Summer rural road collisions become increasingly common as the holiday season progresses, with new research highlighting the need for motorists to adapt their driving on unfamiliar country routes.
Analysis by insurer Ageas of 25 years of Department for Transport collision data found that the proportion of collisions occurring on rural roads rises throughout the summer.
In August, rural routes account for 38.1% of all recorded collisions, compared with around a third across the year as a whole.
Collisions more likely to prove fatal
The analysis also found that rural road collisions are nearly ten times as likely to be fatal as those on urban roads. They are also more likely to cause serious injury and involve multiple casualties.
Holiday journeys can take drivers away from familiar urban roads and towards beaches, national parks and visitor attractions. Sat-nav systems may also divert traffic onto narrow country lanes to avoid congestion.
Jonathan Price, Managing Director for the direct business at Ageas UK, said: “Country roads can feel quieter and less intimidating than busy town centres, but they’re often less forgiving. Higher speed limits, sharp bends, hidden junctions and limited opportunities to recover from mistakes all increase the consequences if something goes wrong.
“However, the important message isn’t that people should avoid rural roads altogether. It’s that they should recognise the change in driving environment.”
An important training opportunity
The findings provide a useful reminder for driver trainers to include varied rural-road experience within lessons where this is practical.
Learners should understand that the national speed limit is a maximum, rather than a target, and be encouraged to select a speed that allows them to stop safely within the distance they can see to be clear.
Useful areas to cover include:
- Approaching bends with limited forward visibility
- Anticipating walkers, cyclists, horse riders and runners
- Passing farm vehicles safely and patiently
- Responding to mud, stones, branches and damaged surfaces
- Identifying and using passing places
- Avoiding overreliance on sat-nav diversions
- Adjusting speed on narrow or unmarked roads
Ageas advises motorists to allow extra time, scan well ahead and avoid allowing a quiet road to create a false sense of security.
