Road deaths and serious injuries up 16% across Dorset
The latest stats have been released at the start of Road Safety Week
Nearly 2,000 people lost their lives on UK roads in 2022 according to Road safety charity, Brake, which is releasing the stats as part of Road Safety Week.
Both deaths and serious injuries caused by driver speed rose significantly last year, according to the new analysis.
The latest figures show:
- 1,766 people died on UK roads in 2022, a 10% increase
- 303 people died in crashes caused by drivers breaking the speed limit, up 20%
- Speed is a contributory factor in 25% of all fatal crashes
- 92% of drivers agreed speed limits are essential for safe roads, yet 34% say they break the speed limit
- 39% of drivers agreed the speed limit on roads in built-up areas should be lowered to 20mph
Brake is releasing the survey results at the start of its biggest annual road safety campaign, Road Safety Week, which runs from 19 to 25 November.
The charity is calling on everyone to join a national conversation about speed, to raise awareness of the dangers of excessive and inappropriate speed, and challenge why so many people still think it is acceptable to drive faster than the speed limit.
Road Safety Week began yesterday (19 November) to coincide with the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, for which people across the world lit candles in memory of people killed or seriously injured on roads.
Brake worked with local councils across the UK to get public buildings and other landmarks lit up in yellow, to show support for road victims.
Deaths and serious injuries in Dorset roads up by 16%
In Dorset, 266 people died or were seriously injured in a road accident in 2022 - representing 16% more road casualties than in 2021.
Across the South West, 2,495 people were killed or seriously injured with Bath and North-East Somerset seeing the biggest increase in road casualties.
The number of road deaths and serious injuries rose in 11 of the region’s local authority areas from 2021 to 2022, and only Torbay, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole saw a decrease.
This year, across the UK, more than 3,400 schools, communities, organisations and emergency services, together representing more than 17 million people, have signed up to take part in Road Safety Week by organising local activities, sharing important road safety messages and posing the question: 'If five people die on UK roads every day, why do we still think it is ok to speed?'
Ross Moorlock, interim CEO at Brake, said:
“Road death is sudden. It's traumatic. It sends shockwaves across families, schools, workplaces and communities.
"This year, we have already supported more than 1500 people affected by road crashes through our National Road Victim Service.
“Today, five people will be killed on our roads. Tomorrow, another five won’t make it home to their families and so on, and so on, until we all say 'enough!’ and start taking responsibility for each other’s safety on the road.
“The speed we choose to drive at can mean the difference between life and death. Our speed dictates whether we can stop in time to avoid a crash, and the force of impact if we can't stop.
"This Road Safety Week, whoever you are, and however you travel, I urge you to join the conversation and talk about speed. Please talk to as many people as you can to find out why, when five people die on our roads every day, so many of us still choose to drive too fast.”