Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents

Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents

Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents - Infographic

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 168 people killed in road accidents in 2015, 35 (17%) less than the previous year.
  • There were 1,596 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2015, 108 (6%) less than in 2014.
  • Just over three quarters of casualties in 2015 were car users or pedestrians.  Sixty one per cent of casualties were car users and 15 per cent were pedestrians.  Motorcycles and pedal cycles both accounted for 7 per cent.

2. Main Points

Accidents

2.1 There were 8,474 injury road accidents reported in 2015, 368 (4%) fewer than in 2014. The number of reported accidents has been falling over the past ten years, and in 2015 was 37% lower than in 2005; the lowest figure since current records began in 1970. There were 157 fatal accidents in 2015: 24 (13%) less than in 2014. The reported number of accidents in which someone was seriously injured, but no-one died decreased by 5% to 1,417 and the number of reported slight accidents (6,900) was 270(4%) fewer than the previous year. (Table 6.1)

2.2 In 2015, over one third of all reported injury road accidents (3,076: 36%) 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 (110: 70%), 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  2%) between 2014 and 2015 compared to a reduction in accidents on built up roads of 5%.  (Table 6.1)

2.3 The long term trends in the number of injury road accidents reported between 2005 and 2015 varied between the Police Force divisions across Scotland, ranging from a 17% fall (West Lothian) to a 70% fall (Orkney). 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 14,667 vehicles involved in reported injury road accidents in 2015.  Three-quarters of them were cars (10,930: 75%); light goods vehicles were the next vehicle type most often involved in accidents (888: 6%), though pedal cycles 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 2 per cent in the numbers of pedal cycles involved in injury accidents between 2010 and 2015, however, over the same period it was estimated that the distance cycled increased by 15 per cent (see chapter 5 table 5.3).

Casualties

2.5 168 people were killed in road accidents in 2015, 35 (17%) less than the previous year. This was 42% 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 1,596 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2015, 108 (6%) less than in 2014, 39% less than the 2004-08 average. 9,204 people were recorded as slightly injured in 2015, 196 (2%) fewer than in 2014, and the lowest number since 1950.  There were a total of 10,968 casualties in 2015, 339 (3%) lower than in 2014. (Table 6.4)

2.7 In the context of the total volume of traffic on the roads in Scotland, the 10,968  total casualties recorded represented 24.17  casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The Road Safety Framework also monitors the numbers of slight injuries per 100 million vehicle kilometres.  The 9,204 people who were recorded as slightly injured in 2015 represented 20.28 casualties per 100 million vehicle-kilometres.  This was 38% 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 972 reported child casualties in 2015, representing 9% of the total number of casualties of all ages.  There were 4 child fatalities, 139 children were seriously injured (57% less than the 2004-08 average), and 829 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 2015, there was an average of 7 child fatalities. The number of child serious casualties fell by 33 (19%) between 2014 and 2015. Slight casualties were down by 25 or 3%.  (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 2.04 casualties per thousand population in 2015.  The casualty rate for children (0-15 years) was 1.07 per thousand population.  However, the child and young adult pedestrian casualty rates (0.50 and 0.45 per thousand population respectively) were almost double the pedestrian casualty rate for adults (0.26). The young persons' (16-24 years) casualty rate in 2015 was 3.57 per thousand population, just under twice the rate for all ages. The young persons' casualty rate in cars (2.54 per thousand population) was almost double the rate for adults aged 25-59 (which was 1.48 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 2015 is estimated at £1,130 million at 2015 prices.  (Table 6.6)

 

