Most dangerous places to drive in Northern Ireland revealed

The latest government data analysed by the price comparison website shows the areas that have the highest and lowest rate of driving offences in Northern Ireland.

Although the overall number of motoring offences have been gradually declining, 40,335 offences were recorded on Northern Ireland roads in the last year.

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area was the worst region for motoring offences in Northern Ireland with 354 offences per 10,000 people.

Antrim and Newtownabbey was the second highest with 339 per 10,000 people, closely followed by Newry City, Mourne and Down with 303 and Mid Ulster with 298.

Belfast fell around the middle with 284 driving offences per 10,000 followed by Derry City and Strabane with 272.

Other areas saw much lower rates of driving offences. Ards and North Down recorded the lowest with just 134 offences per 10,000 people. Mid and East Antrim also showed low rates of offences with 182 incidents per 10,000 people, down 15 per cent from last year.

Causeway Coast and Glens district council was next lowest with 215 per 10,000 people, decreasing by 13 per cent from last year.

Overall, the number of driving offences on NI roads has fallen by 9 per cent in the last year with 4,123 fewer offences than the previous year.

Mobile phone offences saw the biggest decrease from the previous year, falling by 32 per cent. CompareNI. com says this is most likely due to stricter legislation around using mobile phones while driving, which was introduced in March 2022.

The largest number of offences were recorded for speeding with a total of 6,958 detections, an increase of 2 per cent from the year before.

Insurance offences were the second biggest group with 6,751 detections, accounting for one third of all offences recorded.

Commenting on the latest figures, Ian Wilson, managing director of CompareNI.com said: “It’s great to see the number of overall road offences in Northern Ireland continuing to decrease year on year. However, it is shocking to see that insurance is the second highest motoring offence, accounting for a third of all recorded offences on our roads in the past 12 months.

"Insurance is a legal requirement and the consequences of driving without it are severe and costly. Those caught driving without adequate insurance can face six penalty points, disqualification of driving and a fine of up to £200.

"At a time when the cost of living is so high, nobody wants to be paying more than they have to for their insurance. Three points on a licence can mean five per cent more on a premium every year for the four years an infringement stays on the licence, six points can push up fees by about 25 per cent.”

CompareNI.com is Northern Ireland’s largest price comparison website aiming to help consumers find savings on essentials and everyday household bills such as car insurance, van insurance and loans.