Skip to main content

Road safety concern for France, Germany and UK

Preliminary figures for deaths and serious injuries suggest a worrying increase in casualty rates for the EU’s three largest countries. The data suggests that France, Germany and the UK may well see an increase in road deaths, ending 10 years of progress in steadily reducing casualty rates. According to early data from the UK Government, there has been a 3% increase in people killed and a 4% increase in people killed and seriously injured (KSI) during the year ending in June 2014. This comes on top of a 1.7
December 3, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

Preliminary figures for deaths and serious injuries suggest a worrying increase in casualty rates for the EU’s three largest countries. The data suggests that France, Germany and the UK may well see an increase in road deaths, ending 10 years of progress in steadily reducing casualty rates. According to early data from the UK Government, there has been a 3% increase in people killed and a 4% increase in people killed and seriously injured (KSI) during the year ending in June 2014.

This comes on top of a 1.7% increase in traffic. There has been a steady decline in road casualties over the last 10 years in the UK, with big drops noted in 2007 and 2010. But there is concern that cuts in traffic policing and enforcement could have resulted in a gain in the UK road casualty rate.

Data from France show an increase in the number killed of 4% for the first 10 months of this year, according to France’s national road safety observatory (ONISR). Pedestrians and cyclists made up the highest increase in deaths compared to other road users. Association Prévention Routière has said that the increasing use of mobile devices, notably with the rise of 4G technology, could be partly responsible for this gain in the casualty rate. Meanwhile Germany has reported a 2% increase in the number of people killed between January and September of 2014.

Related Content

  • US road safety is a cause for concern
    September 6, 2021
    There is concern over a worrying trend in US road safety, while there have been steady gains in road safety in Europe
  • Europe’s road safety targets at risk
    June 15, 2015
    The EU’s targets for road safety are at risk due to increased fatalities in France, Germany and UK. This new analysis has been published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). According to the ETSC data, 2014 showed the lowest annual reduction in EU road deaths since 2001. In all 25,845 people were killed in road crashes in the 28 nations of the EU during 2014. This represented a decrease of just 0.6% compared to 2013. EU member states now need to cut deaths by almost 8% each year until 2020 to me
  • Europe’s road safety targets at risk
    July 10, 2015
    This new analysis has been published by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). According to the ETSC data, 2014 showed the lowest annual reduction in EU road deaths since 2001. In all 25,845 people were killed in road crashes in the 28 nations of the EU during 2014. This represented a decrease of just 0.6% compared to 2013. EU member states now need to cut deaths by almost 8% each year until 2020 to meet the target set in 2010 to halve deaths within a decade.
  • Risk warnings for UK revealed with new data
    May 9, 2013
    New data from the UK reveals key information about road risk factors both across the country and in capital London. A new report reveals that around 68% of pedestrian casualties are adults who are at greatest risk on weekend evenings and after consuming alcohol. Meanwhile another separate study in London reveals that cyclists are not at fault in most crashes in which they are involved.