Table 6.1 Reported accidents by type of road and severity
  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Built up roads
Fatal 76 83 71 82 56 56 61 64 44 67 47
Serious 1,224 1,264 1,136 1,277 1,033 925 954 985 810 858 830
Fatal and Serious 1,300 1,347 1,207 1,359 1,089 981 1,015 1,049 854 925 877
Slight 7,087 6,850 6,575 6,105 5,902 5,360 5,344 5,116 4,909 4,787 4,521
All severities 8,387 8,197 7,782 7,464 6,991 6,341 6,359 6,165 5,763 5,712 5,398
Non-built up roads
Fatal 188 210 184 163 140 133 114 98 115 114 110
Serious 1,028 993 913 965 965 788 722 751 619 633 587
Fatal and Serious 1,216 1,203 1,097 1,128 1,105 921 836 849 734 747 697
Slight 3,835 3,710 3,628 3,567 3,460 3,033 2,790 2,763 2,491 2,383 2,379
All severities 5,051 4,913 4,725 4,695 4,565 3,954 3,626 3,612 3,225 3,130 3,076
All roads
Fatal 264 293 255 245 196 189 175 162 159 181 157
Serious 2,252 2,257 2,049 2,242 1,998 1,713 1,676 1,736 1,429 1,491 1,417
Fatal and Serious 2,516 2,550 2,304 2,487 2,194 1,902 1,851 1,898 1,588 1,672 1,574
Slight 10,922 10,560 10,203 9,672 9,362 8,393 8,134 7,879 7,400 7,170 6,900
All severities 13,438 13,110 12,507 12,159 11,556 10,295 9,985 9,777 8,988 8,842 8,474

 

Table 6.2 Reported accidents by police force division and local authority area
  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Aberdeen City 431 393 408 514 445 350 364 385 354 272 228
Aberdeenshire & Moray 772 715 807 886 884 740 655 662 590 518 429
Aberdeenshire 606 552 632 692 687 599 518 533 467 424 347
Moray 166 163 175 194 197 141 137 129 123 94 82
Tayside 977 1,021 927 931 909 741 750 742 641 534 475
Angus 306 280 284 286 232 192 220 202 178 141 144
Dundee City 270 332 253 270 281 219 237 227 185 168 131
Perth & Kinross 401 409 390 375 396 330 293 313 278 225 200
Argyll & West Dunbartonshire 550 535 469 436 455 436 377 344 350 304 345
Argyll & Bute 323 310 268 288 282 275 232 211 208 193 227
West Dunbartonshire 227 225 201 148 173 161 145 133 142 111 118
Forth Valley 657 701 675 680 634 538 545 568 559 462 508
Clackmannanshire 83 102 88 85 77 69 64 84 69 62 62
Falkirk 310 285 297 310 303 240 261 270 251 232 249
Stirling 264 314 290 285 254 229 220 214 239 168 197
Dumfries & Galloway 497 443 475 419 388 360 319 320 300 311 276
Ayrshire 853 807 766 698 706 576 653 580 540 543 589
East Ayrshire 261 256 240 230 215 201 204 173 163 165 205
North Ayrshire 308 280 264 248 225 177 230 205 190 179 191
South Ayrshire 284 271 262 220 266 198 219 202 187 199 193
Greater Glasgow 2,271 2,197 2,052 1,901 1,761 1,581 1,539 1,527 1,283 1,435 1,390
East Dunbartonshire 190 186 149 141 147 141 140 114 104 102 96
East Renfrewshire 127 138 119 109 103 104 116 97 98 93 94
Glasgow City 1,954 1,873 1,784 1,651 1,511 1,336 1,283 1,316 1,081 1,240 1200
Lothians & Scottish Borders 1,370 1,304 1,180 1,257 1,152 1,083 994 1,029 943 900 973
East Lothian 206 217 210 193 174 199 159 170 154 179 158
Midlothian 233 236 210 221 207 193 177 216 164 187 190
Scottish Borders 448 371 336 383 363 307 274 263 255 221 222
West Lothian 483 480 424 460 408 384 384 380 370 313 403
Edinburgh 1,405 1,445 1,330 1,285 1,192 1,179 1,181 1,167 1,158 1,264 1111
Highlands & Islands 784 747 738 702 724 574 568 594 512 516 449
Eilean Siar 41 41 44 60 39 42 35 28 20 37 32
Highland 657 621 626 586 616 475 488 514 444 431 380
Orkney Islands 40 40 27 36 27 27 13 22 23 24 12
Shetland Islands 46 45 41 20 42 30 32 30 25 24 25
Fife 701 677 606 576 588 556 448 421 420 411 428
Renfrewshire & Inverclyde 640 654 631 565 458 485 509 472 374 387 367
Inverclyde 172 199 206 195 146 165 155 136 120 130 109
Renfrewshire 468 455 425 370 312 320 354 336 254 257 258
Lanarkshire 1,530 1,471 1,443 1,309 1,260 1,096 1,083 966 964 985 906
North Lanarkshire 791 750 754 639 664 585 569 512 506 480 448
South Lanarkshire 739 721 689 670 596 511 514 454 458 505 458
Scotland 13,438 13,110 12,507 12,159 11,556 10,295 9,985 9,777 8,988 8,842 8,474

