The answer is very simple “close to home” is where most people drive most of the
time. Therefore most crashes happen close to home.
One survey showed that nearly a third of crashes happen less than a mile from home. Crashing into a parked car was the most common type of collision within a mile of a driver’s home. In this survey just 5% of crashes occurred 26 to 50 miles from home, and 6% at distances of more than 50 miles away.
Of the crashes closest to home, the most common cause after hitting parked vehicles was crashing while driving out of a minor road, followed by reversing into a vehicle and by hitting a wall.
Another study show that only 1% of accidents occur more than 50 miles from home. Most people drive close to their home, which is why car insurance rates depend heavily on the insureds home address. This table represents some research carried out a couple of years ago.
| Distance From Home | % of Accidents |
|---|---|
| < 1 mile | 23% |
| 2 – 5 miles | 29% |
| 6 – 10 miles | 17% |
| 11 – 15 miles | 8% |
| 16 – 20 miles | 6% |
| > 20 miles | 17% |
Yet another research study suggests that many drivers appear to be in a comfort zone when driving close to home on familiar roads, hence why such a large proportion of crashes occur there.
Whilst different research show differing figures it does seem that driving close to home is the most likely place to have a collision.
The primary reason that most accidents near home is that most vehicles operate near home.
Hi Statistician
Thank you for your comment.
As I wrote in the blog post – “The answer is very simple “close to home” is where most people drive most of the time. Therefore most crashes happen close to home.”