Specialist Calls For Continued Improvement On ‘Record Road Safety Figures’

A serious injury expert at Irwin Mitchell has welcomed new figures which show the number of people killed or injured in road traffic collisions has fallen, but warned that every effort must be made to drive the statistics lower.

New provisional government figures have revealed that a total of 22,660 people were killed or seriously injured on the roads across 2010, which marked an eight per cent drop from 2009.

The number of people killed in road incidents fell by 16 per cent to 1,857 last year, which is the lowest figure since records began in 1926.

Considering total casualty rates – including deaths, serious and slight injuries – for all categories of road user, only rates related to pedal cyclists rose over 2010.

Commenting on the figures, Jane Horton, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell who specialises in helping those who have suffered serious injuries in road traffic collisions, said: “While it is of course welcome news that the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads has fallen, this is not a reason for efforts to improve safety to stop.

“The fact that over 22,000 people were killed or seriously hurt in crashes shows there is still plenty of work to be done to keep road users safe.

“We help many people who have suffered serious injuries as a result of collisions, as well as those who have lost loved ones in such incidents, so have seen first-hand how devastating such incidents can be.

“Authorities must continue to learn lessons from the past to ensure that every year going forward becomes a new ‘all-time low’ and that a growing number of people are protected from harm.”