Road Casualties GB

24 June 2021

Provisionsl data reports that there were 1,472 fatalities in reported road accidents in 2020, a decrease of 16% from the previous year.

The overall trend in fatalities between 2010 and 2019 was broadly flat. However, road traffic saw a gradual increase of 17% from 2010 to 2019, causing fatality rates to fall.

The decrease in fatalities in 2020 is associated with the reduction in road traffic in response to the COVID-19 pandemic . Compared to 2019, fatality rates increased in 2020.

Fatal casualties in 2020 saw a smaller reduction than injured casualties compared to both 2019 and 2010.

There were 22,014 seriously injured and 91,847 slightly injured casualties, decreases of 22% and 25% since 2019, respectively.

Headline figures These provisional statistics show:

• an estimated 1,472 reported road deaths in 2020 which includes a total of 4 months of national lockdown (April to June and November)
• an estimated 23,486 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties in 2020, a decrease of 22% compared to the same period in 2019
• 115,333 casualties of all severities in 2020, a decrease of 25% from 2019
• the reduction in road traffic followed a similar trend in the same period and decreased by 21%
• pedal cyclist casualty rates saw the greatest percentage decrease (34%) compared to all other road user types