Surgeons and General Practitioners are the most accident-prone drivers, according to an analysis of two million insurance claims that reveals an extraordinary concentration of problem driving among healthcare professionals.
The analysis, by Moneysupermarket.com – courtesy of the Deanna Thickson Insurance Protection Group in Cobourg, Ont. – found surgeons and GPs were nearly 100 times more likely to cause an at-fault accident while driving than a building society clerk.
For every 1,000 surgeons who drive a car, 361 made an at-fault claim in the past five years, compared with just 3.5 building society clerks, research found.
But it is not only doctors who are a danger on the roads.
The figures show that the top 10 occupations registering an at-fault claim were all, bar one, connected to the healthcare profession – including nurses, home care workers and hospital consultants.
Kevin Pratt, car insurance expert at Moneysupermarket, said stress and tiredness might be behind the figures.
“One industry dominates the top 10 claims table – it seems those who have the responsibility of saving our lives and caring for our health are the most accident-prone drivers,” he told The Guardian. “There is no doubt that surgeons, GPs and home care workers are all stressful jobs, so lack of time or tiredness could mean that these drivers are more likely to make an at-fault claim.”
At the other end of the scale, clerks in offices make the fewest at-fault claims.
The occupations are from a standardized list used by all insurers when drivers take out a policy in the United Kingdom.
Statistics are based on 1,934,550 claims recorded in the disclosed five year history of each driver from 11,064,736 quotes run on the MoneySuperMarket car insurance site between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014
MOST ‘AT FAULT’ CLAIMS
No Profession Claims per ‘000 drivers
1 Surgeon 361.2
2 General Practitioner 332.5
3 Home Healthcare 314.8
4 Hospital Consultant 295.6
5 Clinical Psychologist 282.2
6 Psychotherapist 269.8
7 Probation Officer 268.1
8 District Nurse 265.7
9 Dental Surgeon 262.9
10 Community Nurse 261.1
A district nurse provides care within the community in the U.K., usually leading a team of community nurses, on visits to patients' homes.
FEWEST ‘AT FAULT’ CLAIMS
No Profession Claims per ‘000 drivers
1 Building Society Clerk 3.5
2 Order Clerk 14.8
3 Audit Clerk 27.6
4 Funfair Employee 30.1
5 Wages Clerk 33.4
6 Typist 35.4
7 Car Wash Attendant 52.5
8 Abattoir Worker 53.6
9 Packer 55.7
10 Picker 59.6
Statistics are based on 1,934,550 claims recorded in the disclosed five year history of each driver from 11,064,736 quotes run on the MoneySuperMarket car insurance site between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014.
