Road deaths rise on pre-pandemic levels as e-scooter collisions jump 200%

The number of deaths on UK roads per billion miles driven last year exceeded pre-pandemic levels, new figures reveal.

The Department for Transport estimates 1,558 people will be killed in accidents on UK roads in 2021, which is 7 per cent higher than the previous year when four of those months were spent in a national lockdown, causing a sharp drop in traffic.

The report also noted a 193 percent increase in e-scooter collisions, resulting in 1,434 injuries — including 10 deaths — in total last year.

While the statistics suggest that the number of road deaths has decreased based on the comparison from 2019 to 2021, it is important to note that last year’s traffic levels remained lower than normal due to the lockdown periods between January and March and an increase of working and learning from home.

The DfT said there were 5.2 deaths per billion vehicle miles in 2021, which is higher than the 4.9 deaths per billion miles in 2019.

Simon Williams, RAC road safety spokesperson, says this “suggests that little progress is being made in making our roads safer”. speed limiters in all new cars.

Williams said a clear plan would help the nation “address poor driving standards and illegal behavior behind the wheel.”

The DfT’s newly published report shows that a total of 25,892 people were seriously injured on Britain’s roads last year, while the total number of casualties of all sizes – including fatalities – was 128,209.

There were 5.2 fatalities per billion vehicle kilometers in 2021, which is higher than the 4.9 deaths per billion miles in 2019 (as shown in the graph below right)

It also revealed that Britain is seeing a worrying resurgence of drivers and passengers failing to take legal safety precautions when in a moving vehicle, with seat belt failure contributing to 30 per cent of car deaths in 2021.

This is the highest percentage of road deaths ever recorded as a result of incorrect seat belt fastening and is four percentage points higher than the five-year average.

For deaths that occurred on the road at night, the proportion linked to not wearing a seat belt was even higher at a “terrible” 47 percent, the AA found.

Younger car occupants aged 17 to 29 were most likely to die while not wearing seat belts at 40 percent, while a higher proportion of men died in a car (34 percent) than women (20 percent) who died in a car. were not tied up when the collision occurred, the motorist group says.

“This is a horrendous jump in road deaths where wearing a seat belt could be the difference between surviving or dying in a traffic accident,” said Jack Cousens, AA’s chief road policy officer.

Liberation from pandemic lockdowns may have fueled some of the rise, but the seat belt-less death rate rose even before Covid.

‘Maybe there should be a road safety campaign to increase the danger again. It is clear that the message is being forgotten.’

Despite motorists expressing concern that road deaths are not falling, the latest DfT data shows that the UK still has some of the safest roads in the world, with the world’s sixth lowest death rate.

The DfT says Britain has the sixth safest roads in the world. This graph shows road deaths per million inhabitants per country in 2021

E-scooter collisions increase by almost 200%

The figures from the DfT also show that the number of collisions with e-scooters has increased by no less than 193 percent year on year.

The data shows that the number of pedestrians injured after a collision with an e-scooter in 2021 was more than four times higher than in the previous year. Last year, 229 people were injured on foot by the structures, including 67 seriously injured.

That is more than a total of 57 pedestrian casualties in 2020, of which only 13 were seriously injured.

A total of 1,434 injuries of varying severity were caused by collisions with e-scooter riders.

10 deaths were recorded – up from one in 2020 – and the fatalities were all those riding the devices.

Four in five (79 percent) serious injuries caused by e-scooter crashes were also for the riders themselves.

About 229 pedestrians were injured after being hit by e-scooters last year, including 67 seriously injured, data from the DfT says

The AA’s Mr Cousens commented: ‘We were hopeful that the lockdowns and limited travel during the pandemic would reset the number of road deaths, but unfortunately they have increased from 2020 and a new trend has become more established.

“As e-scooter trials continue across the country, the number of e-scooter accidents increased by 193 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.

“The wider introduction of micromobility into the national transport picture should look at how we can adopt new and emerging personal mobility technology without compromising the safety of all road users, including pedestrians.”

Martin Usher, partner at Lime Solicitors, said today’s numbers confirmed what many had suspected: a ‘strong increase’ in e-scooter accidents and injuries over the past 12 months.

“Given the tripling of both collisions and casualties, we need more effective measures to improve road safety,” he said.

“Although rental scooters have speed limits, we know that thousands of illegal private vehicles drive dangerously on public roads. The government cannot wait to respond to the changing landscape of metropolitan transport.

“E-scooters are durable and cost-effective, but need regulation, such as mandatory training similar to a bicycle skills course, helmets and private property insurance to keep people safe.”