If you were to ask most people in the street which UK city had the safest drivers, most would suggest one of the country’s smaller ones, such as Wells, Ripon, Lichfield etc. Surprisingly, none of these even feature in the top ten list. In fact, a new study has found it’s Preston in Lancashire that is the city with the best drivers.

Preston in Lancashire is known for many things, its historical buildings, the friendliness of its people, traditional foods and drinks, and beautiful countryside, and now, it can add something else to that list.

Insurance broker onesureinsurance.co.uk has conducted a new study, and the results revealed that Preston tops the list as the city with the best drivers. The insurance company analysed fatal, serious and slight traffic accidents as well as test centre pass rates, the percentage of those who passed the first time and how many passed with 0 faults to give an indication of how good and safe drivers are in each city.

A spokesperson from onesureinsurance.co.uk commented, “On average, someone is injured or killed on roads in the UK every 16 minutes. The majority of these accidents are caused by speeding. Bad driving can lead to preventable accidents, death and damage that could cost you.

Learning to drive is important for many to gain freedom and independence; however, it’s vital that people are driving safely and responsibly. This data does show a correlation between the cities that have lots of people passing first time and fewer road accidents and fatalities. Meaning that these cities are more likely to have safe and good drivers on the roads.”

The Top Ten list of UK Cities with the Best Drivers

1 – Preston

Preston is in Lancashire, a county which is 80% rural with sprawling countryside roads that connect its towns and cities. Preston has had very few fatal traffic accidents, with only 0.06 per 10,000, and only 12.7 serious or slight accidents per 10,000 people. The test centre has one of the highest pass rates at 61% and the highest number of people passing on their first attempt with 0 faults (174).
Driver index: 40.48

2 – Aberdeen
Aberdeen is a port city in northeast Scotland and is the third most populous city in the country. Despite this, there are only 6.41 serious or slight traffic accidents per 10,000 people. Furthermore, 62% of drivers passed their test on their first attempt, with 132 passing with 0 faults since April 2022. Making drivers in Aberdeen some of the safest and best, according to the study.
Driver index: 35.71

3 – Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital of Wales and is an expansive city with intricate roads that provides transport links for many commercial and residential purposes. There have been very few fatal accidents in Cardiff with only 0.16 per 10,000 people. Cardiff has one of the highest pass rates in Wales, with the test centre having a pass rate of 59.2%. With few accidents and high pass rates, the data indicates drivers in Cardiff rank as being some of the safest in the UK.
Driver index: 34.12

4 – Norwich
Norwich ranks as the city with the fourth-best drivers in the UK. Norwich is the city with the fewest fatalities per 10,000 people (0.04) however has slightly more serious and slight accidents, with 26.18 per 10,000 people. 56% of drivers who have passed their test since April 2022 have passed 1st time and 115 of those with 0 faults.
Driver index: 33.82

5 – Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England. Chichester has 0.64 fatalities and 41.1 serious and slight accidents per 10,000. However, drivers in Chichester are more likely to pass their test as the centre has a 65% pass rate, with 66.5% passing first time.
Driver index: 29.48

6 – Dundee
Dundee is a coastal city on the Firth of Tay estuary in eastern Scotland. There are only 18.12 traffic accidents per 10,000 people, and the test centre has a 62.8% pass rate, with 59.7% passing first time, although much fewer drivers pass with 0 faults which leaves Dundee as the sixth city with the best drivers.
Driver index: 28.86

7 – London

Although London is the most populous and densely populated city in the UK, it surprisingly ranks 7th on the list of cities with the best drivers. This is due to there being only 0.19 road fatalities and only 7.23 serious and slight traffic accidents per 10,000 people. However, across the city, the average test centre pass rate is only 44.8%, with only 45% of those passing first time.
Driver index: 28.07

8 – Newport
Newport is a city in south Wales, only about 12 miles from Cardiff. With only 10.59 accidents per 10,000 people, drivers in this area are clearly relatively safe on the roads. However, Newport test centre records more fails than most in Wales, with only 50% of drivers passing.
Driver index: 26.99

9 – Chelmsford
Chelmsford has very similar stats to Newport, with 50% of drivers passing their test and 52% passing first time. However, drivers in Chelmsford have more serious and slight traffic accidents, with 24.21 meaning the city lands in ninth place.
Driver index: 25.84

10 – Southend-on-Sea
Southend-On-Sea is tenth on this list as there are 14.80 accidents per 10,000 people, which is less than Chelmsford and Newport; however, fewer drivers pass their test with 0 faults (18 over the past year) compared to other cities. Southend-On-Sea does have similar overall pass rates with 51% to its close competition, so narrowly misses out on landing a higher place in the list.
Driver index: 25.55

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