Westminster named UK’s most dangerous area for pedestrians, analysis finds

A study of road-collision data has identified Westminster as the most dangerous area in the United Kingdom for pedestrians, with city centres in general showing a higher share of crashes that involve people on foot.

The personal-injury experts at claims.co.uk analysed road-collision figures from 2014 to 2023 and reported that Westminster averaged 1,036 collisions a year, of which 242 involved pedestrians — about 23.4% of all collisions in the borough. The study found urban areas tended to present greater pedestrian risk than rural areas.

Scotland’s largest urban centres were prominent in the ranking. Glasgow was reported to have pedestrian incidents in 21.1% of its recorded collisions, placing the city close behind Westminster, while Aberdeen showed nearly 22% of collisions involved pedestrians; the analysis said Aberdeen averaged 111 collisions a year, with 24 involving people on foot.

In London, Camden ranked fourth, with an annual average of 564 collisions and 120 involving pedestrians, a 21.3% share. Other areas listed among the most dangerous included Oldham, Liverpool, Bolton, Manchester, Harrow and Rochdale. Oldham was cited as averaging 152 collisions annually and 32 pedestrian-involved incidents, a share of about 21.3%.

By contrast, the study identified areas with much lower shares of pedestrian involvement. The East Riding of Yorkshire had one of the lowest rates, with 474 collisions annually and only 25 involving pedestrians, a share of 5.17%. Central Bedfordshire recorded 5.68% and Wiltshire 6.12%.

The claims.co.uk spokesperson said the figures illustrate wide regional differences in pedestrian risk. "These numbers really show how different pedestrian safety can be depending on where you are," the spokesperson said. "In busy city centres it's expected that more people on foot will mean more incidents, but in some places the share involving pedestrians is worryingly high. In fact, someone walking in Westminster is almost five times more likely to be involved in a collision than in East Riding of Yorkshire. That kind of gap really highlights the need for targeted road safety measures in the areas where people are most at risk."

The analysis measured the proportion of collisions that involved pedestrians rather than raw counts alone. That approach highlights how pedestrian exposure and urban traffic patterns affect the relative share of incidents with people on foot. Westminster, which the study noted welcomes about 25 million visitors a year and contains major tourist attractions and high pedestrian density, registered the highest proportion under that metric.

Road-safety organisations and local authorities typically cite multiple factors in urban pedestrian safety, including traffic volume and speed, road design, crossing facilities, enforcement, and the mix of vehicle and foot traffic. The claims.co.uk analysis does not attribute causation but provides a comparative view of where pedestrians have been involved in a larger share of documented road collisions over the 2014–2023 period.

Officials and campaigners have in recent years called for targeted interventions in high-risk areas, including lower speed limits, better crossing infrastructure and traffic-calming measures. The study’s authors said the findings could help prioritise where such measures might reduce the proportion of collisions involving pedestrians.

The dataset used in the analysis and the methodology were summarised by claims.co.uk; the organisation’s spokesperson urged local decision-makers to consider the regional variations when planning road-safety policies and infrastructure investments.

(Reporting contains data provided by claims.co.uk on road collisions in the United Kingdom for the period 2014–2023.)