Reported Road Casualties Great Britain

Last updated

Annual numbers of people killed on the roads of Great Britain between 1926 and 2016 Killed on British Roads.png
Annual numbers of people killed on the roads of Great Britain between 1926 and 2016

Reported Road Casualties Great Britain (RRCGB), formerly Road Casualties Great Britain (RCGB) and before that Road Accidents Great Britain (RAGB), is the official statistical publication of the UK Department for Transport (DfT) on traffic casualties, fatalities and related road safety data. This publication, first produced in 1951, is the primary source for data on road casualties in Great Britain. It is based primarily on police STATS19 data. Data has been collected since 1926.

Contents

The remainder of the UK casualty statistics, those from Northern Ireland, are reported separately by the PSNI. [1]

Published data

Data has been collected since 1926, in which year there were 4,886 fatalities in some 124,000 crashes. [n 1] Between 1951 and 2006 a total of 309,144 people were killed and 17.6 million were injured in accidents on British roads. [n 2] The highest number of deaths in any one year was 9,169 people in 1941 during World War II. The highest figure during peacetime was 7,985 in 1966. [n 3]

Figures for reported deaths, serious injuries and slight injuries have generally decreased since 1966. Since 1992, the ten-year drop in killed or seriously injured casualty numbers reported to the police, compared with the previous five-year average, has been about 40%. [2]

In 1987, the government set the first national casualty reduction target. The target set was that road casualties should drop by one-third by the year 2000 in comparison to the average numbers for the years 1981 to 1985. The target was exceeded, with the number of fatalities dropping by 39% and the number of serious injuries dropping by 45% over that period. [3]

In 1999, when Great Britain had the safest roads in Europe apart from Sweden, the government set a new national casualty reduction target, to be met by the year 2010. The target for 2010, compared to the average for the years 1994 to 1998, was a reduction of 40% in the number of people Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) casualties, a reduction of 50% the number of children KSI casualties and a reduction of 10% in the rate of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres. [3] By 2009, the results were: killed or seriously injured 44% lower; children killed or seriously injured 61% lower and the slight casualty rate was 37% lower. [n 4]

There is some concern about the completeness of the injury data and what can be concluded from it (see the Criticism section below). This table gives data for sample years:-

Annual summary

YearKilledSerious injurySlight injuryTotal injuryrefNote
19264,886 [n 1] First year that national figures were published.
19307,305178,000 [n 3]
19408,609 [n 3] No figures for injured during World War II.
19419,169 [n 3] Highest recorded fatality rate.
19505,01249,000148,000196,000 [n 3] [4]
19606,970341,000 [n 3]
19667,985 [n 3] Highest recorded peacetime fatality rate.
19707,499356,000 [n 3]
19805,953323,000 [n 3]
19905,21760,000275,000336,000 [n 3] [4]
19973,599324,000 [n 3]
19983,42141,000281,000322,000 [n 3] [4]
19993,42339,000278,000317,000 [n 3] [4]
20003,40938,000279,000317,000 [n 3] [4]
20013,45037,000273,000310,000 [n 3] [4]
20023,43136,000263,000299,000 [n 3] [4]
20033,50834,000253,000287,000 [n 3] [4]
20043,22131,000245,000278,000 [n 3] [4]
20053,20129,000238,862268,000 [5]
20063,17229,000226,559255,000 [n 5]
20072,94628,000217,060245,000 [n 5]
20082,53826,000202,333228,000 [n 5]
20092,22224,690195,234222,146 [n 6]
20101,85720,803185,995206,798 [6] Traffic levels fell by 2%.
20111,90123,122178,927203,950 [7] First increase in fatalities since 2001. Pedestrian fatalities increased by 12%, car occupants by 6%. They were lower for all other groups.
20121,75423,039170,930193,969 [8] 10% increase in deaths of cyclists [9] and increasing serious injuries of pedestrians.
20131,71321,657160,300181,957 [10] Lowest death rate since records began.
20141,77522,807169,895194,477 [11] Death and KSI rate rise for a 2nd time since 2001.
20151,73222,137162,340186,209 [12] Second lowest annual total on record after 2013.
20161,79224,101155,491179,592 [13] 4% rise in deaths to highest level since 2011. [14]
20171,79324,831144,369170,993 [15]
20181,78225,484133,112160,378 [16]
20191,75225,945 (30,144)125,461 (121,262)153,158 [17] Comparison of this figure with earlier years should be interpreted with caution due to changes in systems for severity reporting by some police forces. The numbers given in bold are adjusted estimates following methodology from the Office for National Statistics Methodology Advisory Service analysis accounting for change in severity reporting (see page 7). [18]
20201,46020,102 (22,069)92,055 (94,022)115,584 [19] Figures affected by Covid19 pandemic
20211,55823,363 (25,892)103,288 (100,759)128,209 [20]
2022 (provisional)1,695(28,101)(106,206)136,002 [21]

