Road death toll rises despite overall drop in casualties

The number of people who died on Scotland’s roads rose to 165 last year, despite an overall drop in casualties.

There were four more fatalities in 2019 than there were the previous year, when 161 people were killed in road incidents.

The figures were revealed in a National Statistics Publication for Scotland on Wednesday.

Finalised data also shows 2016 people were seriously injured in incidents last year, compared against 1582 the year before.

However, slight injuries decreased from 6668 in 2018 to 5457 in 2019. It means the overall number of casualties dropped from 8411 to 7638 – a decline of 9%.

In 2019, there were 763 child casualties in, an increase of just over 1% since 2018. This included two fatalities, one fewer than in 2018, and 198 children who were seriously injured.

Transport secretary Michael Matheson said: “These figures confirm what we knew in July – that yet again, overall road casualties on Scotland’s roads remain at their lowest levels since records began.

“Sadly, it remains the case that from this lower total number of casualties, more people have died on Scotland’s roads compared to last year.

“Whilst we are on track to exceed our reduction target for fatal collisions, this offers no comfort to the friends and family of those who have tragically lost their lives.

“In September, we began consulting on an ambitious Road Safety Framework for the next decade.

“It sets out a compelling long-term vision for road safety, Vision Zero, where there are zero fatalities and injuries on Scotland’s roads by 2050.

“We’re also including ambitious interim targets where the number of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads will be halved by 2030.”