| Synopsis: |
This publication contains detailed information on the number of people killed and injured on the roads in Great Britain in 2004, based on information about accidents reported to the police. Key points are: 3,221 people were killed on Britain's roads in 2004, 8 percent less than in 2003. The number of people seriously injured fell to 31,130, also 8 percent lower than in 2003. Total casualties in 2004 were 280,840, 3 percent fewer than in 2003; 5 fewer children were killed on the roads in 2004 than in 2003, a fall of 3 percent. The total number of children killed or seriously injured fell by 5 percent; provisional estimates indicate that the number of deaths in accidents involving drink driving was 2 percent higher than in 2003, though total casualties in drink drive accidents fell by an estimated 10 percent. Key points also include: pedestrian casualties fell by 4 percent between 2003 and 2004 and the number of killed or seriously injured pedestrians was down 6 percent.12 percent of all road accident casualties and 21 percent of those who died in road accidents were pedestrians; in 2004, the number of casualties among users of two wheeled motor vehicles fell by 10 percent compared with 2003, the number of deaths fell by 16 percent to 585, and serious injuries fell by 13 percent; and pedal cyclist casualties fell 2 percent. The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured fell by 4 percent overall, but the number of fatalities increased by 18 percent. Pedal cyclist casualty rates per hundred million vehicle kilometres increased by 14 percent. In addition, the report provides more detailed information about accident circumstances, vehicle involvement and the consequent casualties in 2004, along with some of the key trends in accidents and casualties. There are also two articles. The first monitors progress towards the Government's casualty reduction targets for 2010, and the second covers casualties in accidents involving drink driving. |