Organisation: Department for Transport
Date uploaded: 17th October 2011
Date published/launched: September 2011
This report presents detailed statistics about the circumstances of personal injury accidents, including the types of vehicles involved, the resulting casualties and factors which may contribute to accidents.
The key findings include:
• In 2010, there were a total of 208,648 casualties of all severities in road accidents reported to the police, 6% lower than in 2009. There were 1,850 people killed, 17% lower than in 2009 and 22,660 were seriously injured, down 8%. Motor vehicle traffic fell by 2% over the same period.
• The number of fatalities fell for almost all types of road user, with a fall of 21% for car occupants, 19% for pedestrians, 15% for motorcyclists. Pedal cycle fatalities rose by 7%.
• In 2010, it is estimated that 9,700 reported casualties (5% of all road casualties) occurred when someone was driving whilst over the legal alcohol limit. The provisional number of people estimated to have been killed in drink drive accidents was 250 (14% of all road fatalities).
• Failed to look properly was again the most frequently reported contributory factor and was reported in 40% of all accidents reported to the police in 2010.
• Not all non-fatal accidents are reported to the police. Our best current estimate is that the total number of road casualties in Great Britain, including those not reported to police, is within the range 660 thousand to 800 thousand with a central estimate of 730 thousand.
• In 2010, the economic welfare cost of reported road accidents was estimated to be around £15 billion.
For more information contact:
Pat Kilbey
T: 020 7944 659