Scottish Transport Statistics No 34 2015 Edition

Reported Injury Road Accidents

1. Introduction

1.1 This chapter provides information on injury road accidents which were reported to the police, such as the number and severity of accidents, the police force area in which the accidents occurred, the types of vehicle involved, the number and severity of casualties resulting from the accidents, and the costs of injury and non-injury accidents.

More information can be found in the Transport Scotland National Statistics publication Reported Road Casualties Scotland: http://bit.ly/TSStats-RRCS.

Key points

• There were 200 people killed in road accidents in 2014, 28 (16%) more than the previous year.
• There were 1,699 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2014, 27 (2%) more than in 2013.
• Three quarters of casualties in 2014 were car users or pedestrians. Sixty per cent of casualties were car users and 15 per cent were pedestrians. Motorcycles and pedal cycles accounted for 7 and 8 per cent respectively.

2. Main Points

Accidents

2.1 There were 8,808 injury road accidents reported in 2014, 182 (2%) fewer than in 2013. The number of reported accidents has been falling over the past ten years, and in 2014 was 37% lower than in 2004; the lowest figure since current records began in 1970. There were 178 fatal accidents in 2014: 19 (12%) more than in 2013. The reported number of accidents in which someone was seriously injured, but no-one died increased by 4% to 1,486 and the number of reported slight accidents (7,144) was 257 (3%) fewer than the previous year. (Table 6.1)

2.2 In 2014, over one third of all reported injury road accidents (3,122: 35%) were on non-built up roads (speed limit of more than 40 m.p.h. - see Notes and Definitions section, page 225). However, such roads accounted for a higher proportion of fatal accidents (113: 63%), partly because speeds tend to be higher on non-built up roads than on built up roads. There was a decrease in accidents on non-built up roads (down by 3%) between 2013 and 2014 compared to a reduction in accidents on built up roads of 1%. (Table 6.1)

2.3 The long term trends in the number of injury road accidents reported between 2004 and 2014 varied between the Police Force divisions across Scotland, ranging from a 17% fall (East Lothian) to a 56% fall (Angus). The figures for an area may fluctuate from year to year, especially in smaller areas, although the trends appear to be downwards. (Table 6.2)

2.4 There were 15,241 vehicles involved in reported injury road accidents in 2014. Three-quarters of them were cars (11,161: 73%); pedal cycles were the next vehicle type most often involved in accidents (918: 6%), though light goods vehicles are a similar proportion. (Table 6.3) Up until 2010, the number of motorcycles involved was higher than the number of pedal cycles but since then there has been a fall in motorcycle traffic and an increase in pedal cycle traffic. The number of vehicles involved in accidents should always be considered alongside the traffic estimates in Chapter 5. For example there was an increase of 13 per cent in the numbers of pedal cycles involved in injury accidents between 2010 and 2014, however, over the same period it was estimated that the distance cycled increased by 14 per cent (see chapter 5 table 5.3).

Casualties

2.5 200 people were killed in road accidents in 2014, 28 (16%) more than the previous year. This was 31% less than the 2004-08 average, the time period used as the baseline for Scotland's Road Safety Framework. (Table 6.4) Further analysis of progress against the Road Safety Framework Targets can be found in Reported Road Casualties Scotland.

2.6 There were 1,699 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2014, 308 (2%) more than in 2013, 35% less than the 2004-08 average. 9,369 people were recorded as slightly injured in 2014, 291 (3%) fewer than in 2013, and the lowest number since 1950. There were a total of 11,268 casualties in 2014, 236 (2%) lower than in 2013. (Table 6.4)

2.7 In the context of the total volume of traffic on the roads in Scotland, the 11,268 total casualties recorded represented 25.15 casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The Road Safety Framework also monitors the numbers of slight injuries per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The 9,369 people who were recorded as slightly injured in 2014 represented 20.92 casualties per 100 million vehicle-kilometres. This was 36% below the overall slight casualty rate for the 2004-08 baseline period for Scotland's Road Safety Framework. (Table 6.4)

