National statistics

Reported road casualties in Great Britain, provisional estimates: year ending June 2022

Published 24 November 2022

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 in the year ending June 2022 using the STATS19 reporting system. These figures are provisional as they will change following the end of year validation process.

Data by road user type and police force are available in the accompanying data tables.

Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19)

Recent trends in reported road casualties have begun to normalise after the national restrictions implemented from March 2020 onwards following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including periods of lockdown during 2021. Although there were no lockdowns in the year to June 2022, comparisons to periods which included the restrictions are affected. For this reason, this publication compares estimates for the year ending June 2022 with those for the year ending June 2019, which is the most recent equivalent pre-pandemic year.

More details about the coronavirus restrictions can be found in Coronavirus: a history of English lockdown laws (England only).

Headline figures

In the year ending June 2022, there were an estimated:

  • 1,760 fatalities in reported road collisions, a 4% decrease compared with year ending June 2019 (that is, pre-pandemic levels)

  • 29,804 reported killed and seriously injured (KSI) casualties, a decrease of 6% compared with year ending June 2019

  • 137,013 reported casualties of all severities, a decrease of 12% compared with year ending June 2019

Considering the different road user types and demographics, the statistics show:

  • the road user type with the biggest estimated percentage change for year ending June 2022 compared to year ending June 2019 for fatalities was for pedestrians, which showed a 15% decrease

  • the road user type with the biggest estimated percentage change for year ending June 2022 compared to year ending June 2019 for all casualties was for car occupants, which showed a 17% decrease

  • overall, 76% of fatalities and 62% of casualties of all severities were male for the year ending June 2022

Things you need to know

Provisional figures

Figures in this release are provisional and are based on data supplied by police forces at the 1 November 2022. A small amount of missing data has been estimated. Figures will change following updates from the police and the end of year validation process. Further details are given in the background information section.

Traffic figures and casualty rates

Road traffic figures for 2022 were not available for this release, so casualty rates have not been produced. Casualty rates will be available as part of the final annual road casualty statistics in September 2023.

Severity adjustment

The figures in this release for injured casualties 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 can be found in our severity adjustments guidance.

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 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 road casualty statistics guidance.

Overall casualties

Casualties by severity

Casualties are broken down into fatalities (people killed in road collisions), and those injured (further split into seriously and slightly injured based on type of injury sustained). Killed or seriously injured casualties are commonly grouped together as ‘KSIs’.

It has long been known that non-fatal (and particularly slight) casualties are under-reported to the police, though we believe that the trends shown are likely to reflect genuine changes. Further information is available in the quality section below.

Chart 1 shows the trend in road casualties by severity over the last decade, for the year ending June. Trends in road casualties are affected by a wide range of factors, with 2020 and 2021 being impacted by COVID-19. In the decade prior to the pandemic in 2020, fatalities had been broadly stable. The year ending June 2022 broadly shows a return to pre-pandemic trends.

In the year ending June 2022:

  • there were an estimated 1,760 fatalities in reported road collisions, a 4% decrease from the year ending June 2019 (pre-pandemic levels)
  • there were an estimated 29,804 KSI casualties, a 6% decrease compared with year ending June 2019.
  • there were an estimated 137,013 casualties of all severities, a 12% decrease compared with year ending June 2019.
  • of all severities, slightly injured (adjusted) showed the biggest change compared with year ending June 2019, which likely reflects the downward trend in slight casualties existing prior to the pandemic

Chart 1: Reported road casualties by severity in Great Britain, year ending June 2012 to year ending June 2022 RAS0901

Table 1: Reported road casualties by severity, in Great Britain, year ending June 2022 compared to years ending June 2019 and 2012 RAS0901

Severity 2022 % change from 2019 % change from 2012
Killed 1,760 -3.6 -1.4
Seriously injured (adjusted) 28,044 -5.6 -16.8
KSI (adjusted) 29,804 -5.5 -16.0
Slightly injured (adjusted) 107,209 -13.9 -34.5
All casualties 137,013 -12.2 -31.2

The impact of COVID-19

Chart 2 shows the monthly trend in casualties by severity since the start of 2020, showing how the number of casualties has changed compared with the pre-pandemic (2019) level over this period.

