Industry News from Yes Insurance

Figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) today have revealed that male drivers are more than twice as likely to take dangerous risks on roads they know than women.

Road safety campaigners THINK! and YouGov carried out the poll of over 1,500 drivers. The results also showed that men are less inclined than women to consider road conditions when driving on rural roads.

In addition almost a quarter believe it is acceptable to speed when they think it safe to do so and that less traffic and fewer pedestrians on rural roads means they are safer, when in fact statistics have shown that you are three times more likely to die in an accident on a rural road than an urban one.

Men were also more likely to blame accidents on other road users, though statistics show that 36 per cent of fatal accidents on rural roads are single vehicle accidents.

Transport minister Stephen Ladyman warned: "Driving on rural roads can be deceiving. It is important that motorists approach rural roads cautiously and at a speed where you can still respond to conditions such as unforeseen hazards, sharp bends and limited visibility."

In 2005, 323 car user fatalities occurred from accidents where cars were exceeding the speed limit, or going too fast for conditions as a contributory factor, on rural roads.

Motorists are advised that they should allow extra time for journeys when the weather conditions make travelling dangerous and to make sure they have adequate breakdown cover.