SHOCK new stats show 309 young people either killed or seriously injured in NI road crashes last year
However, number of fatalities overall, have gone down
Last updated 29th Sep 2017
The shock extent of crashes on Northern Ireland’s roads can be revealed today with 309 young people either killed or seriously injured last year.
New figures show there has also been a rise on the number of deaths on rural roads.
According to the NI Road Safety Strategy statistics, there were 68 fatalities on our roads during 2016.
That is an 8% decrease on the previous year and the second year in a row there has been a reduction.
But the number of people seriously injured in crashes has gone up to 828 - the
highest figure since 2010.
A total of 309 young people were killed or seriously injured in 2016 - 82 of them were aged
15 and under.
Drivers who had only passed their test six months previously were also more likely to have been involved in a collision which resulted in death or serious injury.
At 46 - last year also saw the highest number of deaths on rural roads in six years.
And 23 people died in collisions caused by drugs or alcohol - a 53% increase
on 2015.
Full survey of statistics can be found at: www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-road-safety-strategy-2020-statistic