Car accident news
17/10/2007

2006 road accident statistics revealed by DfT

There has been some progress in cutting the number of serious road accidents in the UK, according to 2006 statistics from the Department of Transport (DfT).

In its report, it revealed that both the number of fatal road accidents and the number of crashes which resulted in serious injury were 1% lower than the previous year. In addition, there was a 5% drop in road casualties with slight injuries.

These statistics reveal that the UK is getting closer to reaching its 2010 objectives of a 40% drop in road accidents in which people were killed or seriously injured, a 50% reduction in children killed or seriously injured on the roads, and a 10% fall in road traffic accidents resulting in slight personal injuries. These are measured against statistics from 1994 to 1998.

A spokesperson for the RAC Foundation, which runs road safety campaigns, commented: "The UK has rightly been proud of its strong road safety record, but a fall of just 1 per cent in KSIs [killed and seriously injured] in the last year shows there is no room for complacency.

"We must look to more innovative educational solutions, a return to on-road enforcement by traffic police and a sustained attempt to build positive driver attitudes as the means to cut casualty numbers."

The DfT report also found that poor observation is a contributory factory in a huge number of the road accidents which occur in the UK. The body calculated that a failure to look properly played a part in as many as 35% of road traffic accidents which occurred in 2006. Cyclists and motorcyclists were particularly at risk of not being seen, highlighting the importance of wearing high-vis clothing and improving driver awareness.