Reported road casualties Great Britain, provisional results: 2021
Published 25 May 2022
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The recent trends in reported road casualties have been impacted by the national restrictions implemented from March 2020 onwards following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. More details about the coronavirus restrictions can be found in Coronavirus: a history of English lockdown laws (England only) and in our release the impact of lockdown on reported road casualties in Great Britain. As these figures are affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, this should be considered when comparing across time periods.
We always welcome feedback on our road casualty statistics, particularly on proposed changes. If you would like to provide feedback, or join our mailing list to be informed of future changes, please contact the road safety statistics team or complete our short user feedback survey.
About this release
This release provides an estimate of the number of personal injury road traffic casualties in Great Britain that were reported by the police to the Department for Transport in 2021 using the STATS19 reporting system. It also includes an estimate of the severity, road user group, age and sex of these casualties, compared with previous years. These figures are provisional as they will change following the end of year validation process.
Headline figures
These provisional statistics show:
- an estimated 1,560 reported road deaths in 2021, a reduction of 12% from the 2017 to 2019 average
- an estimated 27,300 killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties in 2021, a reduction of 13% from the 2017 to 2019 average
- an estimated 127,967 casualties of all severities in 2021, a reduction of 21% from the 2017 to 2019 average
- there were increases in casualties of all severities in 2021 compared with 2020, though pedal cyclists showed a reduction in fatalities (20%)
- there are age and sex differences in casualty trends, with female fatalities aged 70 and over showing a particularly large reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic (36% reduction in 2021 compared with the 2017 to 2019 average)
- monthly changes in casualties generally showed a similar trend to changes in motor traffic levels
Chart 1: Estimated number of fatalities, KSI (adjusted) and total casualties in Great Britain, 2011 to 2021 (provisional) (RAS9101)
Things you need to know
Provisional figures
Figures in this release are provisional and are based on data supplied by police forces at the 3 May 2022. More information can be found in the Quality and methodology section.
Traffic figures and casualty rates
Final road traffic figures for 2021 were not available for this release, so casualty rates have not been produced, though casualty numbers are compared with changes in motor traffic since COVID-19 below. Casualty rates will be available as part of the final annual road casualty statistics in September.
Severity adjustment
The figures in this release are based on adjusting figures reported by the police to take account of changes in the reporting of injury severity by some police forces in recent years. These adjusted figures can reliably be used to compare trends over time across the country. More details on severity adjustments and changes in reporting systems can be found in the severity adjustments section on our quality and methodology page.
Data coverage
There is no obligation for people to report all personal injury collisions to the police. These figures, therefore, do not represent the full range of all collisions or casualties in Great Britain. All collisions that were reported by the police and that occurred on a public highway involving at least one motor vehicle, horse rider or pedal cyclist, and where at least one person was injured, are included in these statistics.
More information on STATS19, how road traffic casualty data is collected and how these figures are produced can be found in the accompanying guidance.
Breakdown of trends by severity
Table 1 shows a summary of the number of reported road casualties in Great Britain in 2021 compared with 2020 and a yearly 2017 to 2019 average, broken down by severity.
There were an estimated 1,560 fatalities in reported road collisions in 2021. Of all severities, fatalities showed the smallest increase in 2021 compared with 2020 (7%). Meanwhile, all casualties increased by 11%.
Table 1: Adjusted road casualties by severity in Great Britain, 2021 (provisional) compared with 2020 and a yearly 2017 to 2019 average (RAS9101)
| Severity | 2021 | % change from 2020 | % change from 2017 to 2019 average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Killed | 1,560 | 7 | -12 |
| Seriously injured (adjusted) | 25,739 | 14 | -13 |
| KSI (adjusted) | 27,300 | 13 | -13 |
| Slightly injured (adjusted) | 100,667 | 10 | -23 |
| All casualties | 127,967 | 11 | -21 |
Note: Adjusted figures are rounded to the nearest whole number, so the KSI (adjusted) figure slightly differs from adding together the individual killed and serious (adjusted) figures.
