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Last updated: 25 March 2026

A well-known van safety study commissioned by AXA Business Insurance asked a simple question: when do van drivers get into trouble most often — compared with other motorists?

The research (published as a 2014 report) analysed reported injury collisions in Britain between 2008 and 2012, using police STATS19 data, to compare van-driver collision patterns with all other drivers.

The biggest risk spikes for van drivers

The report’s headline finding is that van drivers are much more likely to be involved in injury collisions during certain manoeuvres and conditions — especially those linked to visibility and judgement.

Key “more likely than other motorists” situations included:

• Reversing: +142%
• Close following (tailgating): +47%
• Parked up / stationary incidents: +43%
• U-turns: +39%
• Changing lanes: +36%
• Tiredness / fatigue impairment: +23%

These are not “all crashes everywhere” figures — they are comparative signals from injury-collision records, showing where van drivers are over-represented.

The good news: where van drivers tended to be safer

AXA’s summary of the same Road Safety Analysis work notes van drivers were less likely than other motorists to crash in some higher-pressure situations, including heavy traffic, roundabouts, and overtaking.

What to do about it: practical fixes for the top risk moments

1) Reversing: treat it as a high-risk manoeuvre

The Highway Code’s reversing rules stress choosing safe places to manoeuvre, avoiding reversing into main roads where possible, and doing full all-round checks before and during the manoeuvre.

For work settings (yards, depots, sites), HSE recommends planning reversing areas, keeping pedestrians out of reversing zones, and only using a trained signaller where risk assessment shows it’s necessary.

Quick van-driver routine:

• Slow down, window down if needed, check mirrors + blind spots
• If you can’t see clearly: stop and re-check (or get a trained guide where appropriate)

2) Close following: build an “impossible to tailgate” schedule

Tailgating is often a time-pressure symptom. If your day is planned to the minute, following distances tend to collapse.

• Leave earlier than you think for the first job (the whole day improves)
• Treat rain/darkness as an automatic “increase the gap” trigger

3) Fatigue: plan breaks like a safety control (not a luxury)

HSE’s driving-for-work guidance emphasises planning and managing journeys so schedules allow for safe driving and breaks.

If you’re the person setting routes/ETAs, fatigue risk is partly a management decision.

4) Lane changes and U-turns: reduce “surprise manoeuvres”

Most lane-change and U-turn problems come from last-second decisions.

• Plan routes so you’re not relying on sudden U-turns to recover mistakes
• Check mirrors and blind spots early, signal early, and avoid “threading” into gaps that disappear

The practical takeaway

AXA’s study doesn’t say van drivers are “worse drivers”. It shows that vans are more exposed in the manoeuvres where size, blind spots, and stop-start work patterns matter most — reversing, close following, fatigue and lane changes.

Sources

1. AXA Business Insurance / Road Safety Analysis — Van Crashes in Great Britain (Research report 2014; STATS19 injury collisions 2008–2012; comparative indices including reversing/close following/fatigue).
2. AXA UK — The Unluckiest Van (17 Feb 2015; summarises key RSA/AXA findings incl. 142% reversing, 47% tailgating, 23% tiredness).
3. AXA UK — Van Drivers: How Safe Is Your Driving? (23 Dec 2015; additional context and “safer in traffic/roundabouts/overtaking” summary; cites RSA June 2014).
4. GOV.UK — The Highway Code: Using the road (159 to 203) (includes reversing rules 200–203).
5. HSE — Reversing vehicles (workplace transport reversing controls).
6. HSE — Driving for work: maintain vehicles / driver aids (notes use of reversing alarms/cameras/sensors where appropriate).