Car Insurance
Belfast named UK's safest city
Tue, 01 Nov 2005
Belfast has been named as the safest city in the UK for motorists, in terms of theft and accident claims.
The Northern Irish city came top in a survey of drivers by insurer Endsleigh as the safest city for car drivers, compared to a national average, closely followed by Cambridge and Swansea. Overall figures for accidents remained steady, with improvements in some cities.
The Motor Cities 2005 report ranks cities on the basis of the number of car insurance claims per policyholder from the start of 2001 to the end of 2004. The study indicates that Aberdeen, Exeter and Plymouth are the safest cities for car theft. Endsleigh found that there had been a gradual improvement across the top ten most dangerous cities and an overall dip in vehicle thefts.
Meanwhile, Londoners have more crashes per person than those in any other city, with Birmingham and Manchester close behind. Leeds drivers are most likely to have their cars stolen, followed by those in Bristol and Manchester.
Endsleigh spokesman, Tim Larden, said: "The overall national picture on car accidents and theft is good news for drivers – particularly with the figures released in the recent British Crime Survey confirming a drop in car theft. We believe that this is largely the result of greater safety awareness amongst drivers, coupled with effective national and local action to address the issues of motor safety.
"It is clear, however, that some cities in the UK have bucked the national trend and are suffering an increased risk of car theft, compared to the average. There is a need for urgent, coordinated action at a local level to tackle the problem of theft, while continuing the good work on accident prevention which has already begun to show results."
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