Written question asked by Michael Fallon (Conservative) on Monday, 19 January 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 22 January 2009. It was answered by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Thursday, 22 January 2009 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Roads: Accidents

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds on the number of road traffic accidents which are recorded annually as being the fault of drivers aged over (a) 70 years and (b) 80 years.

Answer: The information requested is not held centrally.The Department for Transport publishes the number of drivers of different age groups involved in reported personal injury road accidents in table 38a of the publication "Road Casualties Great Britain - annual report 2007". Fault is not assigned to participants in these collisions. However, information on the contributory factors is collected and published in article 4 of the same report. Table 4h of this article provides the most frequently recorded contributory factors for car drivers by age group.Copies of the report have been deposited in the Libraries of the House. The report is also published on the Department for Transport web site at the following link:"http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/roadcasualtiesgreatbritain20071."

Secondary information