Reduction in road casualties in last 12 months – but ‘concerning’ statistics for e-scooters

The Department for Transport (DfT) have released their annual reported road casualties data for drivers in Great Britain.

The statistics cover up to the year ending in June 2024, and show that there has been a small drop in the overall number in road fatalities.

In reported road collisions, there were an estimated 1,607 fatalities, a decline of 2% compared to the previous 12-month period.

Also, there were 29,540 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties recorded by the police – marking a minor change compared to the year ending June 2023.

The final headline statistic showed that there were 128,920 casualties of all severities, showing a decline of 4% compared to previous year.

According to the data, the biggest estimated percentage change for fatalities was pedal cyclists, which showed a decline of 5%. 

The DfT revealed that 75% of fatalities and 61% of casualties of all severities were male in Great Britain the year ending June 2024. The age group with the most male fatalities was 30 to 49 year olds with 332 fatalities.

For females, the age group with the most fatalities in the year ending June 2024 was ‘over 70 year olds’, with 136 fatalities. This marks a decline of 7% compared to the previous year.

When looking at who was involved in incidents, the DfT data revealed 45% of fatalities were car occupants, 24% were pedestrians, 20% were motorcyclists, and 5% were pedal cyclists.

Analysing the ages of those involved, 24% of fatalities and 28% of casualties were linked to those aged 17 to 29 years old.

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RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “It’s good to see a slight reduction in the number of fatalities on Britain’s roads over a 12-month period, particularly among cyclists, in these provisional casualty figures.

“However, it’s very concerning to see that there were 1,194 casualties and six deaths among e-scooter riders.

“While collisions involving e-scooters dropped this year from 1,413 in 2023, it’s important to realise these are statistics that didn’t exist a few years ago when there were no e-scooters on the roads.

“This evidently accounts for much of the shocking 55% rise in fatalities in the ‘other vehicle occupants’ category when compared with 2014 numbers.

“What’s more, it’s clear that drivers’ decision to speed continues to contribute to a large proportion of fatalities – more than half (56%) last year alone.”

Do you think that there should be stricter restrictions around the use of e-scooters in Great Britain? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.