Most road accidents happen at 'slow' speeds

The data from insurance claims management company WNS Assistance also showed that only 4.5% of road traffic accidents happen at more than 30mph miles per hour.

Surprisingly only one in a thousand crashes involved vehicles travelling at over 70mph and one in 200 at over 60 mph. In contrast, 43.5% of accidents occur when the vehicle is travelling at 10 miles per hour or less.

A spokesperson for WNS Assistance said that when added to the number of motor claims made following damage to a stationary vehicle, the overall number of accidents involving vehicles travelling at a crawl or at a standstill was "a staggering 80% of the total."

The company said it believed that more accidents were taking place at slower speeds on Britain's roads because of the build up in traffic in recent years.

Similar figures compiled in 2001, showed that two-thirds of motor accidents happened at slow speeds, or when vehicles were stationary, compared to over three quarters now.

'Snail's pace'

WNS Assistance said the growth was "entirely" down to a rise in the number of accidents occurring at "very low speeds". It figures were based on analysis of almost 100,000 claims.

According to Government figures, traffic levels on Britain's roads have increased by between 1% and 2% each year since 1999, with car drivers now clocking up over 300 billion miles every year in the UK.

The number of goods vehicles on Britain's roads has been growing at an even faster rate - at around 3% each year. The number of small vans has grown the most - up by 5% every year - fuelled by an increase in home deliveries, according to the Department for Transport.

WNS Assistance's managing director, Tim Rankin, said: "The word 'crash' or 'smash' is becoming less and less applicable to road traffic accidents, since approaching half take place at a snail's pace.

"At the current rate of increase, more than 50% of all accidents will happen at a speed of 10 mph or less within just a few years."

It has been estimated that 20% of company car drivers spend more than 11 days a year sitting stationary in congested traffic.