 0 0 6 0 7 3
Distraction outside vehicle 0 0 2 1 0 3 1
Behaviour or inexperience (driver/rider)
Aggressive driving 2 0 1 9 0 12 6
Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 7 0 10 21 2 40 19
Nervous / uncertain / panic 0 0 0 3 0 3 1
Inexperienced or learner driver/rider 1 0 2 8 0 11 5
Inexperience of driving on the left 0 0 2 2 0 4 2
Inexperience with type of vehicle 0 0 1 1 0 2
Vision affected
Stationary or parked vehicle 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Vegetation 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Road layout (eg bend, winding rd, hill crest 0 0 2 0 0 2 1
Dazzling headlights 2 0 0 0 0 2 1
Dazzling sun 1 0 1 0 0 2 1
Pedestrian only
Crossed road masked by stationary/parked veh 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Pedestrian failed to look properly 20 0 0 0 0 20 10
Ped. failed to judge vehicles path or speed 6 0 0 0 0 6 3
Wrong use of pedestrian crossing facility 3 0 0 0 0 3 1
Dangerous action in carriageway (eg playing) 5 0 0 0 0 5 2
Pedestrian impaired by alcohol 16 0 0 0 1 17 8
Ped. impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) 4 0 0 0 0 4 2
Ped. careless / reckless /in a hurry 4 0 0 0 0 4 2
Pedestrian wearing dark clothing at night 10 0 0 0 0 10 5
Ped. disability or illness, mental/physical 2 0 0 0 0 2 1
Special codes
Stolen vehicle 1 0 0 1 0 2 1
Emergency vehicle on call 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
  Other 3 1 1 3 3 11 5
  Total Road fatalities1 47 7 35 106 13 208 100%

1 Includes one accident where no CF was recorded.

NB: As described in the text, an accident will be counted once for each combination of CF (excluding "repeats") and death.
For example, an accident with four different CFs and three deaths would be counted twelve times in this table - each death would be
counted against the first CF, then against the second CF, and so on. As a result, the percentages would total far more than 100%.
However, "repeats" are excluded: if the same CF applies to two different participants, each death will be counted only once against that CF.

