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THE Department for Transport has released the Road Accidents and Safety Statistics for 2012 to the general public. The full annual report on reported road casualties Great Britain 2012 can be viewed here.
The report shows that the number of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) was down in 2012 over the previous year and picked out key trends.
In 2012 there were over 195,000 casualties of all severities in road accidents reported to the police. The figure – 4% lower than statistics reported the previous year – suggest a slight improvement in overall road safety
Casualties involving pedal cyclists and goods vehicles increased by 5% from 2011, and pedestrians by 1%. There was also a 17% increase on the previous year in the number of drink drive related deaths, with 280 killed.
The report also revealed some of the relative risk for vulnerable road users:
- Motorcycle users, per mile ridden, are roughly 35 times more likely to be killed in a road traffic accident than car occupants.
- Pedestrians and pedal cyclists, per mile walked and cycled respectively, are roughly 11 times more likely to be killed in a road accident than car occupants.
- Motorcyclists are over 50 times more likely to be seriously injured in a reported road accident than a car occupant.
- Pedal cyclists are 30 times more likely to be seriously injured in a reported road accident than a car occupant.
The report also suggests that pedestrians, motorcycle users and pedal cyclists should take extra precaution when travelling, especially during busier times of the day.
The report stated that the estimated cost of prevention of reported incidents for 2012 would be £15.1 billion. This figure includes accidents that caused injuries and/or damages to property, but doesn’t factor in any unreported cases.
It has been noted that the figure is lower than that of 2011, which is a first to the usual pattern of rising costs per year. However, it is proportionate to the overall decrease in the number of reported incidents compared with the previous year.
The road traffic accident solicitors at Paul Rooney Legal are up to date with all current legislation relating to RTAs and are happy to advise and help if you have a query or have been involved in an accident on the road.
