ABSENT-minded drivers are the most common cause of road accidents in Oxfordshire, figures reveal.

The latest Department for Transport statistics show drivers or riders failing to look properly contributed to 402 accidents in Oxfordshire last year.

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The figures, which report contributory factors for accidents as recorded by police, also show that 202 accidents were caused by drivers or riders failing to judge another vehicle’s speed.

Officers can choose one or more reasons for any accident where at least one person suffers a slight injury in an incident with a vehicle.

These do not have to involve cars and could, for example, include a cyclist falling over or a motorbike colliding with a pedestrian.

Last year, 31 people were killed and 241 seriously injured on Oxfordshire’s roads.

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This was slightly fewer than in 2017, when police recorded 22 deaths and 259 serious injuries.

Overall casualties, which include slight injuries, fell from 1,704 to 1,514 over the period.

The DfT cautions against comparing trends from previous years because of changes to the way some forces record the severity of road injuries.

Across Britain, 1,784 people were killed on the roads in 2018.