Table S: Contributory factors: Casualties in reported accidents - seriously injured, 2010
Person who was seriously injured as a % of all seriously injured casualties
  Pedestrian pedalcyclist motorcyclist Car/taxi user Other All
Road environment contributed
Poor or defective road surface 0 3 12 5 0 20 1
Deposit on road (eg oil, mud, chippings) 0 4 19 26 2 51 3
Slippery road (due to weather) 12 4 28 203 19 266 14
Inadequate/masked signs or road markings 0 0 0 5 0 5 0
Traffic calming (eg road humps, chicanes) 0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Temporary road layout (eg contraflow) 1 0 1 2 0 4 0
Road layout (eg bend, hill, narrow c-way) 5 3 16 43 5 72 4
Animal or other object in carriageway 0 1 12 13 3 29 1
Vehicle defects 0
Tyres illegal, defective or under-inflated 1 0 2 16 2 21 1
Defective brakes 0 3 4 3 1 11 1
Defective steering or suspension 0 2 1 1 0 4 0
Overloaded or poorly loaded vehicle/trailer 0 0 1 5 1 7 0
Injudicious action (driver/rider) 0
Disobeyed automatic traffic signal 6 2 1 12 4 25 1
Disobeyed Give Way or Stop sign or markings 1 11 8 36 0 56 3
Disobeyed double white line 0 0 0 8 0 8 0
Disobeyed pedestrian crossing facility 6 2 0 0 0 8 0
Illegal turn or direction of travel 2 0 1 11 1 15 1
Exceeding speed limit 5 2 14 70 2 93 5
Travelling too fast for the conditions 6 4 41 171 14 236 12
Following too close 0 8 14 15 8 45 2
Vehicle travelling along pavement 3 1 0 0 2 6 0
Cyclist entering road from pavement 1 10 0 3 0 14 1
Driver/rider error or reaction 0
Junction overshoot 0 1 5 25 3 34 2
Junction restart 0 1 3 2 1 7 0
Poor turn or manoeuvre 12 26 60 120 18 236 12
Failed to signal / misleading signal 4 0 3 3 2 12 1
Failed to look properly (D/R) 84 78 102 180 24 468 24
Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 23 21 54 98 20 216 11
Passing too close to cyclist/horse/pedestri 14 11 0 1 2 28 1
Sudden braking 1 7 15 42 21 86 4
Swerved 5 3 9 61 7 85 4
Loss of control 7 16 112 366 37 538 27
Impairment or distraction (driver/rider) 0
Impaired by alcohol (D/R) 5 2 7 84 3 101 5
Impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) (D/R) 1 0 1 7 0 9 0
Fatigue 0 0 1 33 7 41 2
Uncorrected defective eyesight 0 0 0 1 1 2 0
Illness or disability (mental/physic) (D/R) 0 1 2 27 8 38 2
Not display lights at night / in poor visib 0 3 0 0 0 3 0
Cyclist wearing dark clothing at night 0 6 0 1 0 7 0
Distraction in vehicle 3 0 1 27 2 33 2
Distraction outside vehicle 3 0 1 7 2 13 1
Behaviour or inexperience (driver/rider) 0
Aggressive driving 8 2 9 33 0 52 3
Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 28 13 38 183 13 275 14
Nervous / uncertain / panic 1 1 1 20 0 23 1
Driving too slow for condits / slow vehicle 0 0 0 3 1 4 0
Inexperienced or learner driver/rider 2 4 26 65 2 99 5
Inexperience of driving on the left 0 0 1 21 3 25 1
Inexperience with type of vehicle 1 0 7 14 2 24 1
Vision affected 0
Stationary or parked vehicle 21 3 4 7 2 37 2
Vegetation 2 1 1 3 0 7 0
Road layout (eg bend, winding rd, hill crest 0 0 8 12 2 22 1
Buildings, road signs, street furniture 2 0 0 1 0 3 0
Dazzling headlights 2 0 0 1 0 3 0
Dazzling sun 8 6 8 28 2 52 3
Rain, sleet, snow or fog 7 1 3 18 8 37 2
Spray from other vehicles 0 0 0 1 1 2 0
Visor or windscreen dirty or scratched 1 0 0 7 0 8 0
Vehicle blind spot 11 3 2 2 0 18 1
Pedestrian only 0
Crossed road masked by stationary/parked veh 74 0 0 0 0 74 4
Pedestrian failed to look properly 272 1 0 1 1 275 14
Ped. failed to judge vehicles path or speed 85 0 1 1 1 88 4
Wrong use of pedestrian crossing facility 28 0 0 1 0 29 1
Dangerous action in carriageway (eg playing) 40 1 0 0 0 41 2
Pedestrian impaired by alcohol 62 0 0 1 1 64 3
Ped. impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) 7 0 0 0 0 7 0
Ped. careless / reckless /in a hurry 116 0 0 1 2 119 6
Pedestrian wearing dark clothing at night 30 0 0 0 0 30 2
Ped. disability or illness, mental/physical 11 0 0 0 0 11 1
Special codes 0
Stolen vehicle 4 0 1 14 0 19 1
Vehicle in course of crime 4 0 1 5 0 10 1
Emergency vehicle on call 0 0 0 2 1 3 0
Vehicle door opened or closed negligently 1 5 0 4 0 10 1
  Other 9 2 5 16 22 54 3
  All serious injuries1 455 138 318 911 142 1,964 100%

1 Includes a small number where no CF was reported

NB: As described in the text, an accident will be counted once for each combination of CF (excluding "repeats") and serious injury.
For example, an accident with four different CFs and three serious injury would be counted twelve times in this table - each serious injury would be
counted against the first CF, then against the second CF, and so on. As a result, the percentages would total far more than 100%.
However, "repeats" are excluded: if the same CF applies to two different participants, each serious injury will be counted only once against that CF.

