Motorists have been told to keep their eyes on the road after the biggest cause of accidents was claimed to be wandering attention rather than speed.
In the first report of its kind, the Department for Transport published details of contributory factors to road accidents.
Covering most accidents that took place in 2005, the report said that failure by drivers to look properly was the most common factor in 32 per cent of accidents.
Exceeding the speed limit was the contributory factor in only five per cent of accidents and going too fast for the conditions was a contributory factor in ten per cent of accidents.
Speed or going too fast for conditions were a contributory factor in 26 per cent of fatal accidents.
Five of the six most frequently reported contributory factors were some kind of driver or rider error or reaction.
Anti-speed camera groups have responded to the report by calling for a change in Government road safety policy.
The Safe Speed campaign group said the Government should use the findings to scrap speed cameras.
But Phillip Gwynne, of the West Yorkshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, said the figures were distorted.
"The results are to do with a change in the way the statistics have been re-calculated," he said.
"In the past the category has been excess and inappropriate speed so all casualties that are speed related have come under that heading.
"What they have done this year is to break that single heading into two categories - excess speed and driving too fast for the conditions. Very few people drive at very excessive speeds and the vast majority of collisions causing casualties are just a few miles an hour over the limit.
"The effect of this is that the anti speed camera brigade have put two and two together and come up with five."
The contributory factor report came out as the DfT also published estimates which showed that the number of people killed in accidents involving drink-driving fell by three per cent to 560 last year, with total casualties in drink-drive accidents falling by an estimated nine per cent.
e-mail: jennifer.sugden@bradford.newsquest.co.uk
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