Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents

Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents

Chapter 6: 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 146 people killed in road accidents in 2017, 45 (24%) less than the previous year.
  • There were 1,589 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2017, 110 (6%) less than in 2016.
  • Three quarters of casualties in 2017 were car users or pedestrians.  Sixty one per cent of casualties were car users and 14 per cent were pedestrians.  Pedal cycles accounted for 8 per cent and Motorcycles for 7 per cent.

2. Main Points

Accidents

2.1 There were 7,114 injury road accidents reported in 2017, 1,248 (15%) fewer than in 2016. The number of reported accidents has been falling over the past ten years, and in 2017 was 43% lower than in 2007; the lowest figure since current records began in 1970. There were 141 fatal accidents in 2017: 34 (19%) less than in 2016. The reported number of accidents in which someone was seriously injured, but no-one died decreased by 4% to 1,373 and the number of reported slight accidents (5,600) was 1,153 (17%) fewer than the previous year. (Table 6.1)

2.2 In 2017, over one third of all reported injury road accidents (2,526: 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 (97: 69%), partly because speeds tend to be higher on non-built up roads than on built up roads.  There was a smaller decrease in accidents on non-built up roads (down by  13%) between 2016 and 2017 compared to a decrease in accidents on built up roads of 16%.  (Table 6.1)

2.3 The long term trends in the number of injury road accidents reported between 2007 and 2017 varied between the Police Force divisions across Scotland, ranging from a 20% fall (East Renfrewshire) to a 65% fall (Moray). 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 12,669 vehicles involved in reported injury road accidents in 2017.  Almost three-quarters of them were cars (9,400: 74%); light goods vehicles were the next vehicle type most often involved in accidents (785: 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 decrease of 19 per cent in the numbers of pedal cycles involved in injury accidents between 2012 and 2017, however, over the same period it was estimated that the distance cycled increased by 6 per cent (see chapter 5 table 5.3).

Casualties

2.5 146 people were killed in road accidents in 2017, 45 (24%) less than the previous year. This was 50% 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 article 1 of Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2017.

2.6 There were 1,589 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2017, 110 (6%) less than in 2016, 39% less than the 2004-08 average. 7,693 people were recorded as slightly injured in 2017, 1,322 (15%) fewer than in 2016, and the lowest recorded.  There were a total of 9,428 casualties in 2017, 1,477 (14%) lower than in 2016. (Table 6.4)

2.7 In the context of the total volume of traffic on the roads in Scotland, the 9,428  total casualties recorded represented 19.65 casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The Road Safety Framework also monitors the numbers of slight injuries per 100 million vehicle kilometres.  The 7,693 people who were recorded as slightly injured in 2017 represented 16.03 casualties per 100 million vehicle-kilometres.  This was 51% 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 901 reported child casualties in 2017, representing 10% of the total number of casualties of all ages.  There were 2 child fatalities, 152 children were seriously injured (53% less than the 2004-08 average), and 747 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 2017, there was an average of 6 child fatalities. The number of child serious casualties decreased by 15 (9%) between 2016 and 2017. Slight casualties were down by 73.  (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 1.74 casualties per thousand population in 2017.  The casualty rate for children (0-15 years) was 0.98 per thousand population.  However, the child and young adult pedestrian casualty rates (0.44 and 0.33 per thousand population respectively) were almost double the pedestrian casualty rate for adults (0.19). The total young persons' (16-24 years) casualty rate in 2017 was 3.05 per thousand population, just under twice the rate for all ages. The young persons' casualty rate in cars (2.15 per thousand population) was almost double the rate for adults aged 25-59 (which was 1.24 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 2017 is estimated at £1,013 million at 2017 prices.  (Table 6.6)

