New statistics from the Department for Transport have highlighted the level of severe incidents on Britain’s roads last year. According to the report, over 120,000 road traffic casualties occurred in Britain in 2024, including 1,600 fatalities.
The figures estimate that nearly 30,000 road users were killed or severely injured in 2024. This is a similar rate to the year prior, when there were 29,537 of these accidents. Casualties have decreased since 2023, falling by 3%. However, road fatalities have increased by 1% in the same period.
The Department for Transport estimates that of the people killed in road traffic accidents in 2024, three in four (76%) were men, and 61% of all casualties were men. Young people, those aged between 17 and 29, accounted for one-quarter (24%) of road deaths and 28% of casualties of all severities. In comparison, around a fifth (22%) of fatalities and 8% of all casualties were aged 70 and over.
The report also revealed the local authorities with the highest number of road traffic casualties:
- Kent – 3,921
- Surrey – 3,145
- Birmingham – 3,056
- Lancashire – 2,992
- Essex – 2,980
- Hampshire – 2,925
- Lincolnshire – 2,288
- Hertfordshire – 2,270
- West Sussex – 2,252
- Norfolk – 2,157
Edmund King, president of the AA, has called on the government to include “bold action” in its upcoming road safety strategy. He suggested harsher penalties for offences such as not wearing a seatbelt or drug driving.
He commented: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy, and sadly, we are still losing at least four people a day. If this level of loss was experienced on any other form of transport, there would be a national inquiry and public outcry. Yet, for some reason, we seem to accept this as the risk of moving around our communities. This should not be the case.”
A spokesperson from the Department for Transport said: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy and the safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. We’ve been clear that more needs to be done in this space, which is why we are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade and will set out next steps on this in due course.
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