Deaths on West Midlands roads still ‘deeply worrying’

Road safety charity Brake has called the number of road deaths and serious injuries in Britain “deeply worrying” and wants more government action.

West Midlands Police reported 57 road deaths and 959 serious injuries last year, Department for Transport (DfT) figures show, which was roughly the same as in 2017.

That was despite a drop in the total number of casualties, which includes slight injuries. The DfT warns against comparing year-on-year figures, however, due to changes in 2016 to the way some forces began recording the severity of road injuries.

The figures represent all accidents that happened on a public road and involved at least one vehicle, horse rider or cyclist.

Unacceptable

Across Britain, serious injuries rose slightly in 2018, to 27,811, while 1,782 people were killed on the roads.

This was similar to the level seen since 2012 but followed a significant drop in the number of road deaths over the previous decade.

Brake has called on the Government to set out clear targets to eliminate the “unacceptable” number of road deaths and serious injuries.

A Brake spokesman said: “These figures are deeply worrying and highlight the continued stagnation in Britain’s road safety record.

“We would never accept such carnage in rail or aviation, so why should we on the road?”

Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at the RAC, said the figures “make for stark reading”. He added: “Precious little progress has been made in reducing the number of fatalities on our roads for nearly a decade, and since 2016 the number of fatalities and serious injuries has actually gone up.”

A DfT spokesman added: “The UK has some of the safest roads in the world and the number of deaths has fallen by 30 per cent since 2008.

“Just last week, we announced our comprehensive road safety statement, setting out 74 actions we will take over the next two years to help reduce the number of people who are killed or injured on our roads.”