Friday afternoons in November are the peak time for road traffic accidents (RTAs) on UK A-roads, new research indicates.

Across all of Great Britain, November was the peak month for accidents

Carried out for Road Safety Week 2022 (14-20 November), the study from national law firm Simpson Millar analysed the latest Department for Transport accident stats.

The data revealed that across all of Great Britain, November was the peak month for accidents with 10% of all those recorded in 2021 taking place during this month.

Most accidents took place on Fridays (17%) and 5pm was the peak hour for accidents (9%), with 4pm and 3pm taking second and third place in the ‘riskiest driving hours’ table.

The majority (55%) of reported road traffic accidents took place at low speeds of just 21-30mph.

They were also more likely to occur on single-carriageway roads, accounting for 72% of reported accidents, with almost half (45%) also taking place on A-roads.

Despite having a higher speed limit, motorways saw the fewest number of reported accidents (3%).

The data also revealed that accidents were most likely to happen on days when the weather was ‘fine’ (82%), with just 11% of accidents taking place on rainy days and less than 2% happening in fog/mist or snowy conditions.

Perhaps unsurprisingly due to the easing of Covid-19 travel rules, road traffic accidents were found to be on the rise again across Great Britain, as there were 11% more accidents last year than in 2020.

In 2021, nearly a quarter (23%) of all road traffic accidents in Great Britain occurred in London, more than five times the amount that was reported in the whole of Scotland or Wales.

The north east had the lowest number of reported accidents, with just 3,024 taking place in 2021, accounting for 3% of the total across Britain.

Percentage of England accident total by region (2021)

• London (23%)
• South East (17%)
• North West (11%)
• Yorkshire and the Humber (10%)
• East of England (10%)
• South West (9%)
• West Midlands (8.5%)
• East Midlands (7.8%)
• North East (3.2%)

A-road accident hotspots revealed

Simpson Millar also used a crash map to identify accident hotspots on A roads in different UK cities. It discovered high numbers of accidents on the A38 in Cornwall, with 99 accidents (including seven serious and four fatal) reported in the last five years between Notter and Trerulefoot.

Another hotspot was on the A52 Derby Road in Nottingham, with 89 accidents (including four serious and one fatal) reported between the roundabout with Middleton Blvd and Clifton Blvd and Priory Roundabout in the last five years.

The A4044 in Bristol was also found to be a hotspot, with 85 accidents (including three serious) occurring between The Bearpit and the traffic lights with the A4032 over the same time period.

Full study findings are here.