Table 6.1: Reported accidents by type of road and severity
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Built up roads
Fatal 71 82 56 56 61 64 44 67 47 44 44
Serious 1,136 1,277 1,033 925 953 985 808 855 834 817 787
Fatal and Serious 1,207 1,359 1,089 981 1,014 1,049 852 922 881 861 831
Slight 6,575 6,105 5,902 5,360 5,344 5,116 4,898 4,784 4,522 4,612 3,757
All severities 7,782 7,464 6,991 6,341 6,358 6,165 5,750 5,706 5,403 5,473 4,588
Non-built up roads
Fatal 184 163 140 133 114 98 115 114 110 131 97
Serious 913 965 965 788 722 751 619 634 588 617 586
Fatal and Serious 1,097 1,128 1,105 921 836 849 734 748 698 748 683
Slight 3,628 3,567 3,460 3,033 2,790 2,763 2,493 2,383 2,379 2,141 1,843
All severities 4,725 4,695 4,565 3,954 3,626 3,612 3,227 3,131 3,077 2,889 2,526
All roads
Fatal 255 245 196 189 175 162 159 181 157 175 141
Serious 2,049 2,242 1,998 1,713 1,675 1,736 1,427 1,489 1,422 1,434 1,373
Fatal and Serious 2,304 2,487 2,194 1,902 1,850 1,898 1,586 1,670 1,579 1,609 1,514
Slight 10,203 9,672 9,362 8,393 8,134 7,879 7,391 7,167 6,901 6,753 5,600
All severities 12,507 12,159 11,556 10,295 9,984 9,777 8,977 8,837 8,480 8,362 7,114

 

Table 6.2: Reported accidents by police force division and local authority area
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
North East 1 1,215 1,400 1,329 1,090 1,019 1,047 933 786 658 583 467
Aberdeen City 408 514 445 350 364 385 349 272 229 174 154
Aberdeenshire 632 692 687 599 518 533 462 420 347 335 252
Moray 175 194 197 141 137 129 122 94 82 74 61
Tayside 927 931 909 741 750 742 641 534 474 424 460
Angus 284 286 232 192 220 202 178 141 145 111 137
Dundee City 253 270 281 219 237 227 185 168 127 136 119
Perth & Kinross 390 375 396 330 293 313 278 225 202 177 204
Argyll & West Dunbartonshire 469 436 455 436 377 344 350 304 346 306 288
Argyll & Bute 268 288 282 275 232 211 208 193 227 178 174
West Dunbartonshire 201 148 173 161 145 133 142 111 119 128 114
Forth Valley 675 680 634 538 545 568 556 458 508 481 405
Clackmannanshire 88 85 77 69 64 84 69 62 62 69 48
Falkirk 297 310 303 240 261 270 248 228 249 235 215
Stirling 290 285 254 229 220 214 239 168 197 177 142
Dumfries & Galloway 475 419 388 360 319 320 303 312 278 270 236
Ayrshire 766 698 706 576 653 580 540 543 590 570 453
East Ayrshire 240 230 215 201 204 173 164 166 206 179 130
North Ayrshire 264 248 225 177 230 205 188 178 191 186 165
South Ayrshire 262 220 266 198 219 202 188 199 193 205 158
Greater Glasgow 2,052 1,901 1,761 1,581 1,539 1,527 1,281 1,436 1,393 1,467 1,258
East Dunbartonshire 149 141 147 141 140 114 102 101 94 93 88
East Renfrewshire 119 109 103 104 116 97 98 93 93 95 95
Glasgow City 1,784 1,651 1,511 1,336 1,283 1,316 1,081 1,242 1,206 1,279 1,075
Lothians & Scottish Borders 1,180 1,257 1,152 1,083 994 1,029 943 900 972 855 785
East Lothian 210 193 174 199 159 170 154 179 158 157 158
Midlothian 210 221 207 193 177 216 164 187 190 166 134
Scottish Borders 336 383 363 307 274 263 255 221 221 202 186
West Lothian 424 460 408 384 384 380 370 313 403 330 307
Edinburgh 1,330 1,285 1,192 1,179 1,181 1,167 1,158 1,264 1,111 1,143 907
Highlands & Islands 738 702 724 574 568 594 512 517 449 461 352
Eilean Siar 44 60 39 42 35 28 20 37 32 24 18
Highland 626 586 616 475 488 514 444 432 380 386 307
Orkney Islands 27 36 27 27 13 22 23 24 12 25 11
Shetland Islands 41 20 42 30 32 30 25 24 25 26 16
Fife 606 576 588 556 447 421 420 411 428 452 315
Renfrewshire & Inverclyde 631 565 458 485 509 472 374 387 368 400 349
Inverclyde 206 195 146 165 155 136 120 130 110 112 91
Renfrewshire 425 370 312 320 354 336 254 257 258 288 258
Lanarkshire 1,443 1,309 1,260 1,096 1,083 966 966 985 905 950 839
North Lanarkshire 754 639 664 585 569 512 508 480 449 484 444
South Lanarkshire 689 670 596 511 514 454 458 505 456 466 395
Scotland 12,507 12,159 11,556 10,295 9,984 9,777 8,977 8,837 8,480 8,362 7,114

Note Detailed figures for casualties by local authority area can be found in Reported Road Casualties Scotland table B
1. In 2015 the police created a new North East division by combining Aberdeen City, Moray and Aberdeenshire councils.

