Road fatalities and serious injuries fall by 6% in Q3 2013

The number of killed or seriously injured casualties fell to 23,380, a 6% decrease compared with the previous year, according to provisional quarterly Department for Transport Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain estimates published today.

RAC technical director David Bizley said: “Despite traffic volumes increasing slightly both road accidents and casualties have dropped substantially in the 12 months to September 2013. The 7% drop in accidents of all severities meant there were 13,690 fewer casualties which is a significant number and a welcome continuation of the overall downward trend in the figures.

“However, the 8% quarter-on-quarter rise in cyclist casualties is very worrying, and together with the number of fatalities which occurred in London before Christmas will no doubt make for difficult reading when the full year statistics are published. This re-emphasises the need to maintain momentum on initiatives to ensure the safety of the ever-increasing number of people taking to two wheels.”