Reported number of casualties
Figure 2 shows that, in 2025, 134 people were killed in road collisions in Scotland: 26 (16%) less than 2024.
Since 1978, there has been a long-term downward trend. More recent years' figures have fluctuated around a less-pronounced downward trend. The Covid-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 had the lowest number of fatalities ever recorded and 2025 was the third-lowest with, 134 fatalities.
Figure 3 shows there was a total of 5,535 casualties (of all severities) reported in 2025: 197 (3%) less than in 2024 and the third lowest number since annual records began in 1950.
Between 1970 and 1990, the figures fluctuated around a general downward trend, with numbers falling from the short-term peak in 1989 & 1990 (of over 27,000). Since 1998, there has been a consistent reduction, with numbers falling below 12,000 in 2013, which was half the level of the early 1990s.
Note for Figure 3: Due to changes in the way casualty severity is recorded, serious and slight figures prior to 2004 are not directly comparable with later years.
In 2025, 1,906 people were seriously-injured in road collisions. As outlined above, this figure cannot be directly compared to the reported figures prior to 2004. Figures for the years between 2004 and 2019 have been adjusted to maximise comparability with more recent years. Figure 4 shows the impact of the adjustments applied to these years. The number of people seriously injured in 2025 decreased by 4% from 2024. Figure 3 shows the longer-term trend for fatal and serious casualties has generally been downward since the early 1980s.
There were 3,495 people reported as slightly-injured in 2025. Once again, this figure cannot be directly compared to the reported figures for previous years prior to 2004. The number of people slightly-injured in road collisions in 2025 decreased by 3% from 2024. Figure 3 shows that the number of slight casualties has shown a clear downward trend since the mid-1990s.
