‘Hit whilst parked’ becomes most common type of accident in 2020
‘Hit whilst parked’ was the most common type of collision in 2020, accounting for nearly a third of incidents last year.
AX, a specialist in accident management, analysed its latest accident data. The figures show that while all types of collisions fell last year, total rear-end collisions saw a particularly large fall of 27.0% compared to 2019. As a result, such collisions only held a 24.7% share in 2020, compared to 30.0% in 2019.
In contrast, the overall number of hit whilst parked incidents only fell 9.2% in the last year – and accounted for 30.3% of all accidents, up from 29.6%.
Although fewer journeys were made last year, AX believes safety technology such as automatic emergency braking (now equipped as standard on most new vehicles), could have played a part in reducing rear-end collisions.
Meanwhile, the smaller decline in ‘hit whilst parked’ incidents may be due to many vehicles spending more time parked up.
Top five types of accident:
2019 | 2020 | ||||
Ranking | Collision Type | % of accidents | Ranking | Collision Type | % of accidents |
1 | Hit in rear | 30.0% | 1 | Hit whilst parked | 30.3% |
2 | Hit whilst parked | 29.6% | 2 | Hit in rear | 24.7% |
3 | Third party pulled from side road | 8.9% | 3 | Third party pulled from side road | 9.2% |
4 | Third party reversed into client’s vehicle | 7.2% | 4 | Third party reversed into client’s vehicle | 7.6% |
5 | Lane change | 5.7% | 5 | Lane change | 5.6% |
AX’s analysis also revealed how the pandemic has impacted when collisions have occurred throughout 2020.
Usually, the evening commute between 17:00 and 18:00 experiences the highest accident rate, but last year the peak shifted to the school run rush hour between 15:00 and 16:00. Although many offices were closed throughout the pandemic, schools remained open from September until Christmas.
Scott Hamilton-Cooper, director of sales and operations at AX, said: “Ordinarily, our data would show that November to March is when the greatest number of accidents occur – when the days are shorter, there’s more rainfall and, at times, wintery conditions can make the roads treacherous.
“However, the result of two national lockdowns, in addition to a change in vehicle congestion levels during this period, means our data will paint a very different picture this winter.”