Casualties by road type in 2008

Casualties by severity, built-up, non built-up and on motorways. [n 7]

Road typeKilledSerious injurySlight injuryTotal injuryRef.Note
Non built-up (excludes motorways)1,3238,34248,81058,47552% of the total killed, 32% of total seriously injured, 25% of total with slight injuries
Built-up1,05716,823143,079160,95942% of the total killed, 65% of total seriously injured, 70% of total with slight injuries
Motorway15886910,44411,471[ citation needed ]"6% of the total killed, 3% of total seriously injured, 5% of total with slight injuries. Fatalities on motorways have decreased by 9% since 1994–98 in a period with traffic levels increased by 28%" [22]
All casualties2,53826,034202,333230,905 [23]

STATS19 data collection system

The police collect details of all incidents which they attend or become aware of within 30 days which occur on the highway in which one or more person is killed or injured and involving one or more vehicles using the STATS19 data collection system.

STATS19 is the reference number for the police form used to record incidents. [24] STATS20 describes how to complete the form giving examples of how to correctly record different situations. [24] STATS21 describes how STATS19 data should be checked for accuracy. [24]

Additional information for RCGB is gathered from death registrations, coroners' reports and traffic and vehicle registrations. [25]

STATS19 data is used in European Union road safety studies. [26]

Criticism

Reported reduction in injury levels

The accuracy of the police STATS19 statistics, and thus much of the data published in the RCGB, and therefore its suitability for measuring trends in road casualties was examined in two studies in 2006 and has subsequently been commented on by the Department for Transport who concluded that the figures for deaths were accurate, however the actual total injuries is likely considerably higher than the reported figure, possibly three times higher.

A report published in the British Medical Journal in 2006 by M.Gill et al. compared police and Hospital Episode Statistics between 1996 and 2004 and concluded that although the police statistics showed a reduction in KSIs from 85.9 to 59.4 per 100,000 for the period the statistics for hospital admissions related to traffic accidents requiring hospital admission for the period did not. It concluded that the overall fall in police figures represented a fall in completeness of reporting of these injuries rather than an actual reduction of casualties. [27]

Also in 2006 a report prepared for the DfT by H. Ward et al. noted that although the figures for fatalities were normally accurate, with no significant under-reporting there was more uncertainty in the statistics relating to injury. They recommended that it was insufficient to rely solely on the STATS19 data or any other single data source because different databases showed different elements of the story and that "A system of data triangulation should be used to compare and understand trends in road casualties." They noted that the definition of seriously injured in police reports was at least partially subjective, and there was some under-reporting (though less than is the case for lesser injuries). The report also noted that there were changes to the method used to estimate vehicle mileages in 1995 which would affect direct comparisons of figures spanning this year. [28]

