Chapter 6 - Injury road collisions

Introduction

This chapter provides information on injury road collisions which were reported to the police, such as the number and severity of collisions, the police force area in which the collisions occurred, the types of vehicle involved, the number and severity of casualties resulting from the collisions, and the costs of injury and non-injury collisions.

During 2019 Police Scotland started to use a new accident recording system. The introduction of this new system has changed the way casualty severity is recorded and, as a result, comparisons of the number of serious and slight casualties to earlier years needed to be made with caution.

However, the Department for Transport has carried out analysis which adjusts historical figures so that they reflect the numbers that would have been reported if CRASH had been used to record the casualty severity in those years. In this chapter, these adjusted figures are used to report on serious collisions and casualties and slight collisions and casualties for the years 2004 to 2019. This means that the adjusted figures for 2004 to 2019 are comparable with figures for 2020 to 2022, but not with figures for years prior to 2004.

More information can be found in the Transport Scotland National Statistics publication Reported Road Casualties Scotland

Key points

• There were 173 people killed in road collisions in 2022, 32 more than the previous year.
• There were 1,776 people recorded as seriously injured in road collisions in 2022.
• Almost three quarters of casualties in 2022 were car users or pedestrians. Fifty seven per cent of casualties were car users and 16 per cent were pedestrians. Pedal cycles accounted for 9 per cent and Motorcycles for 8 per cent.

Main Points

Collisions

There were 4,134 injury road collisions reported in 2022, 226 more than in 2021. The number of reported collisions has been falling over the past ten years, and in 2022 was 58% lower than in 2012; the third lowest figure since current records began in 1970. There were 153 fatal collisions in 2022: 17 more than in 2021. The reported number of collisions in which someone was seriously injured, but no-one died was 1,527 and the number of reported slight collisions was 2,454. (Table 6.1)

In 2022, two fifths of all reported injury road collisions (1,602: 39%) were on non-built up roads (speed limit of more than 40 m.p.h. - see injury road collisions section of the user guide). However, such roads accounted for a higher proportion of fatal collisions (110: 72%), partly because speeds tend to be higher on non built-up roads than on built up roads. There was a 6% increase in collisions on built-up roads but a 5% increase in collisions on non built-up roads between 2021 and 2022. (Table 6.1)

The long term trends in the number of injury road collisions reported between 2012 and 2022 varied between the Police Force divisions across Scotland, ranging from a 39% fall in East Lothian to an 83% fall in Aberdeen City. The figures for an area may fluctuate from year to year, especially in smaller areas, although the trends appear to be downwards. (Table 6.2)

There were 7,199 vehicles involved in reported injury road collisions in 2022. Over two thirds of them were cars (5,059 70%); light goods vehicles were the next vehicle type most often involved in collisions (468: 6.5%), though motorcycles are a similar proportion. (Table 6.3) Up until 2010, the number of motorcycles involved was higher than the number of pedal cycles but since then there has been an increase in pedal cycle traffic.

Casualties

173 people were killed in road collisions in 2022, 32 more than the previous year. This was 0.3% less than the 2014-18 average, the time period used as the baseline for Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030. (Table 6.4) Further analysis of progress against the Road Safety Framework Targets can be found in article 1 of Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2022.

There were 1,776 people recorded as seriously injured in road collisions in 2022. 3,672 people were recorded as slightly injured in 2022. There were a total of 5,621 casualties in 2022, 506 (10%) higher than in 2021. (Table 6.4)

In the context of the total volume of traffic on the roads in Scotland, the 5,621 total casualties recorded represented 11.76 casualties per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The Road Safety Framework also monitors the numbers of slight injuries per 100 million vehicle kilometres. The 3,672 people who were recorded as slightly injured in 2022 represented 7.75 casualties per 100 million vehicle-kilometres. (Table 6.4)

Child casualties

There were 587 reported child casualties in 2022, representing 10% of the total number of casualties of all ages. There were three child fatalities, 176 children were seriously injured, and 408 were classified as slightly injured. Due to the relatively small number of child fatalities, these are often monitored using a three year average to remove the effect of year on year fluctuations. In the three years to 2022, there was an average of 5 child fatalities. (Table 6.4)

Casualty Rates & Costs

Table 6.5 provides road casualty rates per thousand population by age group and mode of transport. Overall, there were 1.03 casualties per thousand population in 2022. The casualty rate for children (0-15 years) was 0.64 per thousand population. However, the child and young adult pedestrian casualty rates (0.32 and 0.19 per thousand population respectively) were much higher than the pedestrian casualty rate for adults (0.12-0.15). The total young persons' (16-24 years) casualty rate in 2022 was 1.78 per thousand population, almost twice the rate for all ages. The young persons' casualty rate in cars (1.21 per thousand population) was almost double the rate for adults aged 25-59 (which was 0.64 per thousand population). Mid-year population estimates for 2022 were not available so those for 2021 were used instead. Further information about the mid-year population estimates used to calculate these rates can be found at the National Records of Scotland. (Table 6.5)

The cost of all road collisions (including damage only non-injury collisions) in 2022 is estimated at £1,102 million at 2022 prices. (Table 6.6)

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Notes

Note 1

Police Scotland’s move to CRASH, an injury-based reporting system, has resulted in changes in severity reporting for serious and slight casualties and accidents. For years 2004-2019, the tables in this section use figures that have been adjusted for comparability. T

Note 2

In 2015 the police created a new North East division by combining Aberdeen City, Moray and Aberdeenshire councils.

Note 3

Detailed figures for casualties by local authority area can be found in Reported Road Casualties Scotland table B

Note 4

Includes all two wheeled motor vehicles.

Note 5

Including those casualties whose age was not known.

Note 6

Including any casualties whose mode of transport is not known

Note 7

Mid-year population estimates for 2022 were not available, estimates for 2021 used instead.

Note 8

Due to changes in the the way casualty severities are recorded, figures for serious and slight collisions in 2019 and 2020 onwards are not comparable with previous years.