Road Casualties Great Britain: 2005
The report contains final figures giving detailed information on the number of people killed and injured on the roads in Great Britain in 2005, based on information about accidents reported to the police.
Key points are:
- 3,201 people were killed on Britain's roads in 2005, 1 per cent less than in 2004. The number of people seriously injured fell to 28,954, 7 per cent lower than in 2004. Total casualties in 2005 were 271,017, 3 percent fewer than in 2004;
- 141 children were killed on the roads in 2005, 25 less than in 2004, a fall of 15 per cent. The total number of children killed or seriously injured fell by 11 per cent to 3,472;
- Provisional estimates indicate that the number of deaths in accidents involving drink driving was 560, 3 per cent lower than in 2004. Final estimates will be available next year. Total casualties in drink drive accidents fell by an estimated 9 per cent;
- Total pedestrian casualties fell by 5 per cent between 2004 and 2005, and the number of killed or seriously injured pedestrians was down 5 per cent. 12 per cent of all road accident casualties and 21 per cent of those who died in road accidents were pedestrians;
- In 2005, the number of casualties among motorcycle users fell by 3 percent compared with 2004 and the number of deaths fell by 3 per cent to 569. Serious injuries also fell by 2 per cent. The overall casualty rate per hundred million vehicle kilometres fell by 8 per cent;
- Pedal cyclist casualties fell from 16,648 in 2004 to 16,561, a drop of 1 per cent. The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured rose by 2 per cent overall to 2,360, and the number of fatalities increased 10 per cent from 134 to 148. The overall pedal cyclist casualty rates per hundred million vehicle kilometres have fallen by 6 percent compared to 2004.
The report provides more detailed information about accident circumstances, vehicle involvement and the consequent casualties in 2005, along with some of the key trends in accidents and casualties.
There are also three articles. The first article monitors progress towards the Government's casualty reduction targets for 2010. It wants to see:
- 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents compared with the average for 1994-98;
- 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured;
- 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres.
In 2005 the number of people killed or seriously injured in accidents reported to the police was 33 per cent below the 1994-98 average; the number of children killed or seriously injured was 49 per cent below the 1994-98 average; and the slight casualty rate was 23 per cent below the 1994-98 average.
The other articles cover: Casualties in accidents involving drink driving and;
Changes to the definition and tables for 2005 as a result of the 2003/02 review of road accident statistics.
Also published today is an accompanying article on contributory factors to road accidents. This article describes the scope and limitations of the information on contributory factors recently added to the national road accident reporting system and presents results from the first year of collection.
Key points from the accompanying article on contributory factors to road accidents are:
- Failed to look properly was the most frequently reported contributory factor and was involved in 32 per cent of all accidents. Five of the six most frequently reported contributory factors were some kind of driver or rider error or reaction. For fatal accidents the most frequently reported contributory factor was loss of control, which was involved in 35 per cent of fatal accidents.
- Exceeding the speed limit or going too fast for conditions were reported as a contributory factor in 15 per cent of all accidents. However, the factor became more significant with the severity of the accident; it was reported as contributory factor in 26 per cent of fatal accidents and these accidents accounted for 28 per cent of all fatalities (793 deaths).
NOTES
1. Road Casualties Great Britain: 2005 - Annual Report is published by The Stationery Office. It is a continuation of the annual series of reports that used to be known as Road Accidents Great Britain: the Casualty Report. It provides a fuller account of road casualties in Great Britain than the summary of main results published on 29 June 2006.
2. The statistics deal mainly with personal road injury accidents on public roads attended by the police or reported to the police within 30 days of the accident occurring. Fatalities refer to casualties who died within 30 days of the accident. They are compiled by date of accident. Similar statistics of deaths on public roads, but compiled by date of death registration, are published by the Registrars General.
3. The statistics relate to personal injury accidents on public roads that are reported to the police. In 2005, following a National Statistics Quality Review, a number of changes in the data collection were made and some new questions added to the survey; these include enhanced contributory factors to road accidents, journey purpose, foreign licensed vehicle and improved motorcycle engine banding information. The report of the quality review is available on the National Statistics web site.
4. Research conducted in the 1990s has shown that not all accidents are reported. A note on this research has been included in the bulletin. The Department published two papers on the level of under-reporting on 23 June, which can be found at the addresses below:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme5/underreportingofroadcasualti4789 http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/research/rsrr/theme5/roadaccidentscasualtiescompa4788
5. Figures for deaths refer to persons killed immediately or who died within 30 days of the accident. This is the usual international definition, adopted by the Vienna Convention in 1968. Similar statistics of deaths on public roads, but compiled by date of registration, are published by the Registrars General.
6. Web only Table 53 for 2005 was supplied in December 2007 as a predecessor to the table published in Road Casualties Great Britain 2006, and that of future years.
Publication details
Published on 28 September 2006 by Transport Statistics.
Copies are available from: TSO Online Bookshop.
Price: £28.00
E-mail: roadacc.stats@dft.gov.uk for queries concerning road casualties
For information about release of this product see National Statistics Online
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