The Department for Transport acknowledged in their report for the year 2008 that a considerable proportion of non-fatal casualties are not known to the police. Based on additional sources including hospital records, surveys and compensation claims they estimate that the total number of road casualties in Great Britain each year is nearer to 800,000 (although this figure itself may be influenced by the growth in the so-called 'compensation culture'[ according to whom? ]). The UK government is not convinced however that the reductions in reported injury levels do not reflect an actual decline. [n 8] In 2008 the department changed the title of the report from "Road Casualties Great Britain" to "Reported Road Casualties Great Britain". [29]

Suppression of activity by vulnerable road users

Another independent report challenged the government's claim that falling casualty rates meant that roads were becoming "much safer". Mayer Hillman, John Adams and John Whitelegg suggest that roads may actually be felt to be sufficiently dangerous as to deter pedestrians from using them. They compared rates for those whose transport options are most limited, the elderly and children and found that: [30]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Department for Transport (2006), p. 92 'Road accident and casualty data was first collect on a national level in 1926. That year there were 4,886 recorded deaths in some 124,000 accidents'
  2. ↑ Department for Transport (2006) p. 1 'Between 1951 and 2006, 309,144 people were killed and 17.6 million persons were injured in accidents on British roads'
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Department for Transport (2008), p. 106 table 2
  4. ↑ Department for Transport (2009) p. 8 Compared with the 1994 to 1998 average, in 2009: The number killed was 38% lower; The number of reported killed or seriously injured casualties was 44% lower; The number of children killed or seriously injured was 61% lower; and the slight casualty rate was 37% lower. In contrast, traffic rose by an estimated 15% over this period
  5. 1 2 3 Department for Transport (2008), p. 6
  6. ↑ Department for Transport (2009), p. 8 There were a total of 222,146 reported casualties of all severities, 4% lower than in 2008. 2,222 people were killed, 12% lower than in 2008, 24,690 were seriously injured (down 5%) and 195,234 were slightly injured (down 4%)
  7. ↑ Department for Transport (2008), p. 121 table 12 'Reported accidents, vehicles and casualties: casualties by severity: by road class, built-up and non built-up roads: 2008'
  8. ↑ Department for Transport (2008), p. 62. "It has long been known that a considerable proportion of non-fatal casualties are not known to the police and hospital, survey and compensation claims data all indicate a higher number of casualties than are reported ... Police data on road accidents (STATS19), whilst not perfect, remains the most detailed, complete and reliable single source of information on road casualties covering the whole of Great Britain, in particular for monitoring trends over time".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traffic enforcement camera</span> Camera for detecting motoring offenses

A traffic enforcement camera is a camera which may be mounted beside or over a road or installed in an enforcement vehicle to detect motoring offenses, including speeding, vehicles going through a red traffic light, vehicles going through a toll booth without paying, unauthorized use of a bus lane, or for recording vehicles inside a congestion charge area. It may be linked to an automated ticketing system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedestrian</span> Person traveling on foot

A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road traffic safety</span> Methods and measures for reducing the risk of death and injury on roads

Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-road public transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safety in numbers</span> Hypothesis

Safety in numbers is the hypothesis that, by being part of a large physical group or mass, an individual is less likely to be the victim of a mishap, accident, attack, or other bad event. Some related theories also argue that mass behaviour can reduce accident risks, such as in traffic safety – in this case, the safety effect creates an actual reduction of danger, rather than just a redistribution over a larger group.

A safety camera partnership is a local multi-agency partnership between local government, police authorities, Her Majesty's Courts Service, National Highways/Welsh Government, and the National Health Service within the United Kingdom. Their aim is to enforce speed limits and red traffic lights by the use of cameras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorcycle safety</span> Study of the risks and dangers of motorcycling

Motorcycle safety is the study of the risks and dangers of motorcycling, and the approaches to mitigate that risk, focusing on motorcycle design, road design and traffic rules, rider training, and the cultural attitudes of motorcyclists and other road users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicycle safety</span> Safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling

Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, which types of cycling environment or cycling infrastructure is safest for cyclists. The merits of obeying the traffic laws and using bicycle lighting at night are less controversial. Wearing a bicycle helmet may reduce the chance of head injury in the event of a crash.

