4,000 people injured on Black Country and Staffordshire roads in one year

National road safety charity Brake said that police forces' ability to tackle dangerous driving has been "decimated" by funding cuts in recent years.

A total of 2,661 people were hurt in the Black Country on the region's roads in 2019, while in Staffordshire it was 1,309 – figures from the Department for Transport have shown.

While 25 people were killed on Black Country roads in the same year; in Staffordshire it was 26.

This is down compared to 10 years ago in 2009 when 3,947 people in the Black Country were injured on the roads, and 3,405 were hurt in Staffordshire.

However, the number of fatalities in the Black Country was the same back in 2009 at 25 – but in Staffordshire it's gone down since and was 45 a decade ago.

Seventy six people were killed or seriously injured on Great Britain's roads every day in 2019 on average.

The figures show that 1,748 people were killed on the roads in Great Britain last year, almost exactly the same number as in 2012 when 1,754 people were killed.

And 25,975 people were also seriously injured on the country's roads, however, government statistics state that a direct comparison with previous years is not possible due to changes in how such injuries are recorded by the police.

Brake welcomed the recent announcement of the Government's £2bn project to encourage cycling and walking, but said that those who do cycle or walk are still vulnerable.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, said: “For nearly a decade now, we have seen an appalling stagnation in the number of deaths on our roads and it’s high-time for the government to take responsibility and act.

"We need to rid our roads of dangerous drink and drug driving, introduce safe speeds in our towns, cities and rural areas and reinvigorate roads policing, which has been decimated by funding cuts."

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and former road safety minister David Jamieson said: "We need to ensure that our roads are a safe place for all those who use them. It’s concerning to see a rise nationally in deaths on our roads after a fall in recent years.

"Since my election I have put road safety as one of my top priorities for West Midlands Police. Despite losing over 2,000 police officers due to government cuts in the West Midlands, our roads policing was singled out for praise by the independent police inspectorate which is testament to the excellent work our officers do to save lives and keep the roads safe.

"Unlike some other police forces, we have remained focussed on road safety. It is essential that others do this as well. We know that effective roads policing saves lives and keeps us all safe."