2 February 2017
The latest provisional statistics for road casualties released today (2 February 2017) show that while there have been fewer overall casualties, there has been an increase in incidents recorded as ‘killed or seriously injured’ for all road user categories when compared to the same period last year.
Vulnerable road users make up three fifths (57.8%) of all those killed or seriously injured. For the period October 2015 to September 2016:
- A motorcyclist was 5% more likely to be killed or seriously injured compared to the previous year.
- Cyclists and pedestrians saw increases of 2% and 3% respectively.
- All child casualties were up 8%.
For the same period, car users were 10% more likely to be recorded as being involved in a ‘killed or seriously injured’ incident.
Change in reporting
However, the report carries a note of caution as police forces are changing the way that incidents are recorded. Using a system called CRASH (Collision Recording and Sharing system), the police officer records the types of injuries suffered by the casualty which automatically sets the severity type of either ‘slight’ or ‘serious’. Under other systems, to record severity directly, officers need to know which injury type falls into each of the two categories.
Forces using CRASH have seen that incidents rated as ‘serious’ are between 10% and 15% higher when compared against forces not using CRASH. The Department for Transport is investigating why there is such a difference between those using CRASH and those who aren’t, but officer error has been ruled out.
Commenting on the statistics, Edmund King, AA president said “These figures need treating with some caution as there have been some changes in police reporting.
One worrying fact that shines through is that vulnerable road users consistently account for three fifths of all killed or seriously injured incidents
“However, the one worrying fact that shines through is that vulnerable road users consistently account for three fifths of all killed or seriously injured incidents.
“In the month where we are celebrating 20 years of Euro NCAP and the improved safety of car occupants, no real advancements have been made to improve the protection of motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.”