Author Description

This annual survey presents statistics about personal injury road accidents in 1999 and their consequent casualties. These national road accident statistics are collected and published to inform public debate and to provide an evidence base for shaping and monitoring effective road safety policies. These data are a prerequisite for the credible monitoring of targeted reductions in road accident casualties. Compared with 1998, overall deaths in 1999 remained fairly constant, with decreases in fatalities in all road user groups except pedal cyclists and motor cyclists who recorded 9 per cent and 10 per cent increases respectively. In the same period traffic rose by 2 per cent and the casualty rate fell by 3 per cent. Against the 1981-1985 average, deaths were 39 per cent lower and serious injuries 48 per cent lower in 1999. A fifth of the deaths of children and young people aged between 5 and 19 were due to road accidents; this was about two thirds of accidental deaths for this age group.