Reported road casualties in Great Britain: main results 2012

This report shows that the number of people killed on Britain’s roads in 2012 fell to the lowest level since records began in 1926.

The number of fatalities in 2012 was 1,754, compared with 1,901 in 2011 – a fall of 8%. The number of people seriously injured also fell by 0.4% (from 23,122 in 2011 to 23,039 in 2012). This figure is 15% lower than the 2005-09 average.

The total number of road casualties reported to the police in 2012 was 195,723, down 4% from the 2011 total.

However, the number of cyclists killed rose by 10% from 107 in 2011 to 118 in 2012.

Total reported child causalities (ages 0-15 years) fell by 11% to 17,251 in 2012. The number of children killed or seriously injured also fell, decreasing by 6% to 2,272 in 2012 from 2,412 in 2011.

A total of 145,571 personal-injury road collisions were reported to the police in 2012, 4% lower than in 2011.

Vehicle traffic levels remained broadly stable for the second year running, though there was a small fall of 0.4% between 2011 and 2012.