Serious injuries showed the largest increase in 2021 compared with 2020 (14%), with slight injuries increasing slightly less by 10%. Serious injuries are also estimated to be closer to their pre-pandemic levels than slight injuries (13% less than the 2017 to 2019 average in 2021, compared with 23% less for slight).
Chart 2: Serious and slight casualties in Great Britain 2011 to 2021 (provisional) (RAS9101)
Monthly trends
Casualties by severity and month
Road casualty numbers in each of the last two years have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, with periods of lockdown associated with reductions in road traffic and casualties. Chart 3 compares 2020 and 2021 monthly casualty figures, by severity, with the average for the equivalent months based on the 2017 to 2019 average.
In the period January to March 2021, the third national lockdown in England, the number of casualties decreased considerably. However, relative to the 2017 to 2019 average, the number of overall casualties decreased less than in the first national lockdown (March to June 2020).
Fatalities reached their lowest point since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2021, when they were 53% lower than the 2017 to 2019 average. However, following the end of the 2021 lockdown, fatalities increased to levels closer to the 2017 to 2019 average, exceeding this average between July and September.
Serious and slight casualties followed broadly similar patterns to fatalities in 2021, reducing during the period of lockdown, and reaching their highest levels relative to the 2017 to 2019 average in September.
Casualties also showed a small downward trend between November and December 2021, whilst there were high levels of Omicron COVID-19 variant transmission. However, at least some of this downward trend may also be attributable to police forces not yet supplying the full data for December 2021. This downward trend was most notable for serious casualties.
Chart 3: Percentage change of casualties compared with 2017 to 2019 average, by month and severity, Great Britain, 2020 to 2021 (provisional) Periods of lockdown are shaded in grey.
Comparison of traffic and casualty trends
Chart 4 shows the monthly changes in total casualty numbers and traffic in 2021. Final traffic figures are not available for this release, however daily traffic levels as a percentage of the equivalent day of the week in the first week of February 2020 are published as part of the department’s COVID-19 statistics. The daily figure for each Tuesday of 2021 is shown in the chart (Tuesday was chosen to avoid weekends and bank holidays).
Both monthly casualties and traffic showed an increase alongside lockdown easing, reaching greater stability in early summer 2021. Monthly casualties also showed a small reduction between July and August and November and December, though this is not clearly present within the motor traffic data and the latter could in part be due to lower data completeness of road collisions in December. The drop in motor traffic in the final week of 2021 may be due to reduced travelling associated with the Christmas period.
Chart 4: Monthly 2021 casualties (provisional) and weekly traffic levels (as a proportion of pre-COVID traffic levels), Great Britain
Fatalities and casualties by road user type
Changes in fatalities and casualties varied by road user type. Pedal cyclists had a reduction in fatalities in 2021 compared with 2020 (20%). Despite this reduction, the number of pedal cyclist fatalities in 2021 was still higher than the 2017 to 2019 average (13%).
Car occupants, pedestrians and motorcyclists showed the opposite trend, with increases in fatalities in 2021 compared with 2020 and decreases compared with the 2017 to 2019 average.
