More dangerous

It's more dangerous to re-fuel your car than to re-fill your trolley.

28 January 2005

A report released today from Churchill Car Insurance has revealed the most common places to be involved in parking accidents and found that the number one crash hotspot in town is the petrol station forecourt. The study also shows 1.5 million* UK drivers crash each year when parking their cars.

The new Town Crash Index from Churchill showed that drivers are ten times more likely to have an accident in a petrol station than when driving children to school or even parking at work. The insurer reviewed over 50,000 accident claims and found that one in four car accidents happen when ....cont/

parking.

Darren McCauley, Head of Car Insurance at Churchill, said “The top three locations for accidents are all high-paced, distracting environments. Petrol stations are tight on space, especially when lining up to the pumps and multi-storey car parks often have narrow bays and tight corners. With supermarkets, the high volume of cars coupled with roaming trolleys makes the ideal ingredients for an accident.”

Churchill’s Town Crash Index.

1.Petrol station - multi-functional sites with tight spaces and drivers crashing into other cars whilst lining up next to the pumps.

2.Shopping centre multi-storeys - can be poorly lit with tight ....cont/

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spaces. Scrapes tend to occur on tight corners.

3.Supermarket – car parks are rife with activity – a mixture of kids, families and roaming trolleys.

4.Pub - filled with families at lunchtimes and evening visitors leaving late, in the dark.

5.Office car park – distracted drivers in a rush to get home after work.

6.Hospital – distressed visitors eager to visit family and friends.

7.Schools/colleges – high level of activity with bikes, pets, pedestrians and cars.

8.Post Office - located on busy high streets with high volumes of traffic.

9.Restaurant – like pubs - filled with families at...cont/

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lunchtimes and evening visitors leaving late, in the dark.

10.Church – lots of families and cars all leaving the car park at the same time.

Darren McCauley, Head of Car Insurance at Churchill, said, “We spend a lot of time looking at accident patterns including how and why they happen. Drivers cannot avoid visiting these destinations, but they should be aware of their surroundings. If people concentrate on their driving instead of what they are going to do next, they can lessen their chances of having a crash.”

*Taken from Churchill Insurance claims data. There are 26 million drivers in the UK.