26 September 2024
A 5% decline in road fatalities last year offers some hope for improved road safety on UK roads, today’s figures release by the Department for Transport1 suggest. However, that significant reduction in deaths comes off a bad year that followed the lifting of covid lockdown restrictions2.
Not wearing seatbelts is proving to be a particularly dreadful factor in road casualties, made worse by the fact that such deaths are avoidable right from the start of the journey.
“A meaningful road safety strategy is desperately clear”.
In 2023 around a quarter of all car occupants were not wearing seatbelts, but this proportion was higher for male car occupant fatalities and occupants travelling in the evening and night (6pm to 8am).
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at The AA, said; “Any fatality on our roads is one too many. While the headline figure shows a 5% fall in the total number of lives lost, there is much to be worried about when looking at the details.
“Shockingly, the number of drivers that lost their lives while not wearing a seatbelt has increased from a fifth in 20223 to a quarter in 2023. While ultimate responsibility lies with those sat in the driving seat, more two fifths (46%4) of drivers feel they could get away with it due to a lack of police on our roads.
“The AA’s Motoring Manifesto5 made clear the actions we’d like the new government to take to help improve road safety. A meaningful road safety strategy is desperately clear, as well as more road traffic officers to help enforce the rules of the road6.”
1.Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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4. Yonder received 11,469 responses from AA members to its online poll between the 12th to 19th August 2024 Yonder is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.