ABSENT-minded drivers are the most common cause of road accidents in Dorset, figures reveal.

The latest Department for Transport statistics show drivers or riders failing to look properly contributed to nearly 400 accidents in the county last year.

Officers can choose one or more reasons for any accident where at least one person suffers a slight injury in an incident with a vehicle. These do not have to involve cars and could, for example, include a cyclist falling over or a motorbike colliding with a pedestrian.

Using this criteria it’s shown that 99 accidents in Bournemouth last year were caused by drivers or riders failing to look properly.

The figures, which report contributory factors for accidents as recorded by police, also show that 41 accidents were caused by drivers or riders failing to judge another vehicle’s speed.

Drivers or riders failing to look properly contributed to 94 accidents in Poole last year with 34 of those accidents caused by drivers or riders failing to judge another vehicle’s speed.

And in the Dorset area, which includes Christchurch, absent-mindedness contributed to 201 with 92 of those caused by drivers or riders failing to judge another vehicle’s speed.

Samuel Nahk, of road safety charity Brake, said: “These figures clearly highlight that driver error is one of the main causes of crashes on our roads, all too often leading to death and serious injury. Yet every death and injury on our roads is a needless, preventable tragedy.

“We can mitigate the impact of driver error through a safe systems approach with safer roads, safer vehicles, safer speeds and safer road use, enabling people to move around in safe and healthy ways.

“Drivers can also reduce their chances of causing a crash by ensuring they stick well within the speed limit, take more time to look carefully at junctions, and giving the road their full attention at all times.”

Last year, two people were killed and 42 seriously injured on Bournemouth’s roads.

This was fewer than in 2017, when police recorded four deaths and 78 serious injuries.

Overall casualties, which include slight injuries, fell from 522 to 391 over the period.

The DfT cautions against comparing trends from previous years, however, because of changes to the way some forces record the severity of road injuries.

Across Britain, 1,784 people were killed on the roads in 2018, while 25,500 suffered serious injuries.

The trend in fatalities has been broadly flat since 2010, following a sustained drop in road deaths over the past four decades.

A DfT spokeswoman said: “Our comprehensive Road Safety Action Plan sets out more than 70 different measures to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads.”