This shows how periods of lockdown were associated with reductions in casualties; for example fatalities reached their lowest point since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic during the lockdown in early 2021. Casualty numbers also showed a slight downward trend between November and December 2021, whilst there were high levels of Omicron COVID-19 variant transmission.

Chart 2 also shows that in 2022, the total number of killed and serious casualties has approached pre-pandemic levels, though figures for individual months should be interpreted with caution.

Chart 2: Percentage change in casualties compared to 2019, by month and severity, Great Britain, January 2020 to June 2022

Chart 2 note: periods of lockdown are shaded in grey.

Casualties by road user type

While provisional statistics for the 4 main road user types are likely to give a reasonable indication of trends, figures for other road user types can be impacted by classification issues, as explained in the quality section below. Therefore, these figures should be interpreted with caution.

Figures for other vehicles include e-scooters, which account for much of the increase in casualties compared to 2019 figures. A mid-year update on e-scooter casualties, which are not explicitly covered in this release, is available in the e-scooter factsheet.

Fatalities by road user type

Chart 3 shows fatalities for the year ending June 2022 for the 4 main road user types: car occupants, pedestrians, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists.

In year ending June 2022, 45% of fatalities were car occupants, 24% were pedestrians, 20% were motorcyclists and 6% were pedal cyclists.

Of these 4 road user types:

  • the biggest percentage change compared to year ending June 2019 was for pedestrians, which showed a 15% decrease

  • the other 3 road user types have returned to very similar fatality figures to pre-pandemic levels

Chart 3: Reported road fatalities by road user type, year ending June 2019 and year ending June 2022 RAS0901

Table 2: Reported road fatalities by road user type, Great Britain, year ending June 2022 compared to years ending June 2019 and 2012 RAS0901

Road user type 2022 % change from 2019 % change from 2012
Car occupants 789 2.2 -3.2
Pedestrians 415 -14.5 3.1
Motorcyclists 346 -1.5 -1.2
Pedal cyclists 99 1.4 -6.3
Light goods vehicle occupants 51 13.3 15.9
Other vehicle occupants 35 -15.9 60.6
Heavy goods vehicle occupants 18 -20.3 -49.1
Bus or coach occupants 7 -36.4 -30.0

All casualties by road user type

Chart 4 shows overall casualties figures split into the 4 main road user types: car occupants, pedestrians, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists.

In year ending June 2022, 55% of casualties were car occupants, 14% were pedestrians, 13% were motorcyclists and 12% were pedal cyclists.

Of these 4 road user types:

  • the biggest percentage change compared to year ending June 2019 was for car occupants, which showed a 17% decrease

  • there was also a decrease for pedestrian casualties, but pedal cyclists and motorcyclist casualty numbers were broadly similar to pre-pandemic levels

Chart 4: Reported road casualties by road user type, Great Britain, year ending June 2019 and year ending June 2022 RAS0901

Table 3: Reported road casualties by road user type, Great Britain, year ending June 2022 compared to years ending June 2019 and 2012 RAS0901

Road user type 2022 % change from 2019 % change from 2012
Car occupants 75,364 -16.9 -38.3
Pedestrians 19,039 -12.7 -25.3
Motorcyclists 17,171 2.6 -13.2
Pedal cyclists 16,512 -5.0 -11.5
Light goods vehicle occupants 3,581 -11.0 -21.5
Other vehicle occupants 2,650 137.7 99.3
Bus or coach occupants 2,037 -39.3 -64.4
Heavy goods vehicle occupants 660 -24.1 -53.2

Casualties by age and sex

Chart 5 shows fatalities and all casualties split by both sex and age group.

