The figures show that deaths and serious injuries on UK roads increased by 4% in the year ending September 2014, with deaths up by 1%.
In total, 1,730 people were killed and 22,630 seriously injured on UK roads in the year ending September 2014, up from 1,711 deaths and 21,728 serious injuries in the previous year. Casualties of all severities are also up by 5%, from 184,087 to 192,910.
Casualties are up for all types of road user, with child and cyclist casualties of particular concern:
Child deaths and serious injuries are up by 3% to 2,060, with casualties of all severities up by 6% to 16,640 – the first rise in rolling year comparisons for 20 years.
Cyclist deaths and serious injuries are up 8% to 3,500.
Road safety charity Brake has expressed dismay at the rise and is calling on all political parties to commit to three vital road safety policies, especially to protect pedestrians, cyclists, children and young people.
Brake is calling on all political parties to make three, key general election manifesto commitments to get casualties falling again and enable everyone to get around safely, sustainably and actively:
- Change the default urban speed limit to 20mph to protect people on foot and bike, and allow everyone to walk and cycle without fear.
- Introduce graduated driver licensing, to allow new drivers to build skills and experience gradually while exposed to less danger.
- Introduce a zero-tolerance drink drive limit of 20mg per 100ml of blood, to stamp out the menace of drink driving once and for all.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said: ‘These casualty increases are the tragic result of a failure of ambition. They come on the back of three years of flat-lining road death and serious injury figures, during which the government congratulated itself on having “some of the safest roads in the world”, rather than making forward thinking decisions and setting targets to secure further reductions. We need a commitment to a long-term vision of nobody being killed or seriously injured on our roads, rather than settling for the status quo. Every road casualty causes appalling suffering, and every one can be prevented, but only if we make the right moves.’
Meanwhile the Institute of Advanced Motorist (IAM) has blamed many years of Government cutbacks and the resulting drop in visible policing for the increase in figures.
Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research, said: ‘It is disappointing that after many years of solid falls in the numbers of people killed and injured on our roads, the Government has taken its eye off the ball.
‘These figures reflect our view that cuts in visible policing and road safety spending has had an impact, with a third successive quarter of increases. We have had pretty much two decades of falls in the KSI (killed/seriously injured) figures, and while these new figures can in no way be regarded as a trend, they are a big concern.’
