Drivers of Luxury Cars Cause More Accidents – Who's at Fault?

Insurers have recently revealed that drivers of luxury cars cause more road traffic accidents than their less flashy counterparts. The Smart car, meanwhile, has lived up to its name by causing statistically the fewest accidents of all drivers. But no matter what type of car you drive, whether it’s a Micra or a Rolls-Royce, if you’re injured in a road traffic accident that wasn’t you fault, you’re entitled to compensation for the loss you’ve suffered as a result.

In this blog post, we take a look at why luxury car drivers may cause more accidents and how to make a road traffic accident claim should you be injured in an accident.

Luxury Cars and Road Traffic Accidents, UK

The data produced by MoneySuperMarket analysed over 11.3 million car insurance quotes run on the site between July 2014 and June 2015. The result showed that Lexus owners were responsible for 111 accident fault claims per 1000 drivers, compared to Smart car drivers, at the top of the table, who reported fault in only 78.6 accidents.

Lexus, however, was not the only luxury brand at the bottom of the tables, with Land Rover and Audi also in the bottom five, with 110.1 and 105.2 at-fault claims respectively. Interestingly, this data throws out some outdated stereotypes. Typical boy-racer model manufacturer Subaru came third lowest in the table, with 79.7 driver-fault accidents per 1000 drivers.

Kevin Pratt, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, highlighted that claims will always impact premiums:

"Unfortunately, claiming for either an at-fault or not at-fault accident will have an impact on the cost of your car insurance premiums. If you have had to make a claim with your current insurer, it is therefore worth having a look for another deal when your policy is up for renewal. Unfortunately, many of the factors involved in insurance pricing are difficult for an individual to change at will.”

However, could the manufacturer of your car affect whether you are likely to be found ‘at-fault’ for a road traffic accident claim? Let’s take a look at the possible causes of luxury car driver negligence and how the court assesses fault.

Negligence and Road Traffic Accidents

It is difficult to say exactly why luxury cars cause more accidents than their more moderately priced counterparts, however there is reason to suggest that this could be because of an over reliance on safety features such as four-wheel-drive. Drivers are under an obligation to ensure they take care whilst driving. This includes taking into account road conditions such as adverse weather or the type of road they are driving on.

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident and plan to make a personal injury claim, one of the most important tasks is assessing who was to blame for the accident.

The rules for proving who was at fault in a road traffic accident come from the law of negligence. Negligence can be summarised as where a person either; does something that a reasonable person would not do, or fails to do something that any reasonable person would do.

For example, if two drivers are involved in a road traffic accident, the court will hear evidence and then determine who was at fault. In some cases, the court will find that one driver was entirely at fault, such as where the driver was driving a luxury car and were overly confident about four wheel drive, resulting in a crash because they were going much faster than they should have been for the weather conditions.

However, in another situation, the court may find that whilst that driver was overly confident, the other driver had also been driving without their lights on and were thus also partially at fault. In these circumstances, the court may apportion blame between the two drivers. Even if you are partially at fault for a road traffic accident, you can make a claim against the other driver where they have caused you injury. If you are partially to blame for your injury, this is called contributory negligence, and will often result in a deduction being made to the amount of compensation you will be awarded.

Making a Road Traffic Accident Claim, UK

As outlined above, making a road traffic accident compensation claim requires a solid presentation of evidence. That’s why you need a specialist road traffic compensation personal injury lawyer to represent you. Here at Lawford Claims we have years of experience in making road traffic accident claims on behalf of our clients. We are experts in negotiating with insurers and presenting evidence on behalf of our clients. Even if you are partially at fault you may still be able to claim compensation for your accident. When you contact our team, they can advise you on your personal circumstances.

Contact Our Specialist Personal Injury Team

If you have been injured in a road traffic accident our team of expert solicitors can help. Our team of solicitors will be able to inform you of exactly what evidence is needed to make a personal injury claim and what you may need to provide to build the strongest possible case. Contact us today using our online contact form or give us a call on 0808 301 8288.