Four road deaths a day in 2024 spark calls for urgent safety strategy
Road casualty figures stagnated in 2024, with fatalities down just 1% on the year before despite calls for reform...
An average of four people per day were killed in road traffic casualties in 2024, according to the latest figures from the Department for Transport (DfT), sparking calls for Government reduction targets to be put in place.
The report from the DfT shows that a total of 1602 fatalities were recorded in reported road collisions last year, down 1% on the year before.
The number of people killed or seriously injured also fell by 1%, with 29,467, while casualties of all severities were down by 4% compared with 2023.
While car occupant fatalities were on the decline in 2024, at 692 compared with 725 the year before, motorcyclist and pedestrian fatalities showed increases of 8% (340) and 1% (409) respectively.
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The lack of improvement in road safety has sparked calls for the Government to accelerate the implementation of a safety strategy with interventions that aim to reduce some of the major causes of road traffic accidents. Indeed, a safety strategy was promised last year by the Department for Transport, stating that fatalities on the road had been “normalised for too long”.
Jack Cousens, head of road policy at the AA, said, “Every death and serious injury on our roads is a tragedy. Sadly, the figures show little to no improvement to reduce the number of people injured on our roads, and highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive road safety strategy.
“More needs to be done to help protect vulnerable road users to ensure they get to their destinations safely.”
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis added, “Britain might still have an enviable safety record compared to some other countries, but the simple fact is that casualties aren’t falling at a fast enough rate anymore.
“Casualty reduction targets would be one way of giving the whole topic of road safety national focus, as would fresh interventions that could help remove the riskiest drivers from our roads – for instance, introducing alcohol interlocks to stop drink-drivers from reoffending, and steps taken to reduce instances of excessive speeding.
“The Government has long trailed its forthcoming road safety strategy, so we look forward to seeing how this can bring casualty numbers down further.”
Alcohol interlocks are already in place in other countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, New Zealand and some parts of the USA. They involve a breathalyser device being fitted to a car which will stop it from starting if alcohol is detected in the driver’s breath.
According to research by the RAC, 53% of UK motorists said they would support courts being able to order anyone convicted of drink-driving to have ‘alcolocks’ fitted to their vehicles.
Road safety charity Brake is also calling on the Government to implement a number of safety measures across UK roads, including 20mph speed limits in built-up and residential areas, a stronger licensing system for new and young drivers, lowering the drink-driving limit to a zero-tolerance approach and mandatory advanced safety technologies for all vehicles.
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