- Data shows that 1,624 people died on roads in Britain last year, with 71 being killed in Northern Ireland. A total of 1,695 in the UK.
- Another 28,087 people suffered serious injuries in Great Britain with another 880 suffering serious injuries in Northern Ireland.
- There has been no significant reduction in deaths and serious injuries on UK roads for more than five years.
- “We must act now to save lives!” says Brake, as the charity calls for publication of a new Road Safety Strategy.
- Brake puts road victims at the heart of Road Safety Week 2024 (17–23 November).
The latest issue of the Department for Transport’s Reported road casualties Great Britain: Annual Report 2023, published today, reveals that, in 2023, 1,624 people died on roads in Britain, and a further 28,087 people suffered serious injuries (see Table 1).
Meanwhile, data from the Police Service of Northern Ireland released in March this year show that 71 people died and 880 people were seriously injured on roads across Northern Ireland (see Table 2).
This brings the total number of people who died on roads in the UK in 2023 to 1,695, with almost 29,000 suffering serious injuries, many of them life-changing.
Although the number of UK road deaths has seen a small decline (5%) since 2022, over the last five years, the figures have remained largely the same. There has been no significant reduction in serious injuries either.
To coincide with the release of the statistics, the road safety charity Brake has renewed its call on Government to put safety at the heart of all strategic decision-making related to transport, and to make a clear commitment to introducing measures that are known to save lives. This includes the introduction of 20mph speed limits on urban roads, a new approach to the licensing system to safeguard young drivers, and a zero-tolerance approach to drink-driving. The charity also calls on the Government to publish the promised Road Safety Strategy swiftly, with a firm commitment to stop crashes, reduce harm and provide sufficient funding to support families bereaved by road crashes.
In 2023, more than 1,500 families sought help from Brake’s National Road Victim Service, which provides emotional and practical support to anyone affected by road death and catastrophic, life-changing injuries. Specialist support workers help bereaved families cope with their grief and navigate the complex procedures that often follow a road death. The service receives no funding from central government.
Brake support workers hear every single day the devastating toll that road crashes have, on families themselves, but also across schools, workplaces and wider communities. They also hear that the trauma of losing a loved one in a road crash never goes away.
What made this utter devastation even harder to deal with was learning how often people are killed on our roads – 1,695 in 2023, and that most road deaths are avoidable if politicians choose to take action
Ian Greenwood, road safety campaigner
Ian Greenwood, whose daughter Alice, aged 12, died in a road crash in 2008 said: “Imagine the worst thing that can probably ever happen to any parent – the heartbreak from the traumatic and sudden death of your 12-year-old daughter. Alice was killed in a car crash which also seriously injured Clara, her 6-year-old sister, and their Mum, Juliette. This happened because a speeding driver missed a bend but hit my family’s car, and this changed our lives forever. The driver and his passenger were also killed. That night, three young people died. They were aged just 12, 16 and 18.
“What made this utter devastation even harder to deal with was learning how often people are killed on our roads – 1,695 in 2023, and that most road deaths are avoidable if politicians choose to take action. For 20 years, national politicians, knowing this, have not done nearly enough to stop road death. Grief is now my life sentence as Alice remains my forever 12-year-old daughter, while images from that night remain all too present. Seeking to stop this happening to anyone else led to my campaigning. Road deaths can and should be prevented, and that is why Government needs to do much more to stop this devastation visiting others.”
Ross Moorlock, chief executive of Brake, said: “Road casualties are not just statistics. Behind every number is a family in turmoil. A grief-stricken family trying to navigate its way through the complex procedures that often follow a road crash. Behind every number is a family whose lives have been changed forever in an instant.
“That is why this year we have put road victims at the heart of our Road Safety Week campaign, as we reveal the stories behind the numbers and call for the very highest standard of care for every road victim.
“The Government last published a Road Safety Framework in 2011. During the years there was a strategy in place (2011–2021), we began to see a small reduction in road casualties. However, since the latest framework expired (in 2021), more than 89,000 people have been killed or seriously injured on UK roads, and progress has stalled. We urge the Government to “move fast and fix things”, as the Transport Secretary set out in her first address to the Department for Transport, to prevent another 89,000 families having to go through the sudden trauma of a devastating road crash during this parliamentary term.
We urge the Government to “move fast and fix things”, as the Transport Secretary set out in her first address to the Department for Transport, to prevent another 89,000 families having to go through the sudden trauma of a devastating road crash
Ross Moorlock, chief executive of Brake
Ross Moorlock continued: “We have already seen the positive change the introduction of a default 20mph limit in built-up areas is making in Wales, with a 32% reduction in all casualties on 20mph roads in the final three months of 2023, and a 23% reduction in deaths and serious injuries on 20mph roads in the first three months of 2024.
“We are also calling for the government to commit to other solutions that are proven to stop crashes and save lives, such as progressive licensing for younger and new drivers, rolling out the General Safety Regulations that exist in the EU and Northern Ireland across all the UK, and reducing the drink-driving limit to almost zero.”
In 2023, the total societal and economic cost of road deaths and injuries was £42.2 billion [1]. This shocking figure includes the cost to seriously injured people and to families navigating complex procedures and services.
In November 2024, Brake is hosting Road Safety Week, the charity’s biggest annual road safety campaign. This Road Safety Week, we are counting the real cost of road crashes. We are revealing the stories behind the numbers and calling for the very highest standard of care for every road victim. To find out what you can do during this Road Safety Week, and what events are taking place in your area, sign up here.
Road Safety Week 2024 is sponsored by Autoglass.
[ENDS]
| Table 1: Number of people killed or injured on roads in Britain, from 2019 to 2023. Data taken from reference 2. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Table 2: Number of people killed or injured on roads in Northern Ireland, from 2019 to 2023. Data taken from reference 3. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- RAS4001: Cost of prevention of road collisions and casualties
- Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
- 2023 Key Statistics report.pdf (psni.police.uk)