Surgeons and GPs more likely to cause car accidents than other workers

Surgeons and GPs are the most accident-prone drivers, according to an analysis of 2 million insurance claims that reveals an extraordinary concentration of problem driving among healthcare professionals.

The analysis, by Moneysupermarket.com, found surgeons and GPs were nearly 100 times more likely to cause an at-fault accident while driving than a building society clerk, The Guardian reports.

For every 1,000 surgeons who drive a car, 361 made an at-fault claim in the past five years, compared with just 3.5 building society clerks, the research found.

It is not only doctors who are a danger on the roads. The figures show that the top 10 occupations registering an at-fault claim were all, bar one, connected to the healthcare profession – including district nurses, community nurses, health visitors and hospital consultants.

Kevin Pratt, car insurance expert at Moneysupermarket, said stress and tiredness might be behind the figures. “One industry dominates the top 10 claims table – it seems those who have the responsibility of saving our lives and caring for our health are the most accident-prone drivers.

“There is no doubt that surgeons, GPs and health visitors are all stressful jobs, so lack of time or tiredness could mean that these drivers are more likely to make an at-fault claim.”

At the other end of the scale, clerks in offices make the fewest at-fault claims.

But it may come as a surprise to see that funfair employees are among the safest drivers on the roads, along with abattoir workers.

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