Road Traffic Accident fatalities, according to 2007 statistics, are at an average of 2,946. Approximately forty-nine per cent of those killed were car users themselves. Twenty per cent of the aforementioned were motorcyclists, ten per cent were cyclists and occupants of public services and a notable twenty two percent of deaths in road accidents were pedestrians. These numbers indicate that, among much else, a large amount of deaths in the United Kingdom are accountable to road traffic accidents. A fact which has lead to a rise in both insurance premiums and personal injury claims; two factors which are essentially interlinked.

Insurance premium rates are expected to rise between twelve and fourteen per cent this year. Sources, such as Simon Douglas (Director of AA), are crediting this to fraud, theft and personal injury claims.

“The fact remains that underlying premiums are rising more steeply than they have since [the year] 2000 because of rising costs. In the past three months more than 90 per cent of quotes in the AA Index added £5 or more to their premiums and only 2 per cent fell”

Insurance companies and government representatives are also blaming the rise on the soar in personal injury claims. Claims -in addition to associated legal fees- reached £9.6 billion last year, and are expected to surmount £10.9 billion by 2012. Such statistics are made credible by the insurance policies, as sixty-six pounds of insurance coverage in all companies and policies is set aside for whiplash injury claims alone.

However, personal injury claims, with the exception of fraud, are filed due to motor accidents and collisions. A fact which draws many to the conclusion that the core of unnecessary fees and costs, in addition to other contributing factors, is road traffic accidents. Thus, according to motor experts and government statistics, there is a close-knit relationship between road traffic accidents and rising costs, inflicted on the general public by the general public.