This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Key 2003 Road Accident Statistics
24/06/2004
The provisional total number of people killed in road
accidents in Scotland in 2003 was 332, an increase of 28 (9
per cent) over 2002. However, this figure is the fourth
lowest total since current records began more than fifty
years ago. There were falls in the number of people who
were seriously injured and in the number slightly injured.
The figures also show that there were 17 child fatalities
in 2003, 3 more than in 2002.
The Statistical Bulletin
Key 2003 Road Accident Statistics, published today by
the Scottish Executive, provides provisional totals for
road accidents and casualties in 2003, and compares the
figures with the average levels for 1994-98 (the "baseline"
period for the road safety targets for the year 2010). The
bulletin also gives the number of accidents and casualties
in each Police Force and local authority area.
The bulletin shows that in 2003:
* 332 people were killed on Scotland's roads - 28 more
than in 2002.
* 2,931 people were seriously injured - 290 (9 per cent)
fewer than in 2002, and the lowest figure since records of
these numbers began in 1950.
* 15,406 people were slightly injured: 329 (2 per cent)
fewer than in 2002, and the lowest figure since 1955.
* the total number of casualties was 18,669 - 591 (3 per
cent) fewer than in 2002, and the lowest figure since
1953.
* there were 3,263 people killed or seriously injured in
2003, 33 per cent below the 1994-98 average level, so the
reduction so far has been greater than would be needed to
achieve the target of a 40 per cent reduction by the year
2010 by means of a constant annual percentage fall.
* there were 431 children killed or seriously injured in
2003, 49 per cent below the 1994-98 average level, so the
2010 target of a 50% reduction has almost been
achieved.
* at the time of writing, 2002 is the latest year for
which there is an estimate of the total volume of traffic
for Scotland as a whole. The slight casualty rate of 38.12
casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres in 2002 was
18% below the 1994-98 average, so the 2010 target of a
reduction of 10% has already been achieved.
* accidents in non built-up areas accounted for almost
three-quarters of all those killed but only about
two-fifths of total casualties, presumably because average
speeds are higher on such roads.
* there were 11,706 car user casualties, including 185
fatalities, and 2,971 pedestrian casualties, 63 of whom
were killed.
* the other casualties included 1,111 motorcyclists, 877
bus and coach users and 800 pedal cyclists.
* the number of child fatalities was 17, 3 more than in
2002. However, the total number of child casualties fell by
275 (10 per cent) to 2,470.
More detailed analyses of the final 2003 figures will
appear later in the year, in the publication Road Accidents
Scotland 2003.
Key 2003 Road Accident Statistics costs £2 and may be
purchased from The Stationery Office Bookshop, 71 Lothian
Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AZ (telephone: 0131 228 4181).
In 2000, the UK Government, the Scottish Executive and
the National Assembly for Wales announced a new road safety
strategy and casualty reduction targets for 2010. The new
targets, which were given in the document Tomorrow's roads
- safer for everyone, are based on the annual average
casualty levels over the period 1994 to 1998, and are
for:
* a 40 per cent reduction in the number of people killed
or seriously injured in road traffic accidents;
* a 50 per cent reduction in the number of children
killed or seriously injured; and
* a 10 per cent reduction in the slight casualty rate,
expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100
million vehicle kilometres
Progress towards the new targets is shown in Key 2003
Road Accident Statistics. The relevant casualty figures are
compared with indicative lines which start at the level of
the "baseline" in 1996 (because that is the middle year of
the baseline period) and fall, by a constant percentage
each year, to the target figures for the year 2010.
This is a National Statistics publication. It has been
produced to high professional standards set out in the
National Statistics Code of Practice and Release Practice
Protocol.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about_ns/cop/default.asp
These statistics undergo regular quality assurance
reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are
produced free from any political interference.