As a counterpoint to Prime Minister’s announcement that he wants to ban the imposition of blanket 20-mph zones, the government have published the latest Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) statistics.
The latest road safety statistics show improvements in reducing deaths and serious injury in the UK have flatlined, says RED Corporate Driver Training, and fundamental change needs to happen.
In the Department for Transport’s reported road collisions in Great Britain in 2022, there were an estimated 1,711 fatalities, a decline of only 2% compared to 2019, with 29,742 KSI casualties, a decline of 3% compared to 2019.
The toll of death and injury dropped during the pandemic as travel fell, but in the first full year back on the roads, the numbers have barely changed having dropped steadily in the past 20 years, when around 3,000 people died on Britain’s roads. In the last few years the reduction has slowed, to where it has now flatlined.
Seb Goldin, CEO, RED Corporate Driver Training, said: “For the last couple of decades everybody involved in road safety has patted themselves on the back at the great strides made in reducing death and serious injuries. And rightfully so. But we stand at a critical juncture now, and what we do next will shape the future of our roads.
“Quite simply, road safety is flatlining. Improved safety technology in vehicles has done a remarkable job, with all casualties down 12%. But the figures show that for the most severe accidents, and outcomes, things are no longer improving. Killed and serious injuries numbers are no longer dropping in any marked way. That just can’t be allowed to continue: the death toll is still far too high.”
RED believes this is often because in the most serious, high-energy crashes, vehicle technology is unable to either stop the event happening, or do enough to mitigate its effects.
Goldin added: “So, how do we make the next big leap in road safety? Many vehicles already have autonomous systems intended to avoid crashes and are kitted out with a plethora of passive and active systems. Our roads are monitored and controlled like never before. Yet the appalling death and injury toll continues at the same rate. The one variable that isn’t addressed is the driver – still the major factor in most incidents.
“We need to educate drivers better. From the moment they get behind a wheel as a learner, throughout their lives, we need to make drivers more aware of the potential risks, more able to understand the driving environment around them with clarity, and make them more skilled behind the wheel.
“Driver training should not be seen as a ‘nice to have’, or the assumption made that technology will always bail you out – these statistics show in the most extreme cases, it won’t.
“The only way, then, to improve this is to fundamentally improve the skill levels of the person behind the wheel so the incident never happens in the first place. We can get these numbers down – our work with fleets show you can dramatically cut crashes – but it needs everyone to change their mindset so we don’t sleepwalk through more years of unnecessary tragedy.”
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said:“Confirmation that last year saw a rise in the number of casualties on our roads – and that men are so much more likely to be involved – is a chilling reminder that there remains so much work to do be done to improve road safety in the UK, even if statistically we have some of the safest roads in Europe. The data shows there were more fatal collisions last year than at any point over the last decade caused by drivers or riders being distracted, impaired (458 lives lost) or breaking the speed limit (303 lives lost).
“It’s time the Government turned the dial up on tackling these issues which, while complex, result in hundreds of people losing their lives every year. We also continue to urge the Government to treat this issue with the upmost seriousness by reintroducing casualty reduction targets which were scrapped in 2010.”
Edmund King, Director of the AA Charitable Trust, said; “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and it is worrying that after the pandemic, road deaths are rising.
“It is a preventable tragedy that a fifth of people who die in cars on our roads are not wearing a seatbelt*. Seatbelts are arguably the greatest ever road safety invention but they are entirely useless if they are not worn. Although on the face of it this year’s results represent cause for some celebration, having dropped from 30% in the previous year, the figure for fatalities not wearing a seatbelt has remained stubbornly around a fifth for numerous years. There needs to be concerted and targeted education to reach those drivers who choose to risk their lives for the sake of a two second action.
“Worrying still is that the number of people killed or seriously injured due to the driver of a vehicle being under the influence of drugs reached a record high of 1,023**. We need an increase in police drug drive testing at the roadside so that those tempted to do so will think again.
“It’s on all of us to eliminate deaths and casualties on our roads. As well as having more cops in cars to catch people in the act, road users need to take responsibility when heading out on the roads.”
* https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65143a8e45e741000dffebb3/ras0711.ods
** https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65143a8bb1bad400144fd8fc/ras0701.ods
