The top 10 most dangerous places to own a car in the UK for vehicle crime and accidents

The City of London is the most dangerous place to own a car in the UK for vehicle crime and accidents, it has been revealed.

If you live, work or even just park your car in the City of London, your vehicle is most vulnerable for crime and accidents, as the bustling Square Mile is the most dangerous place to own a car in the UK by police force.

New data has been revealed which shows the most dangerous places to own a car in the UK for vehicle crime and accidents and the top five includes places such as Scotland, the West Midlands and Bedfordshire.  

The results were catergorised into three sections, road accident rate, vehicle offense rate and car danger rate. The road accident rate is calculated by dividing the population of each police force by 1,000 and dividing the amount by the number of accidents or vehicle offences in each area, which represents a rate of 1,000 people. 

The 10 worst places to own a car across the UK includes the City of London and Scotland

London's Square Mile (pictured above) is the most dangerous place to own a car 

London’s Square Mile (pictured above) is the most dangerous place to own a car 

The vehicle offence rate is defined by dangerous, careless or drunk driving, unauthorised taking or theft of a motor vehicle, and accident, speed limit, licence, insurance and record keeping, vehicle test and condition offences.

This is while car danger rate reflects the total of road accidents and vehicle offence according to Quotezone.

Even though Scotland only has a road accident rate of 3.00, it comes in second for the most dangerous place to own a car in the UK as its vehicle offence rate is 24.38 and its car danger rate is 28.17.

10 most dangerous places to own a car

1. City of London

2. Police Scotland

3. Metropolitan Police (London)

4. West Midlands

5. Bedfordshire

6. Warwickshire

7. South Yorkshire

8. West Yorkshire

9. Greater Manchester

10. Cambridgeshire

10 safest places to own a car

1. North Wales

2. Dyfed – Powys

3. Norfolk

4. Gwent

5. Cheshire

6. Devon and Cornwall

7. West Mercia

8. North Yorkshire

9. Staffordshire

10. Cumbria

Thieves often target cars where possessions have been left visible inside (stock image)

Thieves often target cars where possessions have been left visible inside (stock image)

Coming in third place is the Metropolitan Police area of London, where the road accident rate comes in at 7.77, the vehicle offence rate 11.99 and the car danger rate 19.76.

If you are visiting the country’s worst hit area, the Square Mile, then it could be a wise idea to steer clear of driving through the area, as the road accident rate in the area is a huge 80.20, its vehicle offenses rate 17.6 and its car danger rate 97.8. 

Away from London and Scotland, the West Midlands home to Birmingham and Wolverhampton is next on the list for the most dangerous area with an accident rate of 5.72, vehicle offence rate of 12.77 and a car danger rate of 18.48.

Top tips to avoid car theft

If you live in one of the UK’s top danger zones then the below tips could help you keep your car safe

Keep valuables out of sight and locked away: This might seem obvious to most people but many car owners don’t lock their possessions away when parking up. Handbags, phone cables and packages can all attract unwanted attention 

Turn your car wheels into the curb:  Many thieves don’t just want the valuables inside the car, but also its wheels. By turning your wheels in when you’re parking your vehicle you’ll make the wheels much harder to steal because they will be locked in the wheel well.

Install an anti-theft system: Anti-theft systems are a big deterrent for thieves, and could also help to lower your car insurance costs.

 

In fact, Birmingham had a colossal 100 vehicle crimes in July 2018 alone, with a worrying 11% of those happening near a local children’s hospital, suggesting some criminals may see the vehicles of parents that are distracted or distressed by a child’s illness as an easier target.

Bedfordshire came in fifth place with an accident rate of 5.72, vehicle offence rate of 12.77 and a danger rate of 16.38.

Warwickshire came in sixth place, South Yorkshire in seventh, West Yorkshire in eighth, greater Manchester in ninth and Cambridgeshire in tenth.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom, if you are lucky enough to live in North Wales, which is also one of the UK’s top places to visit, then you can rest assured that your car will be safe, as it topped the list of safest places to own a car in the UK.

With an overall car danger Rate of just 7.29 per 1,000 people, North Wales is the UK’s leading safe spot for car owners.

The largest town in North Wales is Wrexham, which has only had 14 reported vehicle crimes since January 2018.

Dyfed-Powys, located just a little further south, came in second, boasting the second-lowest car danger rate in Britain despite the fact that it’s also the largest police territory in England and Wales.

In third place was Norfolk which boasted a road accident rate of 5.92, while Gwent came in fifth with a rating of 3.27.

Cheshire, Devon and Cornwall, West Mercia, North Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Cumbria were also among the other places in the UK where it is safest to own a car.

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk