The Department for Transport has published statistics on road traffic accidents that took place in Britain in 2018. These have revealed that car occupants made up the highest number of accidents – and the highest number of fatalities across all road users.

According to the new figures, there were 25,511 serious injuries in these accidents that were reported to the police in 2018.

There was a total of 160,597 casualties of all severities in reported road accidents in 2018. Despite this appearing like a high figure, the good news is that it is 6% lower than the number recorded in 2017. It is also the lowest level on record, indicating that road users are increasingly safe.

For every billion miles travelled in 2018, car occupants saw 223 casualties of severities, while pedestrians saw 1,657. Pedal cyclists saw a huge jump to 5,272 casualties for every billion miles travelled, while motorcyclists saw the highest number of casualties at 5,686.

Motorcyclists more vulnerable

It also found that although their numbers aren’t anywhere near the amount of cars on the roads, motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable. In 2018, motorcyclists made up 20% of all road deaths. They also saw a fatality rate of 119.7 per billion miles travelled. This was the highest of any road user group.

Motorcyclists were more likely be killed in a road traffic accident in 2018 than they had been in 2017, with figures 1% higher.

The other main road user groups saw a decline in the numbers of fatal accidents, however. Although 777 car occupants were killed in 2018, this was a 1% drop from 2017. Meanwhile, there were 3% fewer pedestrian fatalities than in 2017, while pedal cyclists saw a 2% fall in the numbers of deaths.

Road types

Certain roads were more dangerous to users. The Department for Transport found that of the 1,784 people killed on the roads in 2018, most of those (58%) lost their lives on rural roads (1,030). In comparison, a total of 646 deaths occurred on urban roads and 107 on motorways.

Urban roads saw an increase of 3% in the number of people who died on them from 2017 to 2018. Motorways also saw a rise in the number of deaths in that period, increasing by 8%.

Rural roads, despite seeing the highest number of deaths in 2018, saw a fall of 4% since 2017. This is despite an increase of 1% in the amount of traffic levels. There was also a fall of 6% in all casualties across all road types.

What to do

After an accident on the road – whatever the vehicle you were in – your first priority should be to get yourself healthy. Some injuries can take a few days to make themselves known – such as whiplash – so don’t immediately assume you’re fine if you aren’t in pain straight away.

Ensure you seek out medical assistance after being involved in a road accident. Your health is the most important thing.

After you’ve got yourself back on your feet physically, you may then want to start thinking about taking legal action against those responsible for causing your injuries. You may find that pursuing justice offers you the peace of mind you need after your accident.

Image credit: Brian Jackson