52 people were killed on Lincolnshire’s roads last year
The latest figures show that 379 people were also seriously injured
One person a week died on Lincolnshire’s roads last year – with campaigners saying there is work to do to make our routes safer.
The Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) said the latest figures show that 379 people were also seriously injured on the county’s roads in 2024.
At a highways and transport scrutiny committee meeting at Lincolnshire County Council yesterday (September 8), councillors received an annual report from the LRSP looking at the number of accidents on Lincolnshire’s roads.
Councillors heard that the number of people killed on Lincolnshire’s roads has begun to increase – and that the highest number of deaths was among young male drivers.
In 2021, 40 people were killed on roads in the county, but this has risen to 52 in 2024.
But the number of people who were seriously injured during the same period has decreased slightly, from 413 in 2021 to 379 in 2024.
Steve Batchelor, manager of the LRSP, said the partnership has made ‘significant’ progress since it was established but there was still ‘more to do’.
He added: “Since the partnership was established in 2000, there has been significant progress in reducing the number of fatalities on our roads, but there’s still more to do.
“We have seen a small increase in road deaths in 2024. The majority of those occurred on our rural road network.
“It does seem to be roads in East Lindsey which are the worst affected.
“Young people and mature drivers have a higher risk of being involved in an accident.”
The partnership said mature drivers were defined as those aged over 60 while young drivers are classed as those aged between 17 and 24.
Mr Batchelor told councillors that the partnership has put a range of initiatives in place to improve road safety, such as reducing the speed limits on high-roads, including reducing the speed limit from 60mph to 40mph on the A16, just north of Louth.
He said the partnership has also introduced community speed watch programmes and works with schools to educate young people on the dangers of driving including a theatre production for secondary school students called Too Fast Too Soon.
But Coun Ingrid Sheard (Reform UK), who is the deputy mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, said she wanted the partnership to tackle safety around schools at drop-off and pick-up times.
The councillor, who is also a member of South Holland District Council, said: “I think there are some great things that we’re doing to educate people about the dangers of driving.
“We need to look at parking around schools where children are present. I do think we need to focus on the enforcement of this.
“We really need to get on top of this before we see further fatalities.”
Coun Richard Wright (Conservative), who represents the Ruskington division, said it was important to look beyond the numbers.
He said: “When you see the figures of all of those people who have been killed or seriously injured on Lincolnshire roads, it’s not just numbers, it’s all of the families affected too.”
Coun Charlotte Vernon (Conservative), who represents the Colsterworth Rural division, raised concerns that children who are home-schooled might not be receiving the same teaching around road safety.
She said: “The number of children who are home-educated in Lincolnshire has doubled in the last four years.
“We must ensure that these children are educated on road safety.”
Mr Batchelor said: “We need to make sure that when someone writes in and raises a concern, that this is actually looked at by someone directly.
“We need to work with schools to ensure that parents understand the risks of where they’re parking and dropping off their children.
“We’re also working with charities and organisations through the NHS because many of the mature drivers are using these services regularly and this is the best place to reach them.
“We’ve been working this year to redevelop the Too Fast Too Soon theatre production to be catered towards 17 to 24 year olds.
“We’re moving towards developing more online facilities which can be used by people who are home-educated.”
Mr Batchelor, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the partnership is targeting all drivers to ensure that they drive safely on the road.
He said: “We’re not specifically targeting men but we do want them to know that there are rules and regulations that they have to follow.
“I think some of them don’t really realise the impact of their driving on other road users.
“But it is encouraging that we’re educating students in schools about the possible dangers that their behaviour on the road can pose.”