Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents

Chapter 6: Reported Injury Road Accidents

Chapter 6 infographic

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.

1.2 During 2019 Police Scotland has started to use a new accident recording system. The introduction of this new system has changed the way casualty severity is recorded and, as a result, comparisons of the number of serious and slight casualties to earlier years should be made with caution.

More information can be found in the Transport Scotland National Statistics publication Reported Road Casualties Scotland: http://bit.ly/2hi2pou.

Key points

  • There were 165 people killed in road accidents in 2019, 4 (2%) more than the previous year.
  • There were 2,016 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2019.
  • Three quarters of casualties in 2019 were car users or pedestrians. Sixty per cent of casualties were car users and 16 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 5,722 injury road accidents reported in 2019, 710 (11%) fewer than in 2018. The number of reported accidents has been falling over the past ten years, and in 2019 was 50% lower than in 2009; the lowest figure since current records began in 1970. There were 158 fatal accidents in 2019: 8 (5%) more than in 2018. The reported number of accidents in which someone was seriously injured, but no-one died was 1,729 and the number of reported slight accidents was 3,835. (Table 6.1)

2.2 In 2019, over one third of all reported injury road accidents (2,107: 37%) 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 (106: 67%), 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 built-up roads (down by 10%) between 2018 and 2019 compared to a decrease in accidents on non built-up roads of 12%. (Table 6.1)

2.3 The long term trends in the number of injury road accidents reported between 2009 and 2019 varied between the Police Force divisions across Scotland, ranging from a 15% fall (Orkney Islands) to a 74% fall (Aberdeen City). 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 10,071 vehicles involved in reported injury road accidents in 2019. Over three-quarters of them were cars (7,415: 74%); light goods vehicles were the next vehicle type most often involved in accidents (594: 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 an increase in pedal cycle traffic. The number of vehicles involved in accidents should always be considered alongside the traffic estimates in Chapter 5.

Casualties

2.5 165 people were killed in road accidents in 2019, 4 (2%) more than the previous year. This was 43% less than the 2004-08 average, the time period used as the baseline for Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2020. (Table 6.4) Further analysis of progress against the Road Safety Framework Targets can be found in article 1 of Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2018.

2.6 There were 2,016 people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents in 2019. 5,457 people were recorded as slightly injured in 2019. There were a total of 7,638 casualties in 2019, 786 (9%) lower than in 2018. (Table 6.4)

2.7 In the context of the total volume of traffic on the roads in Scotland, the 7,638 total casualties recorded represented 15.67 casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The Road Safety Framework also monitors the numbers of slight injuries per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The 5,457 people who were recorded as slightly injured in 2019 represented 11.20 casualties per 100 million vehicle-kilometres. (Table 6.4)

Child casualties

2.8 There were 763 reported child casualties in 2019, representing 10% of the total number of casualties of all ages. There were two child fatalities, 198 children were seriously injured, and 563 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 2019, there was an average of 2 child fatalities. (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 1.40 casualties per thousand population in 2019. The casualty rate for children (0-15 years) was 0.83 per thousand population. However, the child and young adult pedestrian casualty rates (0.36 and 0.27 per thousand population respectively) were much higher than the pedestrian casualty rate for adults (0.18). The total young persons' (16-24 years) casualty rate in 2019 was 2.24 per thousand population, just under twice the rate for all ages. The young persons' casualty rate in cars (1.57 per thousand population) was almost double the rate for adults aged 25-59 (which was 0.98 per thousand population). 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 2019 is estimated at £1,127 million at 2019 prices. (Table 6.6)

 

