Kentish Express Ashford & District
Our roads among the most dangerous in the country
Kent’s roads are the most dangerous in England, according to the latest figures.
There were 4,427 reported collisions in the county last year, data from the Department of Transport by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers shows.
Of those, 44 led to fatalities, 753 were serious incidents and another 3,630 involved slight injuries.
The largest contributory factor for accidents on the county’s roads in 2016 was the driver or rider “not looking properly” with 1,081 incidents blamed on this.
Motorists not judging another person’s path or speed was a factor in 633 crashes, loss of control accounted for 447, poor turns and manoeuvres in 355 others and slippery roads accounted for 313.
A driver or rider being careless, reckless or in a hurry contributed to 298 incidents, sudden braking had a part to play in 246 and travelling to fast for the road conditions caused 191 crashes.
Meanwhile, people who followed too closely caused 162 Casualty reduction manager at Kent Road Safety Steve Horton crashes. Casualty reduction manager at Kent Road Safety, Steve Horton, said: “It’s a massive concern for all of us whenever someone is killed on Kent’s roads.
“We’re well aware that Kent is one of the largest counties in the country.
“We’re well aware that we’re always at the top of the table and that’s a concern for us and something we’re well aware of unfortunately.
“We know that most people injured in some of our districts further north don’t live in Kent.
“But we’re such a diverse county that when we head to somewhere like Thanet we find most of the people injured there are from there.”
Mr Horton said that his team try to educate drivers before incidents on the roads happen.
He said: “We spend most of our time talking to motorists and making sure we keep vulnerable road users, like pedestrians, safe. I think acting sensibly is critical. At the heart of that is finding out why drivers who are involved in accidents are driving in the way they do in the first place.”
President of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, Brett Dixon, said: “Drivers really must be even more aware of the need to address dangerous habits to avoid needless collisions, injuries and subsequent insurance claims. The UK has some of the busiest roads in Europe with 50% more traffic than the European average.”