Table 6.3: Reported vehicles involved by type of vehicle
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Pedal cycle 740 768 821 810 855 934 919 924 829 809 754
Motor cycle1 1,109 1,050 1,038 859 827 890 777 836 738 711 608
Car 15,585 15,061 14,578 12,805 12,400 12,214 11,223 11,194 10,936 11,084 9,400
Taxi 413 367 391 355 387 333 327 310 270 304 264
Minibus 74 65 79 57 52 54 39 43 37 52 37
Bus/coach 836 796 697 611 617 520 469 433 389 396 320
Light goods 924 918 760 752 784 806 876 878 888 909 785
Heavy goods 643 654 554 546 465 453 408 420 384 322 306
Other 480 541 469 447 364 326 266 257 208 173 195
Total 20,804 20,220 19,387 17,242 16,751 16,530 15,304 15,295 14,679 14,760 12,669

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
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 1,878 2,063 10,721 12,784 24.71
2012 2 194 196 971 1,167 176 1,981 2,157 10,555 12,712 24.24
2013 9 142 151 901 1,052 172 1,669 1,841 9,654 11,495 22.02
2014 7 171 178 852 1,030 203 1,702 1,905 9,401 11,306 20.97
2015 4 140 144 826 970 168 1,603 1,771 9,209 10,980 20.30
2016 12 167 179 820 999 191 1,699 1,890 9,015 10,905 19.40
2017 2 152 154 747 901 146 1,589 1,735 7,693 9,428 16.03
Per cent change:
2017 on 2004-08
average -87 -53 -55 -55 -55 -50 -39 -40 -46 -45 -51

1. Including those casualties whose age was not known.

Table 6.5: Reported casualties by mode of transport and age group, 2017
Numbers Rates per 1,000 population
Age not Known Children 0-15 Young Persons 16-24 Adults 25-59 Older Adults 60+ Total Children 0-14 Young Persons 16-24 Adults 25-59 Older Adults 60+ Total
Pedestrian 2 400 193 491 274 1,360 .44 .33 .19 .20 .25
Pedal cycle 4 67 108 501 49 729 .07 .18 .19 .04 .13
Motorcycle 2 4 122 432 60 620 .00 .21 .17 .04 .11
Car 10 330 1,274 3,191 899 5,704 .36 2.15 1.24 .67 1.05
Taxi 1 12 15 107 29 164 .01 .03 .04 .02 .03
Minibus 0 4 5 6 2 17 .00 .01 .00 .00 .00
Bus/Coach 0 74 33 121 129 357 .08 .06 .05 .10 .07
Light goods 2 9 41 246 25 323 .01 .07 .10 .02 .06
Heavy goods 0 1 6 62 10 79 .00 .01 .02 .01 .01
Other1 0 0 15 40 20 75 .00 .03 .02 .01 .01
Total 21 901 1,812 5,197 1,497 9,428 .98 3.05 2.02 1.12 1.74

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 2017 prices
2007 46.7 725.5 562.2 1,334.4 402.0 1,736.4
2008 46.9 691.7 601.0 1,339.6 389.5 1,729.0
2009 49.0 618.9 499.6 1,167.5 368.9 1,536.4
2010 32.1 567.3 455.6 1,055.0 330.0 1,385.0
2011 39.8 473.4 469.1 982.3 322.7 1,305.0
2012 31.8 471.4 480.3 983.6 315.2 1,298.8
2013 35.4 461.6 392.7 889.7 290.6 1,180.3
2014 35.1 463.5 453.1 951.6 286.6 1,238.2
2015 48.0 416.4 394.7 859.1 274.0 1,133.1
2016 44.2 493.0 382.5 919.7 272.1 1,191.7
2017 28.2 394.0 360.5 782.7 230.6 1,013.2