There were 2% fewer people killed on British roads in the year to June 2024 but the number of killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties saw ‘little change’ compared to the previous year, according to official provisional figures.
Reported road casualties in Great Britain, provisional estimates: year ending June 2024, published by the Department for Transport based data reported by the police using the STATS19 reporting system, revealed that there were 1,607 fatalities during the year.
Officials said this was a decline of 2% compared to the year ending June 2023.
The total of 29,540 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties in the year to June 2024 showed little change compared to the previous year, officials said, while casualties of all severities saw a decline of 4% to 128,920.
Fatalities by road user type, Great Britain, year ending June 2024 (provisional) vs year ending June 2023
Most of the road user groups with the most casualties showed little variation over the year but the biggest estimated percentage change for fatalities was pedal cyclists, which showed a decline of 5%.
Pedal cyclists also had the biggest estimated percentage change for all casualties, with a decline of 6%.
While three quarters (1,204) of fatalities and 61% of casualties of all severities were male, there was a 25% rise in the number of women aged 17 to 29 killed (79).
Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and standards at IAM RoadSmart, said the ‘alarming spike’ in the number of young women killed was of the ‘of particular concern’.
He said: ‘Provisionally, the number of fatalities on our roads remains stubbornly high and underlines the importance of the Government’s commitment to an updated road safety strategy.
‘It’s vital that the Government looks at all solutions that could reduce deaths on our roads, including the improvement of driving skills, managing in-vehicle distractions and effective enforcement of the so-called fatal four – speeding, drink or drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt, and using a mobile phone.’
