‘Road Accidents Great Britain 2000: The Casualty Report’ is the not particularly catchy but nonetheless descriptive title of the latest set of Government road traffic accident figures published today.

The report contains detailed information on casualties in personal injury road accidents in Britain in 2000. Figures are compared with 1999 and earlier, and whilst there is good news in the figures for cyclists not all trends are positive.

Cyclists
In 2000, the number of casualties among users of two-wheeled motor vehicles rose by eight per cent and the number of deaths increased by 11 per cent to 605. However, cyclist casualties in 2000 fell by ten per cent from the 1999 level. The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured fell by 13 per cent.

Drink
Meanwhile drink related figures have risen: provisional estimates indicate that the number of deaths in accidents involving drink driving was over 10 per cent higher in 2000 than in 1999. Total casualties in drink drive accidents rose by an estimated 7 per cent.

Totals
In total 3,409 people were killed on Britain’s roads in 2000. This was 14 fewer than in 1999. (Road deaths account for nearly 30 per cent of all accidental deaths).

The number of people seriously injured fell to 38,155 in 2000, two per cent lower than in 1999. Total casualties in 2000 were 320,283, about the same level as in 1999.

Kids
The number of children killed or seriously injured fell by nine per cent between 1999 and 2000. About half of accidental deaths among children are due to road accidents.

Pedestrians
Pedestrian casualties fell by two per cent between 1999 and 2000 and the number of killed or seriously injured casualties was down three per cent. Thirteen per cent of all road accident casualties and a quarter of those who died in road accidents were pedestrians.

For more information see the web site www.dtlr.gov.uk