Killed or seriously injured (KSI) is a standard metric for safety policy, particularly in transportation and road safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation safety in the United States</span> Overview of transportation safety

Transportation safety in the United States encompasses safety of transportation in the United States, including automobile crashes, airplane crashes, rail crashes, and other mass transit incidents, although the most fatalities are generated by road incidents annually killing 32,479 people in 2011 to over 42,000 people in 2022. The number of deaths per passenger-mile on commercial airlines in the United States between 2000 and 2010 was about 0.2 deaths per 10 billion passenger-miles. For driving, the rate was 150 per 10 billion vehicle-miles: 750 times higher per mile than for flying in a commercial airplane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road Traffic Act 1930</span> British legislation

The Road Traffic Act 1930 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced by the Minister of Transport Herbert Morrison.

Vision Zero is a multi-national road traffic safety project that aims to achieve a roadway system with no fatalities or serious injuries involving road traffic. It started in Sweden and was approved by their parliament in October 1997. A core principle of the vision is that "Life and health can never be exchanged for other benefits within the society" rather than the more conventional comparison between costs and benefits, where a monetary value is placed on life and health, and then that value is used to decide how much money to spend on a road network towards the benefit of decreasing risk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traffic collision</span> Incident when a vehicle collides with another object

A traffic collision, also called a motor vehicle collision, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Traffic collisions often result in injury, disability, death, and property damage as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved. Road transport is the most dangerous situation people deal with on a daily basis, but casualty figures from such incidents attract less media attention than other, less frequent types of tragedy. The commonly used term car accident is increasingly falling out of favor with many government departments and organizations, with the Associated Press style guide recommending caution before using the term. Some collisions are intentional vehicle-ramming attacks, staged crashes, vehicular homicide or vehicular suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epidemiology of motor vehicle collisions</span>

Worldwide, it was estimated that 1.25 million people were killed and many millions more were injured in motor vehicle collisions in 2013. This makes motor vehicle collisions the leading cause of death among young adults of 15–29 years of age and the ninth most frequent cause of death for all ages worldwide. In the United States, 40,100 people died and 2.8 million were injured in crashes in 2017, and around 2,000 children under 16 years old die every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speed limit enforcement</span> Effort made by appropriately empowered authorities to improve driver compliance with speed limits

Speed limits are enforced on most public roadways by authorities, with the purpose to improve driver compliance with speed limits. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside 'speed camera' systems, which may incorporate the use of an automatic number plate recognition system. Traditionally, police officers used stopwatches to measure the time taken for a vehicle to cover a known distance. More recently, radar guns and automated in-vehicle systems have come into use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road speed limits in the United Kingdom</span>

Road speed limits in the United Kingdom are used to define the maximum legal speed for vehicles using public roads in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom

Road speed limit enforcement in the United Kingdom is the action taken by appropriately empowered authorities to attempt to persuade road vehicle users to comply with the speed limits in force on the UK's roads. Methods used include those for detection and prosecution of contraventions such as roadside fixed speed cameras, average speed cameras, and police-operated LIDAR speed guns or older radar speed guns. Vehicle activated signs and Community Speed Watch schemes are used to encourage compliance. Some classes of vehicles are fitted with speed limiters and intelligent speed adaptation is being trialled in some places on a voluntary basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart motorway</span> Designation of roads in the United Kingdom

A smart motorway, also known in Scotland as an intelligent transport system, is a section of motorway in the United Kingdom that employs active traffic management (ATM) techniques to increase capacity through the use of MIDAS technology including variable speed limits and occasionally hard shoulder running and ramp metering at busy times. They were developed at the turn of the 21st century as a cost-effective alternative to traditional carriageway widening, with intended benefits ranging from more reliable journey times to lower vehicle emissions. However, despite the risk of a collision occurring between two moving vehicles being found to be decreased, there has been an acknowledged rise in the incidence of collisions involving vehicles where at least one was stationary in the first few years following the widespread removal of the hard shoulder on the country's busiest sections of motorway. Smart motorways garnered intense criticism from politicians, police representatives and motoring organisations, particularly from 2020 onwards, after a surge in near miss incidents and dozens of fatalities were revealed, and as of April 2023, no new smart motorways will be built.

