Deaths on UK roads fell 5% last year but significant work is still needed to tackle fatality and casualty numbers.

Since 1979, there has been a general downward trend in the number of people killed on roads in Britain

The Department for Transport’s final estimates for reported collisions in 2023 reveal there were 1,624 fatalities on roads in Britain, a decline of 5% compared to 2022.

The number of killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties stood at 29,711; little change from  the figure of 29,742 in the 2022 report. Across all severities, there were 132,977 casualties; a decline of 2%.

The final estimates also reveal that 75% of fatalities and 61% of casualties of all severities were male.

The data also explores casualties by age and reveals 5% of fatalities and 10% of casualties were aged 16 years old and under, while 23% of fatalities and 29% of casualties were aged 17 to 29 years old. And 22% of fatalities and 8% of casualties were aged 70 years old and over.

Across all ages, male road fatality numbers show a slight decrease in 2023 to those observed in 2022; the exception to this being the 0 to 16 age group. Female road fatality numbers have overall remained largely the same, although there is some variability between age groups.

Of the four major road user types, the one with the biggest estimated percentage change for 2023 compared to 2022 for fatalities was motorcyclists, which showed a decline of 10%. Pedal cyclist fatalities showed a decline of 4% and car occupant fatalities showed a decline of 8%. But pedestrian fatalities were up 5%.

The data also reveals an increase in the proportion of fatalities where an occupant was not wearing a seatbelt, which has risen from a fifth (21.0%) in 2022 to a quarter (24.6%) of those killed in a vehicle in 2023.

The final estimates for road collision rates per billion miles travelled show there were 334 billion vehicle miles travelled in 2023; a return to travel levels seen in 2019 prior to the pandemic. There were also five road fatalities per billion vehicle miles travelled in 2023, down 7% compared to 2022.

In international comparisons for 2023, Britain ranked third out of 33 countries with available data for lowest number of road fatalities per million population.

Action still needed to meaningfully tackle road casualties

IAM RoadSmart welcomed the overall reduction in fatalities but said significant work was required to meaningfully tackle the number of road casualties across the country.

Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards, commented: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy which causes untold grief for victims’ relatives. Progress on reducing road casualties has stagnated for over a decade so we urge the Government to accelerate its commitment to publish a new road safety strategy with a vision zero focus and measures to improve driving and riding standards.”

The RAC meanwhile drew attention to the fact that men are far more likely to be killed or injured on our roads than women, and that pedestrian fatalities and those involving young people appear to be rising.

Road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “Britain might have an enviable international reputation when it comes to road safety, but this latest data still shows there’s room for improvement. We hope the new government’s forthcoming road safety strategy will help to reduce fatality and casualty numbers further.”

And the AA said that the increase in the proportion of fatalities where an occupant was not wearing a seatbelt was holding back safety progress.

It also noted that in 2023 around a quarter of all car occupants were not wearing seatbelts, but this proportion was higher for male car occupant fatalities and occupants travelling in the evening and night (6pm to 8am).

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: “While ultimate responsibility lies with those sat in the driving seat, more than two-fifths (46%) of drivers feel they could get away with it due to a lack of police on our roads.

“The AA’s Motoring Manifesto made clear the actions we’d like the new government to take to help improve road safety. A meaningful road safety strategy is desperately clear, as well as more road traffic officers to help enforce the rules of the road.”

Finally, the TyreSafe spotlighted a “a concerning and significant increase in killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties linked to tyre-related incidents”. These have risen from 147 in 2022 to 190 last year; a 29% increase that puts the total on a par with mobile phone-related casualties.

Stuart Lovatt, chair of TyreSafe, said: “Now is the time for government to address this growing trend with more focus on tackling the rise in tyre-related vehicle defects, focus on improving compliance levels in this area and launch a Think! campaign to raise societal awareness of this dangerous trend.”