Red Routes sign, 45 Casualties, A50 road, Warrington. Increasing deaths on UK roads

No seatbelt a factor in 30% of UK road deaths in 2021 Some 1558 people lost their lives in crashes last year, up from 1460 in pre-pandemic 2019 New statistics released by the UK government have revealed that the number of road fatalities increased by 7% year on year in 2021, with 1558 people losing their lives in crashes. The figure is up from 1460 deaths in 2020, when Covid-related restrictions heavily impacted levels of traffic on UK roads, but down 11% on pre-pandemic 2019, largely because numbers in 2021 were also kept down by lockdowns. Some 128, 209 casualties of varying severity occurred in 2021, which was down 16% on 2019, equating to 425 casualties per billion miles - also a drop from 2019. The figures also revealed that pedal cyclist fatalities dropped by 21%, following an increase in 2020, associated with the pandemic. However, the number of cyclist casualties slightly increased by around 1%. “While the overall number of road deaths is down on pre-pandemic levels, the fatality rate per billion miles driven has increased, suggesting little progress is being made in making our roads safer, ” said Simon Williams, the RAC's spokesman on road safety. “We urge the government to publish its updated road-safety plan, which focuses on both improving car safety – including mandating technology such as intelligent speed assist in new cars – as well as measures to tackle poor driving standards and illegal behaviour behind the wheel.” A deeper dive into the figures showed that not wearing a seatbelt contributed to 30% of road deaths in 2021, a figure that increased to 47% at night. The Department for Transport said that 34% of men killed in car accidents weren't wearing a seatbelt, compared with 20% of women. The statistics also showed that people aged between 17 and 29 were the most likely to lose their life when not wearing a seatbelt, making up 40% of the overall figure.