Table 6.1: Reported accidents by type of road and severity
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 1
Built up roads
Fatal 56 56 61 64 44 67 47 44 44 43 52
Serious 1,033 925 953 985 806 854 833 816 792 749 994
Fatal and Serious 1,089 981 1,014 1,049 850 921 880 860 836 792 1,046
Slight 5,902 5,360 5,345 5,116 4,897 4,782 4,521 4,606 3,756 3,245 2,569
All severities 6,991 6,341 6,359 6,165 5,747 5,703 5,401 5,466 4,592 4,037 3,615
Non-built up roads
Fatal 140 133 114 98 115 114 110 131 96 107 106
Serious 965 788 722 751 619 634 588 617 586 622 735
Fatal and Serious 1,105 921 836 849 734 748 698 748 682 729 841
Slight 3,460 3,033 2,790 2,763 2,493 2,382 2,378 2,141 1,844 1,666 1,266
All severities 4,565 3,954 3,626 3,612 3,227 3,130 3,076 2,889 2,526 2,395 2,107
All roads
Fatal 196 189 175 162 159 181 157 175 140 150 158
Serious 1,998 1,713 1,675 1,736 1,425 1,488 1,421 1,433 1,378 1,371 1,729
Fatal and Serious 2,194 1,902 1,850 1,898 1,584 1,669 1,578 1,608 1,518 1,521 1,887
Slight 9,362 8,393 8,135 7,879 7,390 7,164 6,899 6,747 5,600 4,911 3,835
All severities 11,556 10,295 9,985 9,777 8,974 8,833 8,477 8,355 7,118 6,432 5,722

1. Due to changes in the the way casualty severities are recorded, figures for serious and slight accidents in 2019 are not comparable with previous years.

 

Table 6.2: Reported accidents by police force division and local authority area
  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
North East 1 1,329 1,090 1,019 1,047 930 784 657 584 467 429 365
Aberdeen City 445 350 364 385 349 273 229 175 155 137 114
Aberdeenshire 687 599 518 533 462 419 347 334 252 242 198
Moray 197 141 137 129 119 92 81 75 60 50 53
Tayside 909 741 750 742 642 533 472 421 459 406 353
Angus 232 192 220 202 178 141 145 111 135 126 96
Dundee City 281 219 237 227 185 168 126 135 120 96 129
Perth & Kinross 396 330 293 313 279 224 201 175 204 184 128
Argyll & West Dunbartonshire 455 436 377 344 350 304 346 306 288 241 216
Argyll & Bute 282 275 232 211 208 193 227 178 174 156 144
West Dunbartonshire 173 161 145 133 142 111 119 128 114 85 72
Forth Valley 634 538 545 568 556 460 508 481 405 327 290
Clackmannanshire 77 69 64 84 69 62 62 69 48 34 36
Falkirk 303 240 261 270 248 229 250 235 216 166 127
Stirling 254 229 220 214 239 169 196 177 141 127 127
Dumfries & Galloway 388 360 319 320 303 311 278 269 236 259 195
Ayrshire 706 576 653 580 540 543 590 570 453 435 353
East Ayrshire 215 201 204 173 162 164 205 179 131 163 103
North Ayrshire 225 177 230 205 188 179 192 186 165 147 127
South Ayrshire 266 198 219 202 190 200 193 205 157 125 123
Greater Glasgow 1,761 1,581 1,540 1,527 1,282 1,436 1,393 1,467 1,260 1,040 986
East Dunbartonshire 147 141 140 114 102 101 94 93 88 59 69
East Renfrewshire 103 104 116 97 98 92 93 95 95 71 65
Glasgow City 1,511 1,336 1,284 1,316 1,082 1,243 1,206 1,279 1,077 910 852
Lothians & Scottish Borders 1,152 1,083 994 1,029 944 900 972 857 785 703 579
East Lothian 174 199 159 170 154 178 158 158 158 128 104
Midlothian 207 193 177 216 165 188 189 166 134 119 115
Scottish Borders 363 307 274 263 255 221 221 202 185 173 148
West Lothian 408 384 384 380 370 313 404 331 308 283 212
Edinburgh 1,192 1,179 1,181 1,167 1,157 1,263 1,110 1,140 905 772 733
Highlands & Islands 724 574 568 594 511 517 448 458 353 437 406
Eilean Siar 39 42 35 28 20 37 32 24 17 21 25
Highland 616 475 488 514 443 432 379 383 309 393 336
Orkney Islands 27 27 13 22 23 24 12 25 11 10 23
Shetland Islands 42 30 32 30 25 24 25 26 16 13 22
Fife 588 556 447 421 420 410 428 452 317 328 306
Renfrewshire & Inverclyde 458 485 509 472 374 387 368 401 351 290 259
Inverclyde 146 165 155 136 120 130 110 112 91 79 97
Renfrewshire 312 320 354 336 254 257 258 289 260 211 162
Lanarkshire 1,260 1,096 1,083 966 965 985 907 949 839 765 681
North Lanarkshire 664 585 569 512 510 482 451 483 444 382 346
South Lanarkshire 596 511 514 454 455 503 456 466 395 383 335
Scotland 11,556 10,295 9,985 9,777 8,974 8,833 8,477 8,355 7,118 6,432 5,722