Table T: Contributory factors: ranked1, 2010
  Number As a % of all contributory factors1
Rank Contributory Factor reported in each accident Very likely Possible Total
1 Failed to look properly (D/R) 2,354 772 3,126 14%
2 Loss of control 1,568 323 1,891 9%
3 Slippery road (due to weather) 1,383 405 1,788 8%
4 Failed to judge other pers path/speed (D/R) 1,199 575 1,774 8%
5 Poor turn or manoeuvre 854 351 1,205 5%
6 Careless / reckless /in a hurry (D/R) 708 420 1,128 5%
7 Travelling too fast for the conditions 569 513 1,082 5%
8 Pedestrian failed to look properly 897 169 1,066 5%
9 Sudden braking 439 226 665 3%
10 Following too close 374 282 656 3%
11 Ped. careless / reckless /in a hurry 327 106 433 2%
12 Impaired by alcohol (D/R) 318 61 379 2%
13 Inexperienced or learner driver/rider 245 127 372 2%
14 Swerved 269 87 356 2%
15 Exceeding speed limit 166 165 331 1%
16 Disobeyed Give Way or Stop sign or markings 295 31 326 1%
17 Dazzling sun 205 113 318 1%
18 Road layout (eg bend, hill, narrow c-way) 175 124 299 1%
19 Crossed road masked by stationary/parked veh 260 36 296 1%
20 Ped. failed to judge vehicles path or speed 163 116 279 1%
21 Other 227 41 268 1%
22 Pedestrian impaired by alcohol 213 51 264 1%
23 Rain, sleet, snow or fog 146 83 229 1%
24 Passing too close to cyclist/horse/pedestri 144 73 217 1%
25 Stationary or parked vehicle 137 62 199 1%
26 Junction overshoot 146 52 198 1%
27 Aggressive driving 146 49 195 1%
28 Distraction in vehicle 85 92 177 1%
29 Deposit on road (eg oil, mud, chippings) 116 57 173 1%
30 Disobeyed automatic traffic signal 100 47 147 1%
31 Animal or other object in carriageway 111 35 146 1%
32 Dangerous action in carriageway (eg playing) 120 23 143 1%
33 Road layout (eg bend, winding rd, hill crest 69 62 131 1%
34 Illness or disability (mental/physic) (D/R) 75 55 130 1%
35 Nervous / uncertain / panic 56 61 117 1%
36 Fatigue 58 52 110 0%
37 Failed to signal / misleading signal 43 59 102 0%
38 Wrong use of pedestrian crossing facility 81 20 101 0%
39 Vehicle blind spot 39 60 99 0%
40 Distraction outside vehicle 46 52 98 0%
41 Pedestrian wearing dark clothing at night 62 26 88 0%
42 Poor or defective road surface 49 37 86 0%
43 Inexperience with type of vehicle 36 35 71 0%
44 Cyclist entering road from pavement 53 10 63 0%
45 Inexperience of driving on the left 37 26 63 0%
46 Junction restart 46 13 59 0%
47 Stolen vehicle 53 6 59 0%
48 Tyres illegal, defective or under-inflated 32 17 49 0%
49 Inadequate/masked signs or road markings 25 23 48 0%
50 Illegal turn or direction of travel 41 7 48 0%
51 Impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) (D/R) 28 16 44 0%
52 Defective brakes 20 23 43 0%
53 Temporary road layout (eg contraflow) 24 17 41 0%
54 Ped. disability or illness, mental/physical 28 10 38 0%
55 Vehicle door opened or closed negligently 32 2 34 0%
56 Disobeyed pedestrian crossing facility 28 5 33 0%
57 Emergency vehicle on call 23 5 28 0%
58 Vehicle in course of crime 25 3 28 0%
59 Vehicle travelling along pavement 22 6 28 0%
60 Ped. impaired by drugs (illicit/medicinal) 13 14 27 0%
61 Vegetation 13 14 27 0%
62 Cyclist wearing dark clothing at night 16 8 24 0%
63 Defective traffic signals 16 7 23 0%
64 Dazzling headlights 8 11 19 0%
65 Spray from other vehicles 8 11 19 0%
66 Defective steering or suspension 7 11 18 0%
67 Overloaded or poorly loaded vehicle/trailer 9 8 17 0%
68 Visor or windscreen dirty or scratched 8 8 16 0%
69 Not display lights at night / in poor visib 8 8 16 0%
70 Buildings, road signs, street furniture 10 5 15 0%
71 Disobeyed double white line 13 1 14 0%
72 Driver using mobile phone 4 6 10 0%
73 Traffic calming (eg road humps, chicanes) 5 4 9 0%
74 Uncorrected defective eyesight 2 5 7 0%
75 Defective lights or indicators 3 2 5 0%
76 Driving too slow for condits / slow vehicle 2 2 4 0%
  Total1 15,735 6,500 22,235 100%

1. Includes all contributory factors reported, even where the same CF is assigned more than once to an accident
(i.e. to more than one particpant). Therefore the total differs from earlier tables.
(D/R) indicates Driver/Rider

