Highways England statement following publication of DfT’s Reported road casualties in Great Britain: 2018 report

Our aim is to provide a network where no one is killed or injured while travelling on our roads – today’s report indicates there is still much more that needs to be done. The numbers are very concerning and while over the last 15 years safety has improved and our roads are amongst the safest in the world, each incident is a tragedy for the individuals and the families involved.

Improving road safety needs safe roads, safe vehicles and safe drivers. Safety is our top priority and we’re working hard to improve England’s motorway and A roads and we need your help. We all have a role to play to make sure we all get home, safe and well and we’re asking all drivers to make their own safety, and that of other people, the most important thing to think about when they travel. Remember to check your vehicle, obey all signs and think about other drivers.

• The Strategic Road Network continues to be one of the safest in the world. Our network carries a third of all traffic and two-thirds of road freight equating to 95 billion road miles travelled per year.
• Our own assessment shows the number of people harmed on our network continues to reduce with the number of collisions (8,846, 4.3% lower than 2017) and casualties (13,380, 5.9% lower than 2017).
• Of concern indicated within our analysis is the number of those Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI’s) on our network which in 2018 increased: with 250 reported road deaths, an increase of 5.9% compared with 2017; and 1737 people seriously injured, an increase of 7.4% compared with 2017.
• Increases in the number of KSIs have been reported on all road types on the network.
• Separate analysis of smart motorway all-lane running schemes continues to indicate that they are as safe as our wider motorway network.