To mark the start of Road Safety Week, the charity’s biggest annual road safety campaign, Brake is launching a new Road Victims’ Charter, demanding essential actions to ensure all those affected by road crashes receive the respect, support, and justice they deserve. The Charter includes a call for Government to establish national standards in post-crash response, and commit to extending the rights set out in the Victims’ Code to those impacted by road harm, regardless of where they live or whether a crime has occurred.
The Road Victims’ Charter has been written in collaboration with bereaved families, trauma consultants, support staff and professionals from across the criminal justice and medical sectors. It will be launched at a drop-in event for MPs in Westminster on Monday 18 November at 3pm.
Road deaths and serious injuries show no significant signs of reduction for more than five years
The latest government road casualty statistics show that, in 2023, 1,695 people died on UK roads (1,624 in Britain, 71 in Northern Ireland) (see Tables 1, 2 and 3). A further 28,967 were seriously injured (28,087 in Britain, 880 in NI). Road deaths and serious injuries have shown no significant signs of reduction for more than five years [1,2].
Brake has now revealed that over the same period in 2023, the charity’s National Road Victim Service provided specialist emotional and practical support to more than 1,500 families across the UK, helping them cope with their grief and navigate the complex procedures that often follow a road crash, with numbers already set to be even higher in 2024. At any point in time, around 700 road victim families are receiving support from Brake, including parents, grandparents, siblings, friends and people who have witnessed a traumatic incident. Many of the families supported have been involved in multi-fatality crashes, and around 7% of support cases involve the death of a child. Around 12% of support cases involve someone who is considered high risk or vulnerable.
Photo by Mike Bird: https://www.pexels.com/photo/car-crash-on-dirt-road-11985980/
The demand on our service continues to grow as road deaths and injuries show no sign of reducing. Every year, more families suffer the devastating impact of a road crash. Every year, more and more families come to us in their darkest and most difficult times.
Ross Moorlock, Chief Executive at Brake, said: “Road casualties are not just statistics. Behind every number is a grief-stricken family whose lives have been changed forever in an instant.
“The demand on our service continues to grow as road deaths and injuries show no sign of reducing. Every year, more families suffer the devastating impact of a road crash. Every year, more and more families come to us in their darkest and most difficult times.
“By comparison, at a Government level, funding for support for road victims is inadequate – so we and other charities that care for bereaved and seriously injured families rely on the generosity of other supporters to fund our vital work. We know that the right support at the right time can change the course of someone’s life.
“Every road victim deserves the very highest standard of support and for that to happen we need a coordinated approach and national standards that meet best practice for post-crash response. We need national, multi-year funding for the provision of support to the affected road victim community, so that every family has access to trauma-informed, face-to-face support within their community, according to their needs.
“Road victims have been the forgotten and neglected victims for far too long and that has to change.
“Our families have told us what they want and what they need – and that includes recognition of the trauma of sudden road death and injury, parity with other victim groups, sentencing to fit the crime and lessons learned to prevent future road death and injury.
“Until we achieve a world where no one is killed or harmed on a road, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that everyone affected by road death and injury receives the respect, support and justice they deserve.”
Brake has also published the results of a public opinion survey carried out in April 2024, revealing that 79% of people surveyed agree or strongly agree that families bereaved or seriously injured from a road crash should be able to access the same level of support as homicide victims. A further 74% agree that they should be able to access the same level of support as victims of terrorism [3].
Four million people set to take part in Road Safety Week 2024
More than 3,500 educators, employers, emergency services and others have signed up to take part in Road Safety Week 2024, together representing more than four million people. Brake has provided free resources including lesson plans for schools, social media images, films, posters and a webinar for employers.
- 1,300+ educators will help children learn about the people that help after a crash and celebrate their Road Safety Heroes
- 350+ employers from more than 175 organisations will attend a free webinar run by Brake to learn what to do if one of their employees is involved in a crash
- 62 people will host or attend a memorial event to honour loved ones who have died in road crashes.
Road Safety Week is Brake’s biggest annual campaign. This year, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the devastating impact of road crashes on everyone involved, and celebrate the incredible work of people who provide support after a crash. For Road Safety Week 2024, Brake is counting the real cost of road crashes, revealing the stories behind the numbers and calling for the very highest standard of care for every road victim.
The campaign runs from 17–23 November, and began on Sunday 17 November to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
Road Safety Week 2024 is delivered by Brake and sponsored by Autoglass®.
Amy Shuffleton, Head of Responsible Business and Internal Communications at Autoglass®, said: “Autoglass is proud to support Brake’s Road Safety Week for the second year running, raising awareness that aligns with our zero-harm ambitions and fosters our culture of care. The focus on road victims is a necessary and important one, and we hope our support goes some way to helping create safer roads for all. Our dedication extends beyond our core services and we are committed to ensuring the safety of our customers, colleagues, and communities.”
To sign up and take part, go to Brake | Road Safety Week.
- Department for Transport (2024) Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2023 and supporting data sets.
- Police Service of Northern Ireland (2024) Road traffic collision statistics.
- Brake (2024) Public opinion survey about the rights of road victims to receive support
