An analysis[i] of Government statistics[ii] by road safety charity Brake indicates about 300 deaths and more than 6,000 serious injuries were prevented due to lighter traffic in 2020, compared with 2019. Road deaths and serious injuries declined across Britain, with the biggest drops seen in Scotland, followed by Wales, South West England, and London. The areas with the biggest reductions in those killed or seriously injured in percentage terms were Scotland, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England and the East of England[iii].

There were, however, still 1,460 deaths and more than 22,000 serious injuries[iv] on roads in 2020, causing devastation to families across the country. Across the country, South East England was the only region to see an increase in deaths last year (239 up from 214 in 2019) – an increase of 12%.

RSW press release table 1
Table: Killed or seriously injured casualty data for Britain, 2019 and 2020, by GB region [v] 

As traffic levels rise again, Road Safety Week is celebrating the work of road safety heroes across the country who are working to tackle deaths and serious injuries and turn the one-year drop into a downward trend, including Government plans for a new road safety strategy[vi]; local authorities building cycle paths; companies working to ensure they use vehicles safely; and communities working for changes where they live, such as 20mph speed limits.

This year’s campaign also celebrates the invaluable efforts of the emergency services, including those who police the roads and save lives, at the roadside and in hospitals, and the work of the National Road Victim Service, caring for the emotional and practical needs of road victim families, as well as community services including mental health services and disability and peer support charities.

Brake, which co-ordinates the annual campaign, is calling for individuals, communities and organisations to share stories of their own road safety heroes – through social media, in schools, in company team meetings or special events.

Jason Wakeford, Head of Campaigns at Brake, said: “Reductions in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads – due to lockdown restrictions last year – are to be welcomed but should also inspire more action to make roads safer as traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels.

“Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest annual road safety campaign and is a great opportunity to speak up for road safety. This year everyone can acknowledge and celebrate the heroic efforts of people working to save lives on roads across the country – and recognise that we can all be road safety heroes by using roads safely and taking actions for road safety in our families, schools, communities and where we work.

“We would urge everyone to visit the Road Safety Week website for loads of ways to take part in the campaign all this week.”

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “While the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, we’re always working to make them even safer – and we very much welcome the drop in casualties during the pandemic.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to help see further reductions, including through our THINK! campaign, which tackles behaviours that can lead to serious road incidents and our ongoing review of roads policing.”

Ailsa Firth, HR Director and CSR Community sponsor at Arval UK, said: “Within the fleet industry there is a reliance on support from so many of the emergency services, professionals and unsung heroes out there who help to keep people safe on their journeys.

“We cannot think of a better way to celebrate and recognise those heroes, by making them central to Road Safety Week 2021 and highlighting the great work they are doing in communities and organisations across the country.”

Helen Flanagan, Operations Director, Network Logistics and Transport at DHL Supply Chain UKI, said: “DHL Supply Chain is once again proud to sponsor Road Safety Week. DHL employs a large number of Road Safety Heroes across the UK, and fully supports Brake’s work to highlight everyone who helps to keep roads safe.”

Jon Furmston, Openreach Director for Assurance and Governance, said: “Making sure that everyone gets home safe every day is paramount to everything we do at Openreach. Reducing road risk is key to that and we strive to do everything we can to keep our drivers, other road users and members of the public safe when we’re out in our vehicles keeping the UK connected.

“We’re delighted to be supporting Road Safety Week 2021 as it’s such an important issue and look forward to celebrating all the fantastic people who are working to make our roads safer for everyone.”

How to get involved in Road Safety Week 2021

Brake has highlighted a theme for each day of Road Safety Week to focus celebrations on the many different groups of road safety heroes:

RSW press release table 2
Road Safety Week 2021 – daily themes

Brake has also published a comprehensive PR and social media toolkit with numerous ideas for activity in Road Safety Week, including ways to share stories of road safety heroes – internally, externally, or both – during the week itself, including:

  • Record and share a video on social media about who your heroes are, and how they keep roads safe
  • Tweet their name and role, and tag them in social media posts
  • Send an image of the person, with some text about why they’re a hero, to news@brake.org.uk for inclusion in a Road Safety Week Hall of Fame
  • Nominate a road safety hero to feature in the heroes Hall of Fame on the Brake website
  • Publish a blog, or send one to appear on the Road Safety Week website, about the role your road safety hero and/or your organisation plays in promoting safe travel
  • Celebrate your organisation’s road safety heroes in a team meeting or on your Intranet
  • Join us on Friday 19 November, for a Road Safe-Tee Day. Get your team to dig out their brightest t-shirts for the day, and share a photo, to remind drivers to look out for people who walk and cycle, who are some of the most vulnerable road users
  • Fundraise for Brake – run a Road Safe-Tea Day and share a cuppa or hold a bake sale with your team.

References

[i] Analysis of data set: https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/custom-downloads/road-accidents/reports/7abfd2c7-53b0-41d4-ba19-7cc2f9ada1f5

[ii] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-annual-report-2020/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-annual-report-2020

[iii] Analysis of data set: https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/custom-downloads/road-accidents/reports/7abfd2c7-53b0-41d4-ba19-7cc2f9ada1f5

[iv] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-annual-report-2020/reported-road-casualties-great-britain-annual-report-2020

[v] Analysis of data set: https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/custom-downloads/road-accidents/reports/7abfd2c7-53b0-41d4-ba19-7cc2f9ada1f5

[vi] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/338-million-package-to-further-fuel-active-travel-boom.