Road deaths rise in Devon and Cornwall for third year in a row
- Safer Highways
- Jan 15
- 2 min read
The number of people killed in road traffic collisions in Devon and Cornwall has risen for a third year in a row.
Police bosses say they are “deeply concerned” by the figures, which show 53 people died on the counties’ roads last year.
That is up from 45 reported deaths in 2022 and 51 in 2023.
In total, 976 people were injured as a result of collisions in the region last year.
Chief Constable James Vaughan, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said reducing the number of fatal crashes was a “very high priority” for the force.
“I'm deeply concerned about it,” he told ITV News West Country.
“This is a very high priority for Devon and Cornwall Police. We will be looking very closely at why casualties have gone up this year.
“Five people a day are killed on British roads, that's far too high. Very few of us are not touched by roads deaths and road casualties. This is something that must be reduced and we're working really hard and making it one of our highest priorities.”
Driving under the influence is also a major concern.
In the month of December, 284 people were arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving.
On Christmas Day alone, 11 arrests were made - with seven more on New Year’s Eve.
Chief Inspector Dean Drury, who is head of roads policing, said he was disappointed by those numbers.
“We are doing everything we can to promote road safety and it is really disappointing that people still think it's acceptable to drink and drug drive,” he said.
“We know the ramifications of it can be absolutely huge and the knock-on effect to those caught up in a road traffic collision.”
Comments