Child casualties

2.8 There were 1,034 reported child casualties in 2014, representing 9% of the total number of casualties of all ages. There were 7 child fatalities, 171 children were seriously injured (47% less than the 2004-08 average), and 856 were classified as slightly injured. Due to the relatively small number of child fatalities, these are monitored using a three year average to remove the effect of year on year fluctuations. In the three years to 2014, there was an average of 6 child fatalities. The number of child serious casualties rose by 28 (20%) between 2013 and 2014. Slight casualties were down by 56 or 6%. (Table 6.4)

Casualty Rates & Costs

2.9 Table 6.5 provides road casualty rates per thousand population by age group and mode of transport. Overall, there were 2.11 casualties per thousand population in 2014. The casualty rate for children (0-15 years) was 1.13 per thousand population. However, the child and young adult pedestrian casualty rates (0.55 and 0.39 per thousand population respectively) were almost double the pedestrian casualty rate for adults (0.27). The young persons' (16-24 years) casualty rate in 2014 was 3.76 per thousand population, just under twice the rate for all ages. The young persons' casualty rate in cars (2.68 per thousand population) was almost double the rate for adults aged 25-59 (which was 1.44 per thousand population). The 16-24 age group also had higher pedestrian and motor cycle casualty rates than older people. Further information about the mid-year population estimates used to calculate these rates can be found at the National Records of Scotland, here http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/population/population-estimates/mid-year-population-estimates (Table 6.5)

2.10 The cost of all road accidents (including damage only non-injury accidents) in 2014 is estimated at £1,190 million at 2014 prices. (Table 6.6)

Table 6.1 Reported accidents by type of road and severity

	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Built up roads
Fatal	90	76	83	71	82	56	56	61	64	44	65
Serious	1,232	1,224	1,264	1,136	1,277	1,033	925	954	984	810	856
Fatal and Serious	1,322	1,300	1,347	1,207	1,359	1,089	981	1,015	1,048	854	921
Slight	7,386	7,087	6,850	6,575	6,105	5,902	5,360	5,345	5,119	4,909	4,765
All severities	8,708	8,387	8,197	7,782	7,464	6,991	6,341	6,360	6,167	5,763	5,686
Non-built up roads
Fatal	193	188	210	184	163	140	133	114	100	115	113
Serious	1,099	1,028	993	913	965	965	788	722	750	620	630
Fatal and Serious	1,292	1,216	1,203	1,097	1,128	1,105	921	836	850	735	743
Slight	3,919	3,835	3,710	3,628	3,567	3,460	3,033	2,791	2,764	2,492	2,379
All severities	5,211	5,051	4,913	4,725	4,695	4,565	3,954	3,627	3,614	3,227	3,122
All roads
Fatal	283	264	293	255	245	196	189	175	164	159	178
Serious	2,331	2,252	2,257	2,049	2,242	1,998	1,713	1,676	1,734	1,430	1,486
Fatal and Serious	2,614	2,516	2,550	2,304	2,487	2,194	1,902	1,851	1,898	1,589	1,664
Slight	11,305	10,922	10,560	10,203	9,672	9,362	8,393	8,136	7,883	7,401	7,144
All severities	13,919	13,438	13,110	12,507	12,159	11,556	10,295	9,987	9,781	8,990	8,808

