New research has revealed the most dangerous UK areas for pedestrians, with the City of London area coming out on top.
The study by insurance experts Howden Insurance analysed the latest data from the Department for Transport Statistics on road collisions to see which areas had the highest percentage involving pedestrians on average each year between 2013 and 2022.
It found that the City of London area is the most dangerous area in the UK for pedestrians. Between 2013 and 2022, 28.15% of all accidents involved pedestrians, the highest of any area in the UK. Statistically, 2018 was the most dangerous year for pedestrians, with 32.49% of collisions involving them.
Dundee City comes in second place and is also statistically the most dangerous area in Scotland for pedestrians. On average, 23.98% of collisions each year between 2013 and 2022 involved pedestrians. 2018 was the most dangerous year for pedestrians in the area, with 29.67% of collisions involving them.
Third place goes to another London area, Westminster. On average, 23.43% of all accidents each year between 2013 and 2022 involved pedestrians. 2013 was also found to be the most dangerous year for pedestrians, with 29.7% of collisions involving them.
Oldham ranks fourth on the list, with 22.63% of all accidents involving pedestrians on average between 2013 and 2022. It comes in as one of four North West areas to feature. Oldham’s most dangerous year for pedestrians was found to be 2022, with 32.81% of all collisions involving them.
Rounding out the top five is the Glasgow City area, which comes in with 22% of all accidents each year between 2013 and 2022 involving pedestrians. Statistically, the area’s most dangerous year for pedestrians was 2013, with 24.62% of collisions involving them.
The top ten most dangerous UK areas for pedestrians
Rank Local authority (name) Region (name) 2013-2022 average percentage of accidents involving pedestrians 1 City of London London 28.15% 2 Dundee City Scotland 23.98% 3 Westminster London 23.43% 4 Oldham North West 22.63% 5 Glasgow City Scotland 22.00% 6 Camden London 21.41% 7 Liverpool North West 20.92% 8 Bolton North West 20.35% 9 Aberdeen City Scotland 20.18% 10 Manchester North West 19.76%
Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Howden Insurance said: “While overall road safety has seen an improvement in many areas in the past ten years, its cause for concern that some areas it is evidently still an issue, like with Oldham seeing its most dangerous year in 2022. With the idea of walkable cities being pushed by many city councils, it’s important that pedestrian safety is heavily considered to ensure people still feel it’s a sensible idea to walk instead of driving.”
