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Key 2006 Road Accident Statistics
12/06/2007
The provisional total number of people killed in road accidents in Scotland in 2006 was 314 - 28 (10 per cent) more than in 2005. This figure is the fifth lowest 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 25 child fatalities in 2006, 14 more than in 2005, but still the seventh lowest figure since current records began.
The Statistical Bulletin Key 2006 Road Accident Statistics, published today by the Executive, provides provisional totals for road accidents and casualties in 2006, 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 provisional numbers of accidents and casualties in each Police Force and local authority area. The figures are produced from returns made by Police Forces, which cover all accidents in which a vehicle is involved that occur on roads (including footways) and result in personal injury, if they become known to the Police.
The bulletin shows that in 2006:
- 314 people were killed on Scotland's roads - 28 more than in 2005
- 2,594 people were reported seriously injured - 67 (3 per cent) fewer than in 2005, and the lowest figure since records of these numbers began in 1950
- 14,169 people were recorded as being slightly injured: 759 (5 per cent) fewer than in 2005, and the lowest figure since 1954
- The total reported number of casualties was 17,077: 798 (4 per cent) fewer than in 2005, and the lowest figure since 1952
- There were 2,908 people reported killed or seriously injured in 2006, 40 per cent below the 1994-98 average level - 39.9 percent lower, when expressed to one decimal place, so, on the basis of these figures, the reduction by 2006 was almost as great as the target of a 40 per cent reduction by the year 2010
- There were 369 children killed or seriously injured recorded in 2006, 56 per cent below the 1994-98 average level - so, on the basis of these figures, the reduction by 2006 was better than the target of a 50 per cent reduction by 2010
- At the time of writing, 2005 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 34.95 casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres in 2005 was 25 per cent below the 1994-98 average - so, on the basis of these figures, the reduction by 2005 was better than the target of a 10 per cent reduction by 2010
- There were 10,596 car user casualties reported, including 175 fatalities, and 2,822 pedestrian casualties, 61 of whom were killed
- The other casualties recorded included 1,054 motorcyclists, 58 of whom died, 767 pedal cyclists and 753 bus and coach users
- The number of child fatalities was 25, 14 more than in 2005, but still the seventh lowest figure since current records began. The total reported number of child casualties fell by 167 (8 per cent) to 2,005
More detailed analyses of the final 2006 figures will appear later in the year, in the publication Road Accidents Scotland 2006.
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 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
- 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 these targets is shown in Key 2006 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.