Table 6.2 Reported accidents by police force division and local authority area

	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Aberdeen City	369	431	393	408	514	445	350	364	386	354	272
Aberdeenshire & Moray	735	772	715	807	886	884	740	655	664	591	517
Aberdeenshire	558	606	552	632	692	687	599	518	535	468	423
Moray	177	166	163	175	194	197	141	137	129	123	94
Tayside	1,072	977	1,021	927	931	909	741	750	742	641	510
Angus	315	306	280	284	286	232	192	220	202	178	140
Dundee City	326	270	332	253	270	281	219	237	227	185	155
Perth & Kinross	431	401	409	390	375	396	330	293	313	278	215
Argyll & West Dunbartonshire	545	550	535	469	436	455	436	377	344	350	304
Argyll & Bute	299	323	310	268	288	282	275	232	211	208	193
West Dunbartonshire	246	227	225	201	148	173	161	145	133	142	111
Forth Valley	683	657	701	675	680	634	538	545	568	559	453
Clackmannanshire	86	83	102	88	85	77	69	64	84	69	61
Falkirk	308	310	285	297	310	303	240	261	270	251	227
Stirling	289	264	314	290	285	254	229	220	214	239	165
Dumfries & Galloway	440	497	443	475	419	388	360	319	320	300	311
Ayrshire	934	853	807	766	698	706	576	654	580	540	543
East Ayrshire	308	261	256	240	230	215	201	205	173	163	165
North Ayrshire	353	308	280	264	248	225	177	230	205	190	179
South Ayrshire	273	284	271	262	220	266	198	219	202	187	199
Greater Glasgow	2,430	2,271	2,197	2,052	1,901	1,761	1,581	1,540	1,527	1,283	1,434
East Dunbartonshire	192	190	186	149	141	147	141	140	114	104	102
East Renfrewshire	152	127	138	119	109	103	104	116	97	98	93
Glasgow City	2,086	1,954	1,873	1,784	1,651	1,511	1,336	1,284	1,316	1,081	1,239
Lothians & Scottish Borders	1,368	1,370	1,304	1,180	1,257	1,152	1,083	994	1,029	944	900
East Lothian	215	206	217	210	193	174	199	159	170	154	179
Midlothian	231	233	236	210	221	207	193	177	216	164	187
Scottish Borders	456	448	371	336	383	363	307	274	263	256	221
West Lothian	466	483	480	424	460	408	384	384	380	370	313
Edinburgh	1,548	1,405	1,445	1,330	1,285	1,192	1,179	1,181	1,167	1,158	1,264
Highlands & Islands	799	784	747	738	702	724	574	568	594	512	516
Eilean Siar	49	41	41	44	60	39	42	35	28	20	37
Highland	680	657	621	626	586	616	475	488	514	444	431
Orkney Islands	34	40	40	27	36	27	27	13	22	23	24
Shetland Islands	36	46	45	41	20	42	30	32	30	25	24
Fife	754	701	677	606	576	588	556	448	422	421	411
Renfrewshire & Inverclyde	681	640	654	631	565	458	485	509	472	374	387
Inverclyde	196	172	199	206	195	146	165	155	136	120	130
Renfrewshire	485	468	455	425	370	312	320	354	336	254	257
Lanarkshire	1,561	1,530	1,471	1,443	1,309	1,260	1,096	1,083	966	963	986
North Lanarkshire	777	791	750	754	639	664	585	569	512	505	481
South Lanarkshire	784	739	721	689	670	596	511	514	454	458	505
Scotland	13,919	13,438	13,110	12,507	12,159	11,556	10,295	9,987	9,781	8,990	8,808

Note: Detailed figures for casualties by local authority area can be found in Reported Road Casualties Scotland table B

Table 6.3 Reported vehicles involved by type of vehicle

	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Pedal cycle	794	808	801	740	768	821	810	855	935	919	918
Motor cycle1	1,033	1,098	1,091	1,109	1,050	1,038	859	828	890	778	829
Car	17,718	16,770	16,398	15,585	15,061	14,578	12,805	12,403	12,217	11,237	11,161
Taxi	477	469	474	413	367	391	355	387	333	327	310
Minibus	109	84	87	74	65	79	57	52	54	39	43
Bus/coach	1,131	1,040	979	836	796	697	611	618	521	469	432
Light goods	976	912	923	924	918	760	752	784	807	876	871
Heavy goods	800	739	697	643	654	554	546	464	453	408	417
Other	365	556	509	480	541	469	447	365	326	269	260
Total	23,403	22,476	21,959	20,804	20,220	19,387	17,242	16,756	16,536	15,322	15,241

1. Includes all two wheeled motor vehicles.

Table 6.4 Reported child casualties and all casualties, by severity; and the slight casualty rate

