Changes to road casualty statistics following user feedback
Published 29 September 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-annual-report-2021/changes-to-road-casualty-statistics-following-user-feedback
The road safety statistics team regularly reviews the contents on its publications to ensure they remain relevant and meet user needs. In May 2022 we requested user feedback on proposed changes.
We received 9 responses to our feedback request. Although a small number, these responses cover a range of road safety stakeholder organisations and individuals, including representing government bodies.
Below is a summary of the changes we have implemented with this release and will make in future in response to feedback received as part of this specific request. Further details of how we engage with users of the road casualty statistics, including responses to other feedback on the statistics, are available in our separate user engagement documentation.
Changes to terminology used in road casualty statistics
Proposal. We proposed changing the terminology used throughout the statistics publications and data tables to refer to collisions, rather than accidents.
Feedback. There was no opposition to this proposal, and support from some respondents.
Response. We have implemented this change as part of the 2021 annual publication, and will in future refer to collisions rather than accidents wherever possible. However we will not amend the wording where used in documents already published.
Changes to tables issued with reported road casualties annual report
Proposed changes
Proposal. We proposed changes to the format and structure of the tables, to streamline them and comply with the department’s policy on spreadsheet accessibility to make it easier for users to find the statistics of most interest to them.
Feedback. Stakeholders were broadly content with this approach. 3 of 8 respondents indicated that the changes would cause no problems in their work, with a further 3 saying maybe and 2 saying yes, the changes would cause problems.
Some respondents were concerned about dropping some of the tables. The table below shows our response for the tables in question.
| Table where user concern it is no longer available | Response |
|---|---|
| RAS20010 (journey purpose) | The journey purpose has been dropped due to the small number of downloads and the incompleteness of the data. Requests for unpublished data can be made to the road safety statistics team, and tables may be reinstated if there is sufficient user interest. |
| RAS30020 (casualties by month) | Data now available in the data download tool |
| RAS30024 (casualties by detailed age group) | Equivalent data available in new table RAS0202 or via the data download tool |
| RAS30070 (relative risks of different forms of transport) | Data available in new table RAS0201 or RAS0203 |
| RAS50002 (contributory factors for vehicles and pedestrians). It is very important to make data on contributory factors available, as this is key to understanding why road collisions occur, to work around road collisions prevention | We consider that sufficient equivalent data is available in RAS0701 and RAS0702, as well as a new factsheet on pedestrian casualties |
| RAS50009 (vehicles with speed factors reported by vehicle type). Speed is one of the fatal five and in the safe systems and so any data for targeting intervention is useful | We recognise the importance of speed as a factor in collisions and have added a vehicle table to RAS0704, which contains collision and casualty data where speed was a contributory factor |
| RAS55 tables (hospital admissions for road casualties). Easily accessible data on hospital admissions arising from road collisions is important as it provides an understanding of the impact of road collisions on individuals and the NHS. | We recognise the value of hospital data on road casualties, and are working to build on an initial feasibility study linking STATS19 data to data from the Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN). We are currently awaiting further data to develop this work. Current hospital admissions data tables will be retained, but no longer routinely updated |
Additionally, one user indicated a concern about changes which could affect the use of STATS19 R package (which has been developed independently of the department).
Response. We have reviewed the tables structure, content, and format of the tables and made some changes as indicated above in view of feedback received. We will consider further feedback following publication of the new tables and make any further changes to meet user needs.
A list of all new tables and a look up to the old tables, and reasons for changes, including where tables have been dropped, is available in the table index. For further details of changes, please contact the road safety statistics team.
None of the changes made will affect the open data and the use of STATS19 R package.
Additional breakdowns
There were a few suggestions about new breakdowns, some of which already exist in the new proposed tables.
One respondent expressed interest in more information on drug-driving, but noted awareness of the department’s ongoing work as summarised in our feasibility study.
One respondent suggested adding a table about reason why a driver had an incident, and if it is just one or multiple reasons. The data tables on factors affecting collisions provide some insight about any contributory factors (CFs) relating to drivers or riders including driver or rider error or reaction, impairment or distraction and behaviour or inexperience. For more in-depth analysis, the record level contributory factor (CF) data can be requested (though this is considered sensitive and access must be approved). More information about CF data, how it is collected and caveats around it can be found in the CF guide.
Use of different aspects of road casualty statistics
Question. We asked about which aspects of the published statistics were used.
Feedback. There was some use of all of the department’s current methods of disseminating the statistics:
- All 9 respondents reported using the published data tables, 6 respondents using them for understanding trends and patterns, and 5 for carrying out their own analyses
- 8 out of 9 used publications, with 7 out of 9 respondents reading some of the reports (6 of these reading it in detail)
- 8 out of 9 used topic specific factsheets
- the data download tool and interactive dashboard were both used by 5 of the 9 respondents
- open data was used by 5 respondents, with 2 requesting sensitive data (under end user licence)
- guidance documents were used by 5 respondents
Where additional comments were provided, these related to using the statistics to understand trends, answer specific questions when conducting research and understand causes of collisions to focus injury prevention efforts on particular behaviours.
Response: Given that all elements of the current approach have received some interest, we intend to continue to provide each of the current methods of disseminating the statistics in future. We are pleased to see the comments from users regarding the value of the data for stakeholders.
Frequency and timeliness of road casualty data
Question. We asked to what extent the current frequency of publication of road casualty statistics meets user needs via a range of questions.
Feedback. 3 out of 8 respondents reported that the current arrangements met their needs with 4 disagreeing (and one neutral). However, there was no clear consensus on an alternative approach.
3 of 8 respondents indicated that they would like for more frequent data-only releases, but 3 disagreed. However, 4 respondents agreed that more frequent data, accompanied by an annual report would be useful, with only 1 user disagreeing.
One respondent commented on the value of the annual reports as a citable source of official statistics, and another felt that their removal could contribute to a diminishing understanding of how to use reported road casualty data effectively. Conversely the ability to analyse trends in a more timely fashion with more frequent data was noted and could be powerful in conjunction with a programme of work to improve road safety. It was noted that while earlier data would be beneficial, it would be less so if there were repeated updates and corrections.
We further asked whether users’ needs would be met by:
- more frequent, less detailed datasets that would provide more timely and frequent data but might be less accurate
- annual, more detailed release of data, which would be less timely but be more accurate
In relation to more frequent, but potentially less accurate datasets, there was a mixed response – with 2 users agreeing this would meet their needs, 2 disagreeing and 3 neutral. Annual detailed datasets met the needs of 4 out of 7 responding to this question (with 2 disagreeing and 1 neutral)
Response. We will consider this feedback alongside other user engagement in considering future development of the statistics. We are exploring whether it would be possible to improve the timeliness of the statistics, but have no plans to change current publication arrangements at this stage.
Further feedback
The road safety statistics team is always happy to receive feedback on any aspect of our statistics. You can get in touch with us via the contact details below. You can also request to join our mailing list to be kept aware of future developments in the department’s road safety statistics by emailing the road safety statistics team.
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