 

Table 6.3 Reported vehicles involved by type of vehicle
  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Pedal cycle 808 801 740 768 821 810 855 934 919 923 825
Motor cycle1 1,098 1,091 1,109 1,050 1,038 859 828 890 777 836 737
Car 16,770 16,398 15,585 15,061 14,578 12,805 12,400 12,214 11,236 11,195 10,930
Taxi 469 474 413 367 391 355 387 333 327 310 269
Minibus 84 87 74 65 79 57 52 54 39 43 36
Bus/coach 1,040 979 836 796 697 611 617 520 469 433 389
Light goods 912 923 924 918 760 752 784 806 877 876 888
Heavy goods 739 697 643 654 554 546 464 453 408 420 384
Other 556 509 480 541 469 447 365 326 269 259 209
Total 22,476 21,959 20,804 20,220 19,387 17,242 16,752 16,530 15,321 15,295 14,667

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
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 11 356 367 1,796 2,163 286 2,666 2,952 14,933 17,885 34.96
2006 25 350 375 1,646 2,021 314 2,635 2,949 14,320 17,269 32.46
2007 9 269 278 1,538 1,816 281 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 1,151 1,378 208 1,969 2,177 11,161 13,338 25.66
2011 7 203 210 1,106 1,316 185 1,880 2,065 10,721 12,786 24.71
2012 2 194 196 971 1,167 176 1,981 2,157 10,555 12,712 24.24
2013 9 143 152 904 1,056 172 1,671 1,843 9,659 11,502 22.03
2014 7 172 179 854 1,033 203 1,704 1,907 9,400 11,307 20.96
2015 4 139 143 829 972 168 1,596 1,764 9,204 10,968 20.28
Per cent change: 2015 on 2004-08 average -74 -57 -58 -51 -52 -42 -39 -39 -35 -36 -38

1. Including those casualties whose age was not known.

 

Table 6.5 Reported casualties by mode of transport and age group, 2015
  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 0 460 275 625 334 1,694 .50 .45 .25 .26 .32
Pedal cycle 1 71 89 591 42 794 .08 .14 .23 .03 .15
Motorcycle 1 1 165 517 50 734 .00 .27 .20 .04 .14
Car 6 378 1,562 3,761 1,005 6,712 .41 2.54 1.48 .77 1.25
Taxi 0 10 14 86 26 136 .01 .02 .03 .02 .03
Minibus 0 3 6 14 4 27 .00 .01 .01 .00 .01
Bus/Coach 0 42 21 114 155 332 .05 .03 .04 .12 .06
Light goods 0 4 51 268 31 354 .00 .08 .11 .02 .07
Heavy goods 1 0 3 97 15 116 .00 .00 .04 .01 .02
Other1 0 3 10 42 14 69 .00 .02 .02 .01 .01
Total 9 972 2,196 6,115 1,676 10,968 1.07 3.57 2.40 1.29 2.04

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 2015 prices
2005 49.4 765.8 614.9 1,430.0 431.7 1,861.7
2006 42.9 801.1 621.9 1,465.9 421.3 1,887.2
2007 46.7 724.9 561.8 1,333.4 401.5 1,734.9
2008 46.8 691.3 600.5 1,338.6 389.0 1,727.5
2009 49.0 618.4 499.2 1,166.6 368.4 1,535.0
2010 32.1 566.9 455.2 1,054.2 329.6 1,383.8
2011 39.8 473.1 469.1 982.0 322.3 1,304.3
2012 31.8 471.1 480.0 982.8 314.8 1,297.6
2013 35.3 461.2 393.0 889.6 290.7 1,180.2
2014 35.1 462.9 453.4 951.3 286.4 1,237.8
2015 47.4 416.1 393.3 856.8 273.4 1,130.2