Table 1

Population, vehicles licensed, road lengths, traffic on all roads and on M & A roads, reported injury accidents, vehicles involved and casualties: Years: 1953 to 2010
  Population Vehicles Road Traffic on Traffic on Injury Vehicles  
Year licensed(1,2) lengths all roads M & A roads accidents involved Casualties
Million Million Thousand km Million vehicle km Million vehicle km Number Number Number
1953 5.100 .. .. .. .. .. 18,343
1954 5.104 .. .. .. .. .. 18,901
1955 5.111 .. 44.1 .. .. .. .. 20,899
1956 5.120 .. 44.4 .. .. .. .. 21,459
1957 5.125 .. 44.6 .. .. .. .. 21,417
1958 5.141 .. 44.8 .. .. .. .. 22,830
1959 5.163 .. 45.0 .. .. .. .. 25,011
1960 5.178 .. 45.2 .. .. .. .. 26,315
1961 5.184 .. 45.4 .. .. .. .. 27,362
1962 5.198 0.775 45.6 .. .. .. .. 26,703
1963 5.205 0.836 45.8 .. .. .. .. 27,728
1964 5.209 0.900 45.9 .. .. .. .. 30,527
1965 5.210 0.951 46.2 .. .. .. .. 31,827
1966 5.201 0.991 46.4 .. .. 23,225 .. 32,280
1967 5.198 1.035 46.4 .. .. 22,838 .. 31,760
1968 5.200 1.065 46.4 .. .. 22,120 .. 30,649
1969 5.208 1.106 47.0 .. .. 21,863 31,885 31,056
1970 5.214 1.124 47.2 .. .. 22,133 33,430 31,240
1971 5.236 1.135 47.5 .. .. 22,332 32,165 31,194
1972 5.231 1.181 47.9 .. .. 22,703 32,832 31,762
1973 5.234 1.252 48.0 .. .. 22,580 32,951 31,404
1974 5.241 1.274 48.3 .. .. 20,581 30,073 28,783
1975 5.232 1.304 48.3 .. .. 20,652 30,613 28,621
1976 5.233 1.314 48.9 .. .. 21,751 32,547 29,933
1977 5.226 .. 48.9 .. .. 21,678 32,893 29,783
1978 5.212 1.308 48.9 .. .. 22,107 33,965 30,506
1979 5.204 1.353 49.3 .. .. 23,064 35,512 31,387
1980 5.193 1.398 49.4 .. .. 21,788 33,626 29,286
1981 5.180 1.397 50.0 .. .. 21,485 33,311 28,766
1982 5.165 1.416 50.2 .. .. 20,850 32,192 28,273
1983 5.148 1.448 50.4 .. .. 19,434 29,918 25,224
1984 5.139 1.489 50.6 .. .. 19,974 31,236 26,158
1985 5.128 1.514 50.7 .. 17,219 20,644 32,446 27,287
1986 5.112 1.546 50.8 .. 17,647 19,819 30,983 26,117
1987 5.099 1.575 51.2 .. 18,767 18,657 29,454 24,748
1988 5.077 1.657 51.3 .. 20,098 19,097 30,465 25,425
1989 5.078 1.729 51.6 .. 21,404 20,605 33,221 27,532
1990 5.081 1.788 51.7 .. 21,786 20,171 32,423 27,228
1991 5.083 1.830 51.9 .. 21,947 19,004 30,897 25,346
1992 5.086 1.884 52.0 .. 22,575 18,008 29,306 24,173
1993 5.092 1.874 52.1 35,175 22,666 16,685 27,356 22,414
1994 5.102 1.900 52.3 36,000 23,300 16,768 27,694 22,573
1995 5.104 1.910 52.8 36,736 23,987 16,534 27,232 22,194
1996 5.092 1.966 53.1 37,777 24,839 16,073 26,676 21,716
1997 5.083 2.023 53.1 38,582 25,452 16,646 28,207 22,629
1998 5.077 2.073 53.3 39,169 25,885 16,519 27,781 22,467
1999 5.072 2.131 53.5 39,770 26,185 15,415 25,834 21,002
2000 5.063 2.188 53.9 39,561 25,937 15,131 25,555 20,517
2001 5.064 2.262 54.1 40,065 26,342 14,724 24,872 19,911
2002 5.055 2.330 54.6 41,535 27,263 14,343 24,154 19,275
2003 5.057 2.383 54.5 42,038 27,682 13,917 23,458 18,756
2004 5.078 2.448 54.5 42,705 28,209 13,919 23,403 18,502
2005 5.095 2.531 54.8 42,718 28,055 13,438 22,476 17,885
2006 5.117 2.564 54.9 44,119 28,898 13,110 21,959 17,269
2007 5.144 2.627 55.1 44,666 28,986 12,506 20,803 16,238
2008 5.169 2.665 55.2 44,470 28,810 12,158 20,217 15,590
2009 5.194 2.684 55.4 44,219 28,961 11,555 19,385 15,043
2010 5.222 2.685 52.1 43,488 28,495 10,293 17,239 13,334
1994-98 average 5.092 1.974 52.9 37,653 24,693 16,508 27,518 22,316
2006-2010 average 5.169 2.645 54.5 44,192 28,830 11,924 19,921 15,495
Per cent changes:
2010 on 2009 0.5 0.0 -6.0 -1.7 -1.6 -10.9 -11.1 -11.4
2010 on 1994-98 ave 2.6 36.0 -1.5 15.5 15.4 -37.6 -37.4 -40.2

1. Figures from 1993 onwards are on a different basis from those for previous years, due to a change in the source of the data.
2. DfT have revised stock figures from 2006 to 2009 - see http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/vehicles/licensing/latest/notesvls.pdf