02/10/2003

Annual road casualty figures show slight drop in deaths

The latest statistics have revealed a 1% drop in the numbers of people killed on Britain's roads last year.

According to 'Road Casualties Great Britain 2002 Annual Report', 3,431 people were killed on Britain's roads in 2002, and the number of people seriously injured fell to 35,976 – 3% lower than in 2001.

Total casualties in 2002 were 302,605, 3% fewer than in 2001, and there were 40 fewer children killed on the roads in 2002 than in 2001, a fall of 18%. The total number of children killed or seriously injured fell by nearly 8%.

Pedestrian casualties fell by 4% between 2001 and 2002 and the number of killed or seriously injured pedestrians was down 5%. Overall, 13% of all road accident casualties and 22% of those who died in road accidents were pedestrians.

However, provisional estimates indicate that the number of deaths in accidents involving drink driving was 6% higher than in 2001. Total casualties in drink drive accidents rose by an estimated 7%.

The government has also outlined casualty reduction targets for 2010, including: a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents compared with the average for 1994-98; and 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured.

(gmcg)

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