More than 1,500 people died in UK road crashes in 2021 as traffic levels began to normalise after the pandemic. That represented a 7% increase on 2020.
The figures are difficult to compare with other years as traffic levels since the arrival of Covid-19 have fluctuated. Last year’s total was actually 11% lower than 2019.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said an estimated 1,558 died in crashes last year. That was up from 1,460 in 2020, when traffic levels plummeted following the coronavirus outbreak.
The DfT figures show the following:
- A rate of 5.2 fatalities per billion vehicle miles in 2021, a higher rate compared with 2019 and a lower rate compared with 2020.
- An estimated 27,450 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties in 2021, a decrease of 11% compared to 2019, with a casualty rate of 91 KSIs per billion vehicle miles, a similar rate compared with 2019.
- An estimated 128,209 casualties of all severities in 2021, a decrease of 16% compared to 2019, with 425 casualties per billion vehicle miles, a lower rate compared with 2019.
- There was an increase in casualties for all main road user types in 2021 compared with 2020.
- Pedal cyclists showed a reduction in fatalities (21%) following a large increase associated with the pandemic - the opposite pattern to other road user types.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “While the headline reduction in death and injury on the roads is welcome, the waters are still muddied by the impact of Covid and the damping effect it had on traffic volume. The worry must be that traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels resulting in casualty numbers and casualty risk also rising and remaining stubbornly high.” Mr Gooding added that there are “signs the Government is serious about improving road safety”.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s growth plan set out an ambition to accelerate 45 safer road schemes in England, while the DfT has committed to establishing an investigation branch focused on road safety.