In the year ending June 2022:

  • overall, 76% of fatalities and 62% of casualties of all severities were male
  • 3% of fatalities and 10% of all casualties were aged 16 and under
  • 26% of fatalities and 30% of all casualties were aged 17 to 29
  • 20% of fatalities and 7% of all casualties were aged over 70 and over

Chart 5: Reported road fatalities and casualties by age group and sex, Great Britain, year ending June 2012 to year ending June 2022

Fatalities by age and sex

Table 4: Reported road fatalities by age group and sex, Great Britain, year ending June 2022 compared to years ending June 2019 and 2012

Sex Age 2022 % change from 2019 % change from 2012
Female 0 to 16 23 9.5 35.3
Female 17 to 29 83 -10.4 -26.3
Female 30 to 49 86 12.1 -8.2
Female 50 to 69 91 -23.8 31.4
Female 70 and over 137 -29.3 -2.0
Male 0 to 16 34 -19.0 -24.4
Male 17 to 29 375 8.6 -11.0
Male 30 to 49 410 9.9 -1.4
Male 50 to 69 312 -3.9 17.0
Male 70 and over 206 -13.6 1.3

All casualties by age and sex

Table 5: Reported road casualties by age group and sex, Great Britain, year ending June 2022 compared to years ending June 2019 and 2012

Sex Age 2022 % change from 2019 % change from 2012
Female 0 to 16 5,511 -15.8 -38.1
Female 17 to 29 14,154 -18.5 -46.2
Female 30 to 49 16,549 -14.7 -35.6
Female 50 to 69 10,535 -16.6 -24.7
Female 70 and over 4,390 -23.9 -27.7
Male 0 to 16 7,894 -13.9 -36.9
Male 17 to 29 25,695 -7.4 -35.0
Male 30 to 49 28,219 -9.5 -27.1
Male 50 to 69 15,887 -9.4 -13.3
Male 70 and over 4,887 -13.7 -11.9

Background quality information

Detailed guidance on road casualty statistics is given on our guidance page. A full list of the definitions used in this publication can be found in our notes and definitions documentation.

Quality and methodology

Road casualty statistics have been assessed as National Statistics, indicating compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. Full details of the quality of these statistics are available in the background quality report. There are however several important areas which users of the statistics should be aware of in interpreting them.

Provisional figures

These mid-year figures are the first national statistics on the number of road casualties in Great Britain during 2022. They will be followed by provisional estimates for 2022 as a whole scheduled for publication in May 2023, with final figures in September.

These are provisional estimates which have not been validated in detail and include imputation for missing data. Missing data for Avon and Somerset, Hampshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands and Wiltshire police forces has been imputed for some months where data was not supplied or not considered to be complete. Overall the imputed data accounts for 4% of casualties and 2% of fatalities. In addition, a small number of known fatalities (under 10) have not been included but will be added in future publications of 2022 data.

On the other hand, there might be some duplicates for some police force areas, as some casualties might have been logged twice or more. These will be deleted following in year validation.

Provisional results for some road user types can be impacted by misclassified vehicle types in 2022 data. Misclassified vehicle types are reported back to the police who will return a designated vehicle type where notified. Vehicles are matched to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency database and where there is a good body type match, vehicle type may be reclassified.

These factors are unlikely to affect the high-level national trends shown, but will have a bigger impact on figures for individual police force areas affected. More information on the mid-year estimates methodology can be found in the mid-year methodology note.

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 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.

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 known as 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.

User engagement, developments and STATS19 review

Details of users and uses of road casualty statistics and response to recent user feedback is available from our user engagement page.

The STATS19 system which provides the majority of statistics for this publication is periodically reviewed to keep up with changes in technology, to make improvements to completeness and accuracy, and to reduce the reporting burden. Key recommendations of the latest review, carried out in 2018, 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.

Instructions for printing and saving

Depending on which browser you use and the type of device you use (such as a mobile or laptop) these instructions may vary.

Tablets and mobile devices normally have the option to “find in text” and “print or save” in their sharing or quick options menu of their browser, but this will vary by device model.

Select Ctrl and F on a Windows laptop or Command and F on a Mac

This will open a search box in the top right-hand corner of the page. Type the word you are looking for in the search bar and press enter.

Your browser will highlight the word, usually in yellow, wherever it appears on the page. Press enter to move to the next place it appears.

Contact details

Road safety statistics

Email roadacc.stats@dft.gov.uk

Public enquiries 020 7944 6595

Media enquiries 0300 7777 878