Finalised figures for 2019 road casualties

Finalised statistics for 2019 confirm that the number of people killed in reported road accidents in Scotland in 2019 has shown a slight increase from 2018, rising from 161 to 165.

The Reported Road Casualties publication released today by Transport Scotland Statisticians provide 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 July.

The finalised statistics for 2019 confirm that 165 people were killed in reported road accidents in Scotland in 2019, 4 more than in 2018. There were also 2,016 people who were seriously injured. There was a significant drop in the overall number of casualties, which fell by nine per cent between 2018 and 2019 from 8,424 to 7,638, 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 2019, the overall rate was 1.6 accidents per thousand population aged 17+. The highest rate was for males in the 17-25 age group, with a rate of 2.5 per thousand population in 2019. This rate is nearly one and a half times those of females of the same age (1.9 per thousand in 2019).

• In 2019, Scotland’s overall road death rate of 30 per million population was the eighth lowest of 41 countries surveyed in provisional international comparisons. Compared with England and Wales, Scotland’s 2019 casualty rates were 12% higher (killed), 8% lower (serious) and 43% lower (all severities). 

• In 2019, there were 763 child casualties in reported road accidents, an increase of 1 per cent since 2018. This included two fatalities, one fewer than in 2018, and 198 children who were seriously injured.

• The latest available estimates produced by the U.K. Government Department for Transport suggest that the number of drink-drive accidents fell by 58% between 2008 and 2018: from a rounded estimate of 660 accidents to 280.

The full report is available on the Transport Scotland website.

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.