October is the most dangerous month of the year and Friday is the riskiest day of the week on Irish roads, new analysis of almost 10,000 motor accident claims has revealed.
“As part of our ongoing claims profiling, we have analysed 9,655 personal injury awards made in 2006 and 2007 on foot of motor accidents,” said Patricia Byron, chief executive.
“The results provide a valuable insight into motor accident trends in Ireland and specifically into the most dangerous days and months on our roads.”
Since 2004, personal injury claims in Ireland (excluding medical negligence) must be processed through the Injuries Board rather than through the courts.
“Injuries arising from motor accidents account for more than seven out of every ten awards for personal injuries in Ireland,” Ms Byron added. “Given such high accident volumes on our roads, this comprehensive data should assist those involved in developing risk minimisation strategies.”
The data from motor claim awards made in both 2006 and 2007, which totalled e200 million revealed that more motor accidents occurred in October than in any other month of the year, accounting for more than one in ten motor claims.
In contrast, February and June, with less than seven per cent of accidents, were the safest months to be on the road.
An analysis of the data by day of the week indicated that Friday records the highest volume of motor accidents at 16 per cent while Tuesday appears to be the safest day on our roads with just 13 per cent of accidents.
An analysis of motor liability awards per head of population in 2007, released by the Injuries Board earlier this year, revealed that Louth had the highest level of awards. The county accounted for 4.58 per cent of total awards, despite representing just 2.62 per cent of the national population.
In contrast, Kilkenny had the lowest level of motor liability awards when compared with the national average, accounting for 1.09 per cent of all awards in 2007 while representing 2.07 per cent of the national population.
