New Government estimates show the number of road fatalities in the year ending June 2021 was more than 20% lower than pre-pandemic.
The figures, published on 26 November, show there were an estimated 1,390 road deaths in the year ending June 2021, a decrease of 11% compared to the year ending June 2020.
It also represents a decrease of 22% compared to the three-year rolling average for 2017 to 2019, the last full years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of KSIs – as well as casualties of all severities – followed a similar trend.
At 24,530, KSI casualties decreased by 6% compared to the year ending June 2020 – and by 22% compared to the three-year rolling average for 2017 to 2019.
Meanwhile, there were 119,850 casualties of all severities in the year ending June 2021, down by 9% on the previous year and by 28% from 2017 to 2019.
The overall casualty rate, per billion vehicle miles, decreased by 3%.The DfT says Covid-19 has had a wide impact on UK society and economic activity since March 2020, and continued to affect the road safety statistics throughout the first half of 2021.
This remains linked to changes in traffic volumes caused by lockdown periods.
For example, with an England-wide lockdown beginning during January 2021, from January to March, the number of casualties ‘decreased considerably’.
The percentage of casualties decreased most in January, with a fall of 45% compared to 2020, and a decrease of 48% compared to 2017 to 2019 average.
For a point of reference, road traffic decreased by 27% in January to March 2021, compared to the same period in 2020.
Although the number of casualties increased for April, May and June compared to 2020 (169%, 64% and 38% higher, respectively), the increase is mainly due to the first lockdown restrictions imposed at the end of March 2020.
Traffic increased by 71% for April to June 2021, compared to 2020.
Figures during Q2 2021 were considerably lower than the equivalent months for the 2017 to 2019 average (15%, 18% and 16% lower, respectively).
Comment on this story