Statistically, Islington is London’s most dangerous area to drive in, having the most collisions per billion vehicle miles, according to an updated safety assessment. Following this, Hackney takes second place, followed by the City of London in the third position.
The study comes from insurance brokers OneSureInsurance who analysed historical data from the UK government’s Department for Transport to determine which London areas had the highest average collisions per billion vehicle miles over a ten-year period. The data has been passed on to Digital Journal for review.
This revealed that Islington is statistically London’s most dangerous area to drive in. Between 2012 and 2021, there were, on average, 2,869 collisions per billion vehicle miles in the area. 2017 was found to have the highest numbers, with 3,168 per billion vehicle miles, and 2020 was seemingly the safest, with just 2,391 collisions per billion vehicle miles.
Coming in a close second was Hackney, with 2,849 collisions per billion vehicle miles on average. The area’s most dangerous year was found to be 2021, with 3,021 collisions per billion vehicle miles, and 2013 was the safest, with just 2,659.
Third place goes to the City of London, which has had 2,677 collisions per billion vehicle miles on average across the years recorded in the study. Figures were highest in 2012, 3,455 collisions per billion vehicle miles, and lowest in 2020, with just 1,215 collisions.
The top ten was found to be:
| Rank | London Local Authority | Average collisions per billion vehicle miles 2012-2021 |
| 1 | Islington | 2,869 |
| 2 | Hackney | 2,849 |
| 3 | City of London | 2,677 |
| 4 | Westminster | 2,674 |
| 5 | Camden | 2,555 |
| 6 | Lambeth | 2,478 |
| 7 | Haringey | 2,416 |
| 8 | Southwark | 2,147 |
| 9 | Kensington and Chelsea | 2,023 |
| 10 | Wandsworth | 1,995 |
Fourth place goes to the Westminster area, which follows closely with 2,674 collisions per billion vehicle miles. Collisions were highest in 2017, with 2,931 per billion vehicle miles, and at their lowest in 2020, with 2,307.
Rounding out the top five is Camden, with the Inner London area seeing an average of 2,555 collisions per billion vehicle miles. Once again, collisions were highest in 2017, with 2,859 for every billion vehicle miles and lowest in 2021, with just 2,303 per billion vehicle miles.
When looking at all London areas, the average number of collisions per billion vehicle miles
is 1,492, which is nearly three times the average of the whole of England, which sits at 550. What is also interesting to note is how high some of these figures are compared to the rest of England and the UK as a whole.