Chart 5: Reported fatalities by road user type in Great Britain in 2021 (provisional) compared with 2020 and the 2017 to 2019 average (RAS9101)
Table 2: Reported fatalities by road user type in Great Britain in 2021 (provisional) compared with 2020 and the 2017 to 2019 average (RAS9101)
| Road user type | 2021 | % change from 2020 | % change from 2017 to 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car occupant | 686 | 11 | -11 |
| Pedestrian | 364 | 5 | -22 |
| Motorcyclist | 299 | 5 | -14 |
| Pedal cyclist | 113 | -20 | 13 |
| Goods vehicles occupant | 58 | 8 | -5 |
| Other vehicle occupant | 35 | 194 | 31 |
| Bus or coach occupant | 5 | 25 | -48 |
Note: Provisional results show a higher number of casualties within the ‘Other vehicle occupants’ category which is partially a result of the increased e-scooters casualties, and also misclassified vehicle types in 2021. Misclassified vehicle types are reported back to the police who will return a designated vehicle type where notified. Vehicles are matched to the DVLA database and where there is a good body type match, vehicle type may be reclassified. For more information on e-scooters casualties, see the e-scooter factsheet
Pedal cyclist casualties remained broadly similar to 2020 (1% increase), whilst car occupant, pedestrian and motor cyclist casualties increased more notably (between 10 and 16%). Whilst car occupants and pedestrian casualties are still far below the 2017 to 2019 average (25 and 27% respectively), motor cyclist casualties are only 8% lower than the 2017 to 2019 average. Bus occupant casualties increased in 2021 compared with 2020 (18%), but have the lowest casualty level compared with the 2017 to 2019 average out of all road user types.
Comparing between fatalities and casualties, car occupant fatalities are much closer to the pre-COVID 2017 to 2019 average (11% reduction) than casualties (25% reduction).
Chart 6: Total casualties by road user type in Great Britain in 2021 (provisional) compared with 2020 and the 2017 to 2019 average (RAS9101)
Table 3: Reported road casualties by road user type in Great Britain in 2021 (provisional)(RAS9101)
| Road User Type | 2021 | % change from 2020 | % change from 2017 to 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car occupant | 70,484 | 10 | -25 |
| Pedestrian | 16,608 | 13 | -27 |
| Pedal cyclist | 16,479 | 1 | -6 |
| Motorcyclist | 15,724 | 16 | -8 |
| Goods vehicles occupant | 4,669 | 12 | -10 |
| Other vehicle occupant | 2,201 | 116 | 130 |
| Bus or coach occupant | 1,774 | 18 | -52 |
See note for table 2
Fatalities and casualties by age and sex
Chart 7 shows that both males and females consistently have low numbers of fatalities aged 16 and under. However, there are substantially more male fatalities within the 17 to 29, 30 to 49 and 50 to 69 age bands than females.
The largest number of fatalities for females consistently fall within the 70 years and over age band, whereas this is one of the least common age bands for male fatalities. When considering all casualties, this sex difference is no longer present, with the 70 years and over age band consistently showing the lowest number of casualties across males and females.
Chart 7: Reported road fatalities and all casualties by age group and sex in Great Britain, 2011 to 2021 (provisional) (RAS9102)
Table 4: Reported road fatalities by age group and sex in Great Britain, 2021 (provisional) (RAS9102)
| Sex | Age group (years) | Killed | % change from 2020 | % change from 2017 to 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 0 to 16 | 15 | -25 | -29 |
| Female | 17 to 29 | 70 | 4 | -10 |
| Female | 30 to 49 | 69 | -5 | -10 |
| Female | 50 to 69 | 80 | 14 | -29 |
| Female | 70 and over | 106 | 4 | -36 |
| Male | 0 to 16 | 28 | -13 | -21 |
| Male | 17 to 29 | 326 | 16 | -7 |
| Male | 30 to 49 | 362 | 7 | -7 |
| Male | 50 to 69 | 313 | 6 | 2 |
| Male | 70 and over | 187 | 2 | -21 |
Note: A small number of records have been removed where the correct age or sex was unknown.
Quality and methodology
Provisional estimates
Figures in this release are provisional and will be revised in the annual report in September, following updates from the police, continued work to reduce duplicated data, and the end of year validation process. The validation will also impact parameters used in the adjustment model for severity and therefore estimates for serious injuries, and to a lesser extent, slight injuries, may marginally change.
