Highway Code knowledge lacking

The results of a recent survey conducted by uSwitch make alarming reading for all road users. It seems that even the most experienced of drivers are sadly lacking when it comes to knowledge of the Highway Code, which could well account for the fact that insurance companies pay out a million pounds an hour in claims.

Two-thirds of all accidents are down to driver error and this is not surprising, when you learn that of the 2500 drivers put to the test by uSwitch, only 1% of them answered all the questions correctly, 34% scored less than half marks, whilst a staggering 8% got all of them wrong.

A third of the drivers were unable to specify the national speed limit, which may go some way to explaining the fact that 7,300 accidents are caused each year by motorists speeding (with fatal results in over a thousand cases) and some 16,000 are caused by people driving too fast for the road conditions. Other gaps in the knowledge included not knowing the shape of a Stop sign, or what to do when an amber light is displayed on its own. Being able to act correctly when traffic lights fail was something that stumped over half of the drivers surveyed.

Leaving aside the human cost of road accidents, they can also have a profound effect on the wallet, with the loss of the no-claims discount. On average one claim will add almost £200 to the premium.

As for the insurance companies, it is little wonder that premiums are spiralling when you realise that the cost of the average claim is almost £2000.

There has been much talk over the last few years about making the driving test tougher and these figures would seem to bear out the need for all of us (particularly the 30 million of us who have never had to take the theory test) to go to back to basics and get to grips with the fundamentals of the Highway Code (available from supermarkets, bookshops, newsagents and online at the likes of Amazon for only £1.49.)