Car accidents to increase over Christmas

Difficult road conditions and dark nights in the winter have contributed to a rapid increase in the number of car accidents on Britain's roads.

Leading motor insurer AXA has also warned that more than 50,000 motorists could have accidents this year as they head off for the Christmas break.

Research carried out by the organisation has found that in the last two years, the days between December 20th and 24th have seen a 45 per cent increase in car accidents compared with the remainder of the month.

The worst day for car accidents is December 23rd, with the number of collisions increasing by over 65 per cent.

Sarah Vaughan, motor director at AXA says: "The pressure of Christmas seems to have a negative effect on our driving.

"Obviously there are larger numbers of drivers on the roads so we would expect accidents to be up, but not to the extent that our statistics reveal."

She added that Christmas is a very stressful time of year for drivers, with many travelling with overloaded cars, excitable children in the back and dealing with wintry conditions.

Posted by Verity Taylor

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