UK Road Safety Progress Stalls as Serious Injuries Continue to Rise

New government road casualty figures have revealed a troubling trend across Britain’s roads, with serious injuries increasing despite a slight fall in overall fatalities.

The latest provisional data for 2025 shows that 1,556 people lost their lives in road collisions across Great Britain — a 3% decrease compared with the previous year. However, the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSIs) climbed by 4% to 29,911, highlighting growing concerns over the wider effectiveness of current road safety measures.

Overall casualty numbers remained broadly unchanged at 127,870.

Serious injuries continue upward trend

While fatality figures have gradually declined over the longer term, the rise in serious injuries suggests progress on road safety is slowing.

According to the government data, the number of seriously injured casualties increased to 28,355 during 2025, despite slight reductions in deaths.

Long-term comparisons show fatalities are down 10% compared with 2015 levels, while overall casualties have fallen by 31% over the same period. However, the latest year-on-year increases in KSIs are likely to increase pressure on policymakers and road safety organisations.

Vulnerable road users face increasing risks

The figures highlight particularly concerning trends among vulnerable road users.

Motorcyclist fatalities rose by 13% to 384 deaths — marking the second consecutive annual increase — while cycling-related casualties increased by 10% to 16,027, representing the largest rise across all road user categories.

Pedestrian deaths fell by 9% to 372, although injury levels among pedestrians remain significant.

The data suggests people travelling outside vehicles continue to face a disproportionately high level of risk on Britain’s roads.

Changing age profile of road deaths

The statistics also point to shifting demographic trends in road fatalities.

Men accounted for 77% of all road deaths during 2025, with fatalities spread relatively evenly across the 17–29, 30–49 and 50–69 age groups.

However, longer-term analysis indicates deaths among older road users are becoming increasingly prominent, with fatalities among men aged over 50 rising over the past decade while deaths among younger men have declined.

Among women, fatalities were highest in the over-70 age group, although deaths among female road users have generally fallen across all age brackets since 2015.

E-scooter growth adds new safety challenges

The continued growth of micromobility is also creating additional pressures for road safety planners.

Government figures recorded an estimated 1,484 casualties involving e-scooters during 2025, including 10 fatalities.

As e-scooter usage becomes more widespread in urban areas, concerns remain around regulation, infrastructure and the safe integration of newer transport modes into existing road networks.

Pressure grows on government targets

The figures arrive shortly after publication of the government’s updated Road Safety Strategy, which includes ambitious targets to reduce serious casualties by 65% by 2035 and child serious injuries by 70% by 2030.

However, road safety groups have warned that current trends suggest stronger interventions may be required around enforcement, driver behaviour, infrastructure and vulnerable road user protection.

RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said the figures demonstrated that limited progress is being made in reducing road harm and underlined the importance of delivering an effective national road safety strategy.