What's the Likelihood of Getting in a Car Accident in the UK?

From city streets to motorways, the roads in Britain feel busier than ever. With the rise in vehicles on the road, are you more or less likely to be in a serious/fatal road traffic accident? And how does Britain compare in terms of road safety to other countries around the world? We've gathered official data from the Department for Transport, the Office for National Statistics and the World Health Organization in order to gain a better understanding of road safety in the UK.

Probability of a Car Accident in UK

The number of serious or fatal road traffic accidents has generally fallen in the past few years. From 2013 to 2022, the number of people seriously injured in a road traffic accident in the UK dropped 19%, from 20,200 to 24,081. Over the same time period, the number of fatal accidents dropped 0.5%, from 1,663 to 1,654. Why the huge improvement? The drop in 2020 is simply down to people driving fewer miles due to the pandemic lockdown.

Number or Serious or Fatal Road Accidents in Great Britain

Interestingly, even before the pandemic lockdown the risks of serious injury due to a road traffic accident were improving—despite increasing population and numbers of vehicles on the roads.

It makes sense that more vehicles and people mean more accidents. In the ten years leading up to the pandemic, the figures for road traffic serious injuries were increasing. Pandemic lockdown aside, the number of fatalities due to road accidents has been relatively steady in the UK at around 1,600 - 1,700 per year.

The real question is—has the probability of any one person being killed in a road accident changed? In order to answer this, we've standardized the data for the entire UK by calculating the fatalities per 100,000 people. These standardized numbers essentially remove the impact of rising populations to give us a clear picture of accident probability for the average person.

As you can see in the following table, the fatality rate by population has remained relatively steady between 2012 and 2018, hovering around 2.7 deaths per 100,000 people; then it dropped during the pandemic to 2.2. It's risen since, but the roads seem to have remained safer. In 2022, the fatality rate per 100,000 was 2.4, which is still noticeably lower than pre-pandemic. The roads are, generally speaking, as safe as ever for the average person despite more cars on the road.

Road Traffic Fatality Rates in the UK

Are UK Roads More Dangerous than the Rest of the World?

While our research indicates that road safety is holding steady in the UK, how safe are our roads compared to other countries in the world? It turns out, the UK ranks 8th safest out of the 190+ countries participating in the WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety, from a dataset last updated in April 2024; with 2.4 fatalities per 100,000 people, the UK was only beaten by Monaco (0), Maldives (1.3), Norway (1.5), Malta (1.9), Singapore (1.9), Sweden (2.1), Denmark (2.3)—and the UK tied with Iceland (2.4) and Switzerland (2.4). The following chart gives a sample of fatality rates around the world.

(Note, the WHO data regarding estimated fatalities returns a slightly different rate than the Department for Transport data.)

Road Accident Fatality Rates Around the World (per 100,000 People)

To truly understand how dangerous it is to drive in a country, it can be more useful to consider fatalities per vehicle. In many countries, relatively few people drive and are therefore not exposed to the risks of road accidents. In that case, understanding the risks per vehicle instead of per person can give a more accurate picture of road safety. Generally speaking, fatality rates are higher in countries with lower car ownership levels—when the fatality rate is calculated on a per vehicle (not per person) basis.

As you can see, UK roads are still very safe relative to other countries in terms of fatalities per 100,000 vehicles, despite the relatively low vehicle ownership rate in the UK compared to other high-income countries.

Road Accident Fatality Rates Around the World (per 100,000 Vehicles)

We have separately examined the contribution of alcohol to road traffic fatalities and found that Great Britain contrasts favourably to most other EU countries; it is certainly the case that less drink driving contributes to better overall road safety and, hopefully, lower auto insurance rates.

If this article has got you thinking about your car insurance, you can find more information on choosing the best insurance company for your needs in our article on cheap car insurance companies.

Road Traffic Fatality Statistics by Country