Shropshire MP Renews Calls for Government Action as Rural Road Deaths Remain “Unacceptable”

The disproportionate number of fatalities on rural roads compared with motorways is “unacceptable”, South Shropshire MP Stuart Anderson has warned, as new figures highlight the scale of the problem.

Road safety charity Brake reports that more than 1,000 people die on rural roads each year across the UK — a fatality rate ten times higher than on motorways. The warning comes during Road Safety Week, which has seen over 3,000 schools, organisations and community groups take part in awareness activities between 16 and 22 November.

Nationally, 1,671 people were killed on Britain’s roads last year, with an additional 28,804 seriously injured. In the West Mercia police area, there have so far been 56 deaths and 516 serious injuries in road collisions during 2024.Within the Shropshire Council area alone, 19 people have died and 528 others have been injured, while three deaths and 40 serious injuries have occurred in Telford & Wrekin.

Mr Anderson launched his own rural road safety campaign in August 2023, citing the disproportionately high casualty rate on country roads and calling for the government to make rural safety a central pillar of its forthcoming Road Safety Strategy.

In February, in response to one of his written parliamentary questions, roads minister Lilian Greenwood confirmed that the strategy was still in development. With no publication date yet announced, the MP has renewed pressure on ministers to prioritise its release.

“Road Safety Week is a valuable moment to highlight the urgent need for action,” Mr Anderson said. “The fact that rural road deaths remain ten times higher than motorway fatalities is simply unacceptable. I have made clear to ministers that the new Road Safety Strategy must put rural areas front and centre — yet nearly a year later, we are still waiting. The government must move faster and ensure tangible improvements for communities like South Shropshire.”

Brake’s latest warnings draw attention to conditions commonly found on rural roads — including mud, leaves and surface debris — which significantly increase stopping distances, particularly in wet or icy weather. The charity cautioned that drivers travelling at inappropriate speeds often have little time to react to hazards.

A recent survey by Brake and Direct Line found widespread complacency around speed limits on country roads: 68% of drivers believe it is acceptable to exceed the limit, and 48% admit doing so in the past year on single-carriageway rural routes.

Brake has urged the government to ensure the new Road Safety Strategy addresses behaviours, enforcement and infrastructure challenges specific to rural areas.