New survey finds small is safe when it comes to cars

8 August 2006 12:07 GMT / By Jonathan Goddard

Small is beautiful, so they say - and now it seems small is also safer.
According a new study, the smaller the vehicle you drive, the less likely you are to be involved in a road accident.

Amazingly, the chav car du choix - the gone and sadly not forgotten Vauxhall Nova - is statistically less likely to be involved in an accident than any other motor, with just 8% of owners making an insurance claim. Then again, most Vauxhall Nova drivers probably don’t have insurance. Or a licence. Or adult teeth.

Other makes with a low percentage of insurance claims included the Fiat Cinquecento, Rover Metro, Peugeot 205 and Peugeot 106, probably because they spend most of their lives in the garage being fixed.

However, 24% of Alfa Romeo 147 owners of and 23% of BMW 330 drivers had made an accident claim, while the Mazda MX-5, Seat Leon, Alfa Romeo 156, Mercedes SLK and Porsche Boxster didnlt fair too well either. Three Audis - the A6, A4, and A3 - also seem to be driven by accident prone drivers.

A research spokesman said: “It's fair to say that luxury and executive cars have among the highest accident rates because they are often used for long-distance travel, with busy, stressed and tired executives behind the wheel”.