Drunk walking describes people intoxicated by alcohol walking in public spaces. While there are long-standing social stigmas and laws against drunk driving, only more recently have the personal and social dangers of drunk walking become apparent. One study on pedestrians struck by vehicles found that alcohol users were twice as likely to cross against the signal or outside of a crosswalk than sober pedestrians. Alcohol use was also associated with more severe injuries and longer hospital stays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road safety in Europe</span> Overview of road safety in Europe

Road safety in Europe encompasses transportation safety among road users in Europe, including automobile accidents, pedestrian or cycling accidents, motor-coach accidents, and other incidents occurring within the European Union or within the European region of the World Health Organization. Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured.

References

References relating to Notes (above)
Other references
  1. ↑ "Road Traffic Collision Statistics". Police Service of Northern Ireland. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Transport Statistics Great Britain: 2007 Edition (Report). Department for Transport.
  3. 1 2 Tomorrow's Roads: Safer for Everyone (Report). Department for Transport. 1999.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "TSGB 2009 Chapter 8: Casualties by Type - data tables". Department for Transport. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  5. ↑ "Road Casualties Great Britain: 2005". Department for Transport. p. 6. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  6. ↑ "Reported road casualties in Great Britain: main results 2010". The number of people killed in road accidents reported to the police fell by 16% from 2,222 in 2009 to 1,857 in 2010. This the lowest figure since national records began in 1926. A total of 22,660 people were reported killed or seriously injured in 2010, 8% less than in 2009. There were 208,655 casualties (slight injuries, serious injuries and fatalities) in road accidents reported to the police in Great Britain in 2010, 6% less than in 2009. Motor vehicle traffic levels fell by 2% compared to 2009.
  7. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain: main results 2011". Department for Transport. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain: main results 2012". Department for Transport. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  9. ↑ More Or Less, BBC Radio 4
  10. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain: main results 2013". Department for Transport. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Reported road casualties in Great Britain: main results 2014 - Publications - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "Reported road casualties in Great Britain, main results: 2015". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2016". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  14. ↑ "'Daily carnage' sees 4% rise in road deaths". Highways Magazine. 28 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2017" (PDF). www.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  16. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2018" (PDF). www.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "Reported road casualties in Great Britain: 2019 annual report" (PDF). www.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  18. ↑ "Reported road casualties in Great Britain: 2019 annual report" (PDF). www.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  19. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2020". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  20. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2021". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  21. ↑ "Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2021". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "Fatalities 2008" (PDF).
  23. ↑ "Road Casualties in Great Britain Main Results: 2008" (PDF). Department for Transport. p. 6. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  24. 1 2 3 "STATS20" (PDF). Department for Transport. October 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  25. ↑ "Road accident casualties: a comparison of STATS19 data with Hospital Episode Statistics" (PDF). Department for Transport . Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  26. ↑ https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/bitstream/2134/23705/1/Study%20on%20Serious%20Road%20Traffic%20Injuries%20in%20the%20EU.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  27. ↑ Gill, Mike; Goldacre, Michael J.; Yeates, David G. R. (23 June 2006). "Changes in safety on England's roads: analysis of hospital statistics" (PDF). BMJ.
  28. ↑ Ward, Heather; Lyons, Ronan; Thoreau, Roselle (June 2006). Road Safety Research Report No. 69: Under-reporting of Road Casualties – Phase 1 (PDF) (Report). UK Department for Transport.
  29. ↑ "Road casualties in Great Britain: Annual reports". Department for Transport. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  30. ↑ One False Move . 1990. ISBN   0-85374-494-7 . Retrieved 24 April 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.