The most likely person to cause a traffic accident is a 24-year old male who drives a BMW

The statistical data of BTA Kindlustus show that the persons who cause traffic accidents the most frequently in Estonia are men aged 18-24 who hold category B driving licenses and drive 3 Series BMWs. They mainly cause accidents in the surroundings of Tallinn, Tartu and other major cities. This is the group of drivers that has to pay higher comprehensive insurance and motor third party liability insurance premiums, said the manager of the Estonian branch of SE BTA Olavi Laido.

“Although many people believe that the older the car, the bigger the risk, it is interesting to note that the age of the vehicle does not have much impact on accident statistics,” said the manager of the Estonian branch of SE BTA Olavi Laido. “When we analyse the data of our insurance group, we see that the share of accidents caused by cars that are three to five years old cause a slightly bigger number of accidents. Moreover: the figures confirm that male drivers of 3 Series BMWs take the most risks when driving, whilst women who drive the same model of car are much more careful and rarely cause anything more serious than minor fender-benders.”

Olavi Laido says that accident statistics have an impact on risk assessment by insurers and indirectly they also affect insurance tariffs.

The pan-Baltic internal statistics of BTA Kindlustus indicate that 57.7% of all registered accidents in 2010 were caused by men and 42.3% by women. However, traffic accident statistics show that accidents were associated with men in 71.6% of all cases. Men are also dominant in the statistics of car accidents caused by drunk drivers (87.2%).

31,613 traffic accidents were registered in Estonia in 2010, where 1,712 people were injured and 78 people were killed. The average number of traffic accidents per day in 2010 was 94. Friday is statistically the most dangerous day in traffic with 117 accidents and Sunday the safest with 56 accidents per day. The biggest number of traffic accidents occurs between 7:00 am and 11:00 pm whilst the worst time is the evening rush hour from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm.