Welsh drivers among UK’s safest as Cardiff tops national rankings

Nation.Cymru staff

Drivers in Wales are among the safest in the UK, according to a new study, with Cardiff postcodes ranked as the safest areas overall.

The research by car insurer Marshmallow found Wales had the second-highest regional road safety score in Britain, behind only Scotland, while Cardiff achieved the highest overall safety score of any postcode area analysed.

The rankings follow official figures showing improvements in road safety since Wales introduced its default 20mph speed limit in September 2023.

Welsh Government data indicates the policy has been accompanied by a larger reduction in slight, serious and fatal casualties than in England and Scotland.

Official data shows a 19% fall in collisions in 2024, resulting in around 100 fewer people being killed or seriously injured than in the previous year.

Although the 20mph policy remains politically contentious, supporters will argue the latest figures demonstrate Wales’ focus on road safety is delivering results.

Marshmallow analysed more than 500,000 data points, including insurance claims, road accidents, police attendance at collisions and the severity of crashes across 69 postcode areas. The rankings combined accident claim rates with police-recorded collision and serious injury rates.

Wales recorded an average regional safety score of 80.3 out of 100, second only to Scotland’s 95.3. London ranked lowest with an average score of 30.6.

Cardiff topped the national index with a perfect safety score of 100 and also recorded the lowest rate of serious and fatal collisions per 1,000 vehicles of any postcode area in the top 10.

Oliver Kent-Braham, co-chief executive of Marshmallow, said: “Wales performed strongly in the Safe Driver Index, with the second-highest average regional safety score and Cardiff ranking safest overall.
“Cardiff also recorded the lowest serious and fatal collision rate per 1,000 cars owned out of all postcode areas in the top 10.”

Under the default 20mph limit, introduced in September 2023, street-lit residential roads are assumed to have a 20mph limit unless signed otherwise, although councils have since reinstated 30mph limits on selected routes where they consider it appropriate.

GoSafe, the Welsh road safety partnership, estimates the change has added an average of around two minutes to typical journeys while contributing to lower casualty rates.