Casualties by type of road

Figure 5 shows the number of casualties by road type. Built-up roads are those which have speed limits of up to and including 40 miles per hour (ignoring temporary speed limits on roads for which the normal speed limit is over 40 mph); non-built up roads have speed limits exceeding 40 miles per hour.

In 2025, non-built-up roads accounted for over two-fifths of the total number of reported casualties (44%: 2,450 out of 5,535) and accounted for a similar proportion of serious casualties (45%: 860 out of 1,906). However, they accounted for over two thirds of those killed (69%: 92 out of 134). This will be, at least in part, due to the higher average speed on non-built-up roads. These roads make up around two-thirds of Scotland’s road network.

Compared with the 2014-18 average (the baseline period for measurements of the current Road Safety Framework) total casualties on non-built-up roads have reduced by 40% and built-up roads by 50%. Fatalities have also decreased by 25% on non-built-up roads and by 17% on built-up roads over the same period.

Figure 5: Number of casualties in Scotland by built-up and non-built-up roads, 2025, as described in previous text
Figure 5: Number of casualties in Scotland by built-up and non-built-up roads, 2025