	Child casualties					All casualties1					Slight casualty rate per 100 million veh-kms
	Killed	Serious injury	Killed & Serious	Slight injury	Total	Killed	Serious injury	Killed & Serious	Slight injury	Total
2004-08 average	15	325.4	341	1,678	2,019	292	2,605	2,897	14,200	17,097	32.47
1997	26	719	745	3,053	3,798	377	4,047	4,424	18,205	22,629	47.19
1998	32	666	698	2,837	3,535	385	4,072	4,457	18,010	22,467	45.98
1999	25	600	625	2,571	3,196	310	3,765	4,075	16,927	21,002	42.56
2000	21	540	561	2,439	3,000	326	3,568	3,894	16,623	20,517	42.02
2001	20	524	544	2,379	2,923	348	3,410	3,758	16,153	19,911	40.32
2003	17	415	432	2,048	2,480	336	2,957	3,293	15,463	18,756	36.78
2004	12	372	384	2,011	2,395	308	2,766	3,074	15,428	18,502	36.13
2005	11	357	368	1,804	2,172	286	2,666	2,952	14,933	17,885	34.96
2006	25	350	375	1,647	2,022	314	2,635	2,949	14,320	17,269	32.46
2007	9	269	278	1,539	1,817	281	2,385	2,666	13,573	16,239	30.39
2008	20	279	299	1,390	1,689	270	2,575	2,845	12,747	15,592	28.66
2009	5	253	258	1,215	1,473	216	2,287	2,503	12,540	15,043	28.36
2010	4	223	227	1,150	1,377	208	1,969	2,177	11,161	13,338	25.66
2011	7	203	210	1,106	1,316	185	1,880	2,065	10,725	12,790	24.72
2012	2	194	196	972	1,168	178	1,981	2,159	10,557	12,716	24.24
2013	9	143	152	912	1,064	172	1,672	1,844	9,660	11,504	22.03
2014	7	171	178	856	1,034	200	1,699	1,899	9,369	11,268	20.92
Per cent change:
2014 on 2004-08
average	-55	-47	-48	-49	-49	-31	-35	-34	-34	-34	-36

1. Including those casualties whose age was not known.

Table 6.5 Reported casualties by mode of transport and age group, 2014

	Numbers						Rates per 1,000 population
	Age not known	Children 0-15	Young Persons 16-24	Adults 25-59	Older Adults 60+	Total	Children 0-15	Young Persons 16-24	Adults 25-59	Older Adults 60+	Total
Pedestrian	6	501	242	675	320	1,744	.55	.39	.27	.25	.33
Pedal cycle	0	79	107	645	57	888	.09	.17	.25	.04	.17
Motorcycle	1	16	209	537	57	820	.02	.34	.21	.04	.15
Car	3	393	1,659	3,642	1,073	6,770	.43	2.68	1.44	.84	1.27
Taxi	0	4	21	122	17	164	.00	.03	.05	.01	.03
Minibus	0	0	4	30	2	36	.00	.01	.01	.00	.01
Bus/Coach	0	29	18	111	133	291	.03	.03	.04	.10	.05
Light goods	0	7	44	258	36	345	.01	.07	.10	.03	.06
Heavy goods	0	1	10	86	8	105	.00	.02	.03	.01	.02
Other1	0	4	19	63	19	105	.00	.03	.02	.01	.02
Total	10	1,034	2,333	6,169	1,722	11,268	1.13	3.76	2.44	1.34	2.11

1. Including any casualties whose mode of transport is not known

Table 6.6 Costs of injury accidents by type of road, and of 'damage only' accidents

	Injury Accidents			All injury accidents	Damage only accidents	All accidents
	Motorway	Non Built-up	Built-up
				£ million at 2014 prices
2004	42.4	786.3	627.4	1,456.1	433.3	1,889.3
2005	47.8	741.4	595.3	1,384.4	418.0	1,802.5
2006	41.5	775.6	602.1	1,419.1	408.0	1,827.1
2007	45.2	701.8	543.8	1,290.9	388.8	1,679.6
2008	45.3	669.2	581.3	1,295.9	376.6	1,672.5
2009	47.4	598.7	483.3	1,129.4	356.7	1,486.2
2010	31.1	548.8	440.7	1,020.6	319.1	1,339.7
2011	38.5	458.1	454.2	950.7	312.2	1,262.9
2012	31.0	459.6	464.7	955.3	305.0	1,260.2
2013	34.2	446.7	380.5	861.4	281.5	1,142.9
2014	33.7	445.5	434.5	913.7	276.2	1,190.0