For the British public, threats are posed from numerous angles. Whilst people commonly think of accident hot spots as being associated with road collisions, the truth is that where we work and shop can be just as dangerous and that means constant vigilance is needed to stay safe.
Accident hot spots can therefore cover anything from specific stretches of road to particular industries and areas of work – and that means Brits have a number of risks to contend with.
Work hot spots
With Brits spending a large proportion of their lives at work, it is no wonder that there are numerous accident hot spots in these areas. According to the Healthy and Safety Executive (HSE) almost half of all injuries (40%) are caused by slips and trips and this puts all workers at risk of accident.
In terms of fatal injuries, figures from the HSE revealed that work-related deaths had increased over 2011, with 171 people killed at work during 2010-2011. The sectors with the worst results for fatal injuries were those related to services and construction. The former of these saw fatal work incidents increase from 33 to 47 whilst the later experienced an increase from 41 to 50.
Those who work with water, sewerage and recycling – a sector known for its high levels of risk – experienced more than double the number of work fatalities than the year before as the HSA figures showed an increase from 4 to 10 work deaths.
Road hot spots
All roads are subject to accidents, with driver error and road and weather conditions contributing to the likelihood of a collision. That being said, some roads are statistically more likely to encounter an accident than others and overall the South of England has the most dangerous roads.
Major roads such as the A40 and M25 naturally feature high on the list of hot spots with accidents regrettably common.
Overall, Britain has some of the riskiest roads in Europe – according to a report by the European Road Safety Council. A total of fifty four road deaths occur in Britain per million of population, a figure which is higher than the European countries of Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Approximately seven people are killed on British roads each day and road accidents are the largest cause of accidental death for individuals aged between five and thirty-five years. These fatal incidents are in addition to the high volume of injuries which are sustained as a result of traffic accidents, with almost one quarter of a million people injured in road collisions in 2008 alone.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to avoid accidents and in these instances seeking the necessary compensation is vital.
Road accident claims can be lodged by those who have sustained harm through no fault of their own and many services which handled these will operate on a no win no fee basis. This means claimants do not have to pay for the service if their case is not upheld – allowing them to take the necessary action without worrying about the financial implications.
Injurylawyers4u are one firm which offer this service and use their wealth of experience to ensure you get the best possible result.