Accidents involving foreign lorries up 10%

New data suggests accidents involving foreign lorries have risen by 10 percent over the past twelve months.

Statistics from leading accident management specialist, Accident Exchange, showed that between March 2008 and February 2009, foreign lorries were the ‘at fault’ party for one in every 378 road traffic accidents the Company handled, representing a increase of 10.07% on the previous year.

The resulting average repair bill was £1872, with one in ten vehicles classified as insurance ‘write-offs’.

Based on analysis of over 115,000 accidents, the findings contradict the slowdown in international trade and a continuing Government-backed campaign to tackle the most common cause of foreign lorry accidents - ‘side-swiping’.

Motorway crashes accounted for almost half of all reported incidents with the M25 the number one hotspot. The London Orbital was the scene of one in four (25%) of all reported left-hand HGV accidents – up from one in five (20%) on the previous twelve month period (March 07- February 08).

Since December 2007, in an attempt to reduce ‘side-swiping’ – caused when motorists are travelling in the HGV’s blind-spot – the Department for Transport has handed out over 200,000 Fresnel lenses to foreign lorries entering the country. Analysis of Accident Exchange data shows the number of incidents decreased in the first three months before returning to previous levels.

Nearly a third (32%) of the cases analysed were unable to pursue claims against the negligent foreign driver.

“Non-existing policies, difficulty contacting foreign insurance companies, drivers pulling off without leaving details – reasons cited for why motorists are likely to be unsuccessful in recovering damages from foreign-registered HGVs,” explains Michael Killoury, Managing Director of Customer Services at Accident Exchange.

Under the revised Road Safety Act, VOSA officers and Police now have the power to issue fixed penalties or on-the-spot fines of up to £900 to drivers of foreign vehicles if they commit offences.

However, the fault may not lie entirely with the foreign lorries according to Peter Cullum, Head of International Affairs at the Road Hauliers Association. “In the last year we have seen escalating fuel prices reduce traffic densities on our major trunk roads. As a result it’s highly possible that increasing motorway speeds are leading to a rise in side-swiping incidents caused by undertaking or overtaking drivers who don’t understand the blind-spot hazard of left-hand-drive HGVs.”

According to the Association of British Insurers, mile for mile, foreign lorries are three times more likely to be involved in collisions than their UK counterparts. In 2008, official statistics showed they were involved in around 30 fatal incidents.