Road deaths in Great Britain last year fell to the lowest level ever recorded, excluding the period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official government figures.
The Department for Transport's final statistics on road collisions and casualties for 2023 show:
- 1,624 fatalities, a decline of 5% compared to 2022
- 29,711 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties - little change compared to 2022
- 132,977 casualties of all severities, a decline of 2% compared to 2022
- 5 road fatalities per billion vehicle miles travelled, down 7% compared to 2022
DfT officials said: 'Overall casualties have returned to the steady decline observed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, though the number of killed or seriously injured casualties has fallen less, particularly since 2017.'
Internationally, Great Britain ranked third out of 33 countries with available data for lowest numbers of road fatalities per million population. Northern Ireland ranked 13 out of 33 in 2023.
Road users
The DfT report shows 45% of fatalities were car occupants, 25% were pedestrians, 19% were motorcyclists and 5% were pedal cyclists.
Most road user types saw a decrease in reported fatalities last year compared to 2022. The notable exception was pedestrians, which saw an increase of 5%.
The biggest percentage change was for motorcyclist fatalities, which showed a decline of 10%, pedal cyclist fatalities showed a decline of 4%, car occupant fatalities showed a decline of 8%.
Road types
Motorways account for 21% of road traffic however they accounted for a much smaller proportion of road fatalities (5%) and casualties (4%) last year.
By contrast, rural road fatalities (60%) were over-represented compared to the proportion of rural road traffic (44%) and urban roads account for a much higher proportion of road casualties (63%) than their relative traffic level (35%).
Reaction
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said: 'Thankfully, this latest data shows overall casualty and fatality levels are down compared to 12 months earlier, and significantly down on a decade ago – despite a return to the number of miles being driven pre-pandemic.
'But behind the headline figures there are some important points to note, such as the fact that men are far more likely to be killed or injured on our roads than women, and that pedestrian fatalities and those involving young people appear to be rising.
'Britain might have an enviable international reputation when it comes to road safety, but this latest data still shows there’s room for improvement. We hope the new government’s forthcoming road safety strategy will help to reduce fatality and casualty numbers further.'
IAM RoadSmart director of policy and standards, Nicholas Lyes, highlighted 'particular concern over an increase in the proportion of fatalities where an occupant is not wearing a seatbelt which has risen from a fifth in 2022 to a quarter of those killed in a vehicle in 2023'.
