Reading has been named one the UK’s safest places to drive – but that doesn’t mean it is immune to serious crashes.

The town was ranked the seventh safest area by car insurance company Quotezone, who analyzed car accident statistics across the UK to create a metric out of 100.

Reading scored 76.225, but the latest Crash Map data shows there were still 165 incidents in the year ending June 2021.

Reading Chronicle: Crashes in Reading recorded by CrashMap.co.uk using data from the Department for TransportCrashes in Reading recorded by CrashMap.co.uk using data from the Department for Transport

Of those:

  • 141 were slight
  • 19 were serious
  • 0 were fatal

These statistics only include data up to June 2021, so do not take into account the death of Pulvinder Dhillon, whose her car collided with another just before junction 12 westbound on March 7.

The highest concentration of serious collisions were in East Reading, in an L shape from the A3290, along London Road and up Redlands Road to Christchurch Road.

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Less of a pattern was displayed by 'slight' incidents, but notable streets included Oxford Road, in particular the roundabout joining Wigmore lane where four collisions were recorded.

Bath Road saw nine incidents, though the length of the road may explain why there were more here than in other locations.

Park Lane by comparison does not have this excuse and recorded five crashes.

The least safe places to drive in the UK were Blackburn with Darwen, with a score of 16.8, Lincolnshire and Chorley.