Cardiff drivers safest in Britain as London comes last

Cardiff has been named Britain’s safest driving hotspot in Marshmallow’s Safe Driver Index, scoring a perfect 100 out of 100, with Greater London left at the foot of the table on a regional average of just 30.5

Cardiff has been named the UK’s safest postcode area for drivers after scoring almost three times higher than Greater London.

The Safe Driver Index, compiled by Marshmallow Car Insurance, ranked the Welsh capital first with a top safety score of 100 out of 100 after comparing claims, police collision data and crash severity across 69 postcode areas.

Aberdeen ranked second and Motherwell third, giving Scotland two of the three highest-scoring areas in the study.

Greater London, meanwhile, recorded the lowest regional average with a safety score of just 30.5.

The insurer said the index was designed to give a fairer picture than raw accident totals, which tend to be higher in larger towns and cities because they have more cars on the road.

Oliver Kent-Braham, co-chief executive of Marshmallow, said: “Cardiff topping the Safe Driver Index shows why it’s important to look beyond raw accident totals.

“Larger towns and cities naturally have more drivers and more collisions overall, so adjusting the data helps give a fairer comparison between postcode areas.

“By looking at claim and collision rates adjusted for local car ownership, we can get a clearer picture of where drivers appear to be driving more safely.”

The study, published today, compared claim rates per 1,000 policies with police collision rates and serious or fatal collision rates per 1,000 cars owned.

Marshmallow analysed more than 500,000 data points, including hundreds of thousands of policies, tens of thousands of accident claims and more than 50,000 publicly available road collision records.Taunton was the highest-ranked English postcode area, placing fourth with a score of 90.9. Southend was fifth on 85.4, followed by Bristol on 83.9, Stockport on 83.5 and Hemel on 81.5.

Oldham and Oxford completed the top 10.

Scotland recorded the highest average safety score among the regions analysed, at 95.3. Wales followed on 80.3, ahead of the South West on 69.9 and the North West on 64.0.

Yorkshire scored 58.9, the East of England 58.6 and the South East 52.8, while the West Midlands scored 49.3 and the East Midlands 42.1.

Top 10 safest postcode areas for drivers:

1. Cardiff
   Safety score: 100.0
2. Aberdeen
   Safety score: 96.5
3. Motherwell
   Safety score: 94.1
4. Taunton
   Safety score: 90.9
5. Southend
   Safety score: 85.4
6. Bristol
   Safety score: 83.9
7. Stockport
   Safety score: 83.5
8. Hemel
   Safety score: 81.5
9. Oldham
   Safety score: 79.5
10. Oxford
    Safety score: 77.2
    
    

Regional average safety scores

1. Scotland
   Average safety score: 95.3
2. Wales
   Average safety score: 80.3
3. South West
   Average safety score: 69.9
4. North West
   Average safety score: 64.0
5. Yorkshire
   Average safety score: 58.9
6. East of England
   Average safety score: 58.6
7. South East
   Average safety score: 52.8
8. West Midlands
   Average safety score: 49.3
9. East Midlands
   Average safety score: 42.1
10. Greater London
    Average safety score: 30.5

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