Sefton's drivers named worst for running red lights in 2025

SEFTON is Britain's number 1 hotspot for crashes caused by drivers running red lights. The research, conducted by accident compensation experts Claims.Co.UK, examined Gov.UK road accident statistics from across Great Britain. The local authorities with the highest percentage of road collisions caused by ignoring automatic traffic signals have been named the most dangerous, with the North West of England dominating the top 10.

Motorists in Sefton are Britain's worst offenders for jumping traffic lights, with data showing that a staggering 7.54% of all road accidents in the area occur when drivers ignore signals. The Merseyside borough records 244 collisions in a typical year, with 18 directly caused by signal violations.

With 7.09% of all road crashes happening when drivers race through traffic lights, the City of London ranks 2nd. Despite its compact size, the financial district sees 112 collisions annually, with 8 involving motorists who fail to stop at signals.

Wolverhampton sees 233 collisions yearly, with 14 caused by drivers disregarding traffic lights. As such, the West Midlands City claims 3rd place, with 5.83% of crashes resulting from signal violations.

Greater Manchester's Trafford follows in 4th, with 5.23% of road accidents stemming from signal jumping drivers. The borough sees relatively few crashes overall at 84 per year, yet 4 involve red light runners.

In 5th is commuter hotspot Reading. With 4.62% of crashes linked to signal violations, the Berkshire Town records 134 accidents annually, which include:- s:- 6 caused by motorists ignoring lights.

A spokesperson at:- Claims.Co.UK told us that:- "The data we collected shows Regional differences in accidents caused by red light runners. While signal violations might seem minor compared to other driving offences, they often cause severe injuries due to high-speed impacts. The cluster of high-risk areas across the North West is particularly alarming, with 5 of the top 10 signal violation hotspots concentrated in this Region. This highlights the dangers when drivers gamble on beating amber lights instead of stopping safely. The stark contrast between Sefton, where nearly 8% of crashes involve signal violations, and the safest local authorities, points to major differences in driver behaviour, road design, and signal visibility that local authorities should address."

The worst local authorities for ignoring traffic signals:-

Rank	Local Authority	% of crashes due to signal violations
1	Sefton	7.54%
2	City of London	7.09%
3	Wolverhampton	5.83%
4	Trafford	5.23%
5	Reading	4.62%
6	Tameside	4.58%
7	Leicester	4.50%
8	Liverpool	4.48%
9	Oldham	4.47%
10	Manchester	4.27%

Tameside in Greater Manchester takes sixth place with 4.58% of crashes caused by signal violations. The borough logs 83 collisions across its roads yearly, with 4 directly linked to drivers running red lights.

The East Midlands City of Leicester ranks 7th, with 4.50% of road accidents resulting from signal violations. Liverpool sits 8th in the danger rankings, with 4.48% of accidents attributed to signal violations, followed by Oldham in ninth, with 4.47% of collisions caused by signal violations. Completing the top 10 danger zones, Manchester City centre records 4.27% of road accidents from signal violations.

13 local authorities rank as the safest for road safety. From Scotland's Orkney Islands, with 8.4 total collisions between 2019 and 2023, to Wales' Torfaen, with 66.6 total collisions in the same period, the locations recorded 0% of collisions due to drivers ignoring traffic signals.

The best local authorities for following traffic signals:-

Local Authority % of crashes due to signal violations Isles of Scilly  0.00% Orkney Islands  0.00% Comhairle nan Eilean Siar  0.00% Shetland Islands 0.00% Clackmannanshire 0.00% Moray 0.00% Rutland 0.00% Isle of Anglesey 0.00% Torfaen 0.00% Stirling 0.00% Argyll and Bute 0.00% Scottish Borders 0.00% Ceredigion 0.00%

£50m investment at Southport Wastewater Treatment Works gets underway

UNITED Utilities is investing £50 million to upgrade Southport's Wastewater Treatment Works. The upgrade will increase stormwater storage at the site and play a key role in enhancing water quality along the Sefton Coast by reducing the number of times that storm overflows operate in heavy rain. The project will be split into 2 phases, with the 1st focusing constructing and commissioning a 4,500m³ of stormwater storage to help reduce storm overflows and improve bathing water quality; the equivalent of just under 2.5 Olympic sized swimming pools, or 30,000 bathtubs.

A second phase is expected to complete by summer 2029 and will increase the site's ability to treat more wastewater during heavy rainfall. The increase allows the return of the existing storm storage earlier which frees up capacity in readiness for the next storm event and replaces the need for further on site storage.

Locals may notice that early works are already underway, including:- ecological surveys and site preparation.

Steven Kenyon, County Business Lead for United Utilities in Merseyside said:- "We are committed to continuous improvement to our infrastructure, and upgrades to Southport's wastewater treatment works is a priority. From increasing storage on sites to looking at bespoke solutions such as sustainable drainage and new innovative ways of treating wastewater to even higher standards, we are starting to see the impact our investment is making, and this is helping us make great progress in reducing spills and improving water quality. We continue to review our network and sites across the county to see where we can make further improvements which help reduce the number of times that storm overflows need to operate."

The project is being delivered through United Utilities' new Enterprise delivery model which brings together 7 design and construction partners, plus United Utilities, into 1 integrated team.

This year, United Utilities announced a landmark agreement with Liverpool City Region and the Mersey Rivers Trust to explore the long term solutions that will help deliver further water quality improvements around Merseyside.

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