Data supply from forces
The provisional 2021 results are based on complete figures provided by 39 police authorities with partial data for 5 authorities. Missing data was imputed for the following forces:
- Avon and Somerset for December
- Wiltshire and Dyfed-Powys for October, November and December
- Hampshire for August through to December
- Staffordshire for May through to December
Estimation methodology
To conduct the imputation, police forces which have consistently used the same reporting systems were used to calculate the growth rate based on key variables (road user type, month, severity, sex, age band) and average casualty counts for 2017 to 2020.
A scaling factor was applied to 2020 data within the imputed forces, at casualty record level, to estimate the number of casualties in 2021.
More information on the provisional estimates methodology can be found in the provisional estimates methodology note.
Strengths and weaknesses
Under-reporting
Comparisons of road collision reports with death registrations show that very few, if any, road collision fatalities are not reported to the police. However, a considerable proportion of non-fatal casualties are not known to the police, as hospital, survey and compensation claims data all indicate a higher number of casualties than those recorded in police collision data. More information on the coherence of the police reported data with alternative sources can be found in our comparison to other sources of information on road casualties.
Changes in reporting systems used by police forces
From 2016 onwards, figures on the severity of injury have been affected by a large number of police forces changing their reporting systems. It is likely that the recording of injury severity is more accurate for forces using these new reporting systems.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Methodology Advisory Service have completed analysis to quantify the effect of the introduction of new injury based reporting systems (CRASH and COPA) on the number of slight and serious injuries reported to the police, and to estimate the level of slight and serious injuries as if all police forces were using injury-based reporting systems.
In 2021, 3 new forces adopted CRASH. These forces were Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, and West Yorkshire. For more information, please see our guide to severity adjustments.
Online self-reporting
Online self-reporting is part of a wider project for digital public contact Single Online Home. It is funded by the Home Office to allow people involved in road traffic collisions to report the collision to the police online should they choose to do so, rather than having to physically report it at a police station.
The principle of online reporting is to make it easier for members of the public to report collisions. It is expected that the introduction of online reporting will affect the number of non-fatal (and particularly slight) casualties reported and therefore impact the total for Great Britain, as the public will have more reporting options available to them. This is particularly likely to impact numbers for slight injuries, which may not have been reported otherwise.
See our analysis of the impact of online self reporting for more details.
Background information
Definitions
A full list of the background information and definitions used in this publication can be found in our notes and definitions documentation.
Publication timeline
Reported road casualties Great Britain, provisional results 2021 contains the first release of provisional headline collision and casualty figures for 2021. This will be followed by the publication of the 2021 annual report in September 2022. The Department aims to publish mid-year estimates for 2022 in November 2022.
Our reported road casualty dashboard will be updated alongside the annual release in September 2022.
Data tables
Alongside this release we have published 4 data tables:
- RAS9101: Reported road casualties by severity and road user type, Great Britain, ten years up to 2021
- RAS9102: Reported casualties by severity, age, sex and road user type, Great Britain, ten years up to 2021
- RAS9103: Reported road casualties by police force and month, Great Britain, ten years up to 2021
- RAS9104: Number of reported casualties by severity, local authority and regions, Great Britain, ten years up to 2021
We are changing the list of tables that we provide alongside both the provisional and final annual reported road casualties publications, to streamline table content and meet new accessibility legal requirements. A published report detailing more information and a user feedback survey on these changes are available.
Other tables released alongside our 2020 annual report, along with information about the variables collected on the STATS19 form, historical publications and factsheets, are available at the Road Safety Statistics webpage.
STATS19 review
Road collision data is collected from the police with the STATS19 collection. As with any collection system, it needs to be periodically reviewed to keep up with changes in technology, to make improvements to completeness and accuracy, and to reduce the reporting burden.
The STATS19 review started in autumn 2018 and has made a number of recommendations on changes to STATS19 going forward. These were based on evidence and detailed discussion with the review group.
Key recommendations can be found in the full STATS19 review report.
National Statistics and pre-release access
These statistics were designated as National Statistics in July 2009. The continued designation was confirmed in July 2013. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs. More information can be found on our national statistics status webpage.
Details of Ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release can be found in our pre-release access list.
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