Mystery over spike in summer road deaths in Kent
Figures for last year were double those of 2022 between April and September
Road deaths in Kent doubled in a five month period last year – but highways bosses are unclear why.
Between April and September 2023, 22 people lost their lives compared to 11 in the same period in 2022.
KCC said that each incident is “unique” and can be caused by many different factors.
Kent County Council (KCC), which runs Kent Highways, said the total number of deaths for the whole year was down from 44 to 37 but could not offer an explanation for the sharp jump.
Serious casualties amounted to 224 (2023-24), one higher than the previous year.
In the same recorded period in 2019-20, 13 people died on the roads with 265 serious casualties.
A KCC statement said: “Ensuring the safety of all road users is a top priority – one death on our roads is one too many.
“That is why our Vision Zero Road Safety Strategy sets out how we are aiming to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads by following the ‘safe system approach’.
“There was an increase in the frequency of fatal casualties in the quarter between April and September 2023, that this report covers, when compared to the same period in the previous year.
“However, when the provisional data for the full 2023 calendar year is compared to 2022 figures, we see that there has actually been a decrease in the total number of fatal casualties across the whole year from 44 in 2022 to 37 in 2023.
“There are many factors that can contribute to fatal crashes and each incident is unique.”
The total number of road accidents involving fatal, serious and slight casualties has fallen from 1,682 in 2019-20 to 1,466 in 2023-24.
The KCC statement added: “We work as part of the Kent and Medway Safer Roads Partnership to continually monitor casualty data to guide intervention work and every fatal injury crash is subject to an in-depth review to identify contributing factors.”
The figures emerged in papers for the KCC cabinet which met on January 4, chaired by the leader, Cllr Roger Gough.