Department for Transport figures published today show that the overall number of casualties on Britain's roads fell in 2018, as did the number of deaths. However the data reveals a 2.6% rise in serious injuries.
The figures show that the overall number of casualties fell by 6% in 2018 to 160,378. The figure represents the number of deaths and injuries reported to police.
There were 1,782 reported road deaths in 2018 which, accounting for traffic levels, was down 1% on 2017 and down 30% on 2008. However, the data revealed a 2.6% jump in serious injuries between 2017 and 2018. In total 25,484 serious injuries were reported in 2018, up from 24,831 in 2017 and 24,101 in 2016.
Greg Wilson, Founder of Quotezone.co.uk, a leading insurance comparison platform,
says:
"While it's welcome news that the overall number of casualties on British roads fell by 6% in 2018, the Department for Transport data has also revealed a worrying rise in the number of serious injuries in recent years.
"The total number of serious injuries reported has risen by 2.6% in a year and by 5.4% over the past two years. The good news is that the UK has one of the lowest road fatalities rates in Europe, and this latest raft of data has confirmed that that fatality rate has fallen by a further 1% year-on-year between 2017 and 2018.
"Still, the sharp rise in serious injuries makes it all too clear that British motorists need to be increasingly vigilant when they take to our nation's highways and byways, particularly when they're driving in heavily built-up areas where accidents are much more likely to occur."