Hull's roads among the most dangerous in the UK for drivers, study claims

Hull has the second most dangerous roads outside of London for drivers, according to a new study.

The study by Tollwayr analysed historical data from the Department for Transport to see which UK areas had the highest average collisions per billion vehicle miles between 2018 and 2023.

It found that Hull has the second most dangerous roads outside of the capital for drivers, with an average of 943 collisions per billion vehicle miles. Hull's most dangerous year in the period was 2018, with 1,051 collisions per billion vehicle miles. Responding to the figures, Hull City Council said the city's mostly urban makeup compared to some other local authorities made incidents more likely and added the rate has fallen over time.

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Hull's tally is almost three times higher than the national average of 335 collisions per billion vehicle miles between 2018 and 2023. Only Blackpool ranks higher than Hull outside of London, with an average of 976 collisions per billion vehicle miles over the period studied.

Hull City Council has responded to the findings. A spokesperson said: "While the Council recognises the figures published by DfT, there are a number of factors that need to be borne in mind when assessing them and the local context for Hull. Firstly, Hull is a tightly bounded highly urban area, so pedestrian and cyclist transport, and therefore incidents, are much more common than areas with rural settings within their jurisdiction.

"Likewise, looking at these figures over time, it is good news to see that the yearly number of injury collisions per billion vehicle miles in Hull has reduced by nine per cent when comparing 2014-17 figures to 2018-2023.

"The absolute numbers, on average, for all severity injury collisions in Hull, show 657 from 2018-23, which is an 11 per cent drop from the 2014-17.

"The Council wants to do all it can to keep the roads in the city safe for all users and remains vigilant with road safety in our city, so it is currently formulating a ‘Vision Zero’ strategy along with Safer Roads Humber."

Commenting on the findings, CEO of Tollwayr, M.E. Wijnmalen, said, "These findings highlight the importance of prioritising road safety measures, especially in areas with higher collision rates. While it’s not guaranteed to have a collision driving through any of these areas, you must prioritise your own safety on the road as much as anyone else’s. This is especially important with winter coming up, which is expected to change certain driving experiences across the UK drastically."