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
  2009 2010 2012 2014 2015 2017 2018 2019
Pedal cycle 821 810 934 924 829 752 658 590
Motor cycle1 1,038 859 890 835 738 607 640 500
Car 14,578 12,805 12,214 11,191 10,935 9,406 8,373 7,415
Taxi 391 355 333 310 270 264 203 243
Minibus 79 57 54 43 37 37 32 26
Bus/coach 697 611 520 433 389 320 299 245
Light goods 760 752 806 878 886 787 760 594
Heavy goods 554 546 453 419 384 305 274 237
Other 469 447 326 257 208 195 172 221
Total 19,387 17,242 16,530 15,290 14,676 12,673 11,411 10,071

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 Total Slight casualty rate per 100 million veh-kms
Killed Serious injury Killed & Serious Slight injury Total Killed Serious injury Killed & Serious Slight injury
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
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 10,722 12,785 24.70
2012 2 194 196 971 1,167 176 1,981 2,157 10,555 12,712 24.22
2013 9 141 150 902 1,052 172 1,667 1,839 9,653 11,492 21.98
2014 7 171 178 851 1,029 203 1,701 1,904 9,398 11,302 20.90
2015 4 140 144 827 971 168 1,602 1,770 9,207 10,977 20.21
2016 12 167 179 820 999 191 1,698 1,889 9,009 10,898 19.29
2017 2 153 155 745 900 145 1,594 1,739 7,694 9,433 16.02
2018 3 142 145 609 754 161 1,584 1,745 6,679 8,424 13.86
2019 2 2 198 200 563 763 165 2,016 2,181 5,457 7,638 11.20
Per cent change: 2019 on 2004-08 average -87 .. .. .. -62 -43 .. .. .. -55 ..

1. Including those casualties whose age was not known.

2. Due to changes in the the way casualty severities are recorded, figures for serious and slight accidents in 2019 are not comparable with previous years.

 

Table 6.5: Reported casualties by mode of transport and age group, 2019

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 4 333 156 464 293 1,250 .36 .27 .18 .21 .23
Pedal cycle 3 70 87 365 48 573 .08 .15 .14 .03 .10
Motorcycle 2 3 75 376 64 520 .00 .13 .15 .05 .10
Car 6 304 900 2,515 856 4,581 .33 1.57 .98 .62 .84
Taxi 1 13 12 80 32 138 .01 .02 .03 .02 .03
Minibus 0 1 1 15 7 24 .00 .00 .01 .01 .00
Bus/Coach 1 29 16 75 74 195 .03 .03 .03 .05 .04
Light goods 0 8 33 177 26 244 .01 .06 .07 .02 .04
Heavy goods 0 0 0 42 9 51 .00 .00 .02 .01 .01
Other1 0 2 8 37 15 62 .00 .01 .01 .01 .01
Total 17 763 1,288 4,146 1,424 7,638 .83 2.24 1.61 1.03 1.40

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 2019 prices
2009 52.4 661.9 534.4 1,248.7 394.4 1,643.1
2010 34.4 606.8 487.2 1,128.4 352.9 1,481.2
2011 42.6 506.3 501.7 1,050.6 345.1 1,395.7
2012 34.0 504.2 513.7 1,051.9 337.1 1,389.0
2013 37.8 493.7 419.5 951.0 310.6 1,261.7
2014 37.6 495.7 484.3 1,017.5 306.3 1,323.8
2015 51.3 445.3 421.9 918.6 292.8 1,211.4
2016 47.3 527.2 408.7 983.2 290.6 1,273.9
2017 30.2 419.4 386.7 836.2 246.7 1,082.9
2018 46.0 439.1 360.8 846.0 221.4 1,067.4
2019 52.4 451.7 425.6 929.7 197.2 1,127.0

 

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