Finalised figures for 2018 road casualties
Finalised statistics for 2018 confirm that the number of people killed or seriously injured in reported road accidents in Scotland in 2018 has shown a slight increase from 2017, rising from 1,739 to 1,743.
The Reported Road Casualties publication released today by Transport Scotland statisticians provides finalised figures for the number of people injured or killed as a result of road accidents. The report also provides more detailed breakdowns than were contained in the provisional statistics released in June.
The finalised statistics for 2018 confirm that 161 people were killed in reported road accidents in Scotland in 2018, 16 more than in 2017. The number of people seriously injured decreased by one percent from 1,594 to 1,582. A significant drop in slight casualties means that the total number of casualties fell by eleven percent between 2017 and 2018 from 9,433 to 8,411, the lowest number since records began.
Other findings contained in the report include:
- Car driver accident rates per head of population varied markedly by age and sex. In 2018, the overall rate was 1.7 accidents per thousand population aged 17+. The highest rate was for males in the 17-25 age group, with a rate of 3.0 per thousand population in 2018. This rate is one and a half times those of females of the same age (2.0 per thousand in 2018).
- In 2018, Scotland’s overall road death rate of 30 per million population was the fifth lowest of 42 countries surveyed in provisional international comparisons.
Compared with England and Wales, Scotland’s 2018 casualty rates were 8% higher (killed), 28% lower (serious) and 40% lower (all severities).
- In 2018, there were 753 child casualties in reported road accidents, a decrease of 16 percent since 2017. This included three fatalities, 1 more than 2017, and 142 children who were seriously injured, down from 153 in 2017.
- The latest available estimates produced by the U.K. Government Department for Transport suggest that the numbers of drink-drive accidents fell by 60% between 2007 and 2017: from a rounded estimate of 670 accidents to 270.
The figures released today were produced by independent statistical staff free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
The full statistical publication is available on the Transport Scotland website