Data collected by the BBC, presented as part of an interactive infographic, “Every death on every road in Great Britain 1999-2010”, reveals accident ‘blackspots’, high cyclist fatalities, and road users’ increased vulnerability at peak rush hour periods. 


According to the data, in the 12 years to 2011, more than three million people have been killed or injured on British roads. The figures also reveal that, while the police officially recorded 208,648 casualties in 2010, the actual figure is estimated to be closer to 730,000, owing to many incidents going unreported.

Between 1999 and 2010, heavily congested and densely populated London boroughs had the highest casualty rates per billion vehicle miles whilst rural areas susceptible to casualties and deaths due to the high speeds at which people travel on country roads.

The 1,575 cyclists killed on UK roads were most commonly injured during the morning and evening rush hours. Cyclists were twice as likely to be killed during rush hour on weekdays compared to any other time.

Serious injury solicitor, and Road Peace North East Chairman, David Robinson, said: “This data provides a comprehensive overview of road traffic collisions in the UK, and not only highlights the significant number of people tragically killed and injured in road traffic crashes, but also reveals the areas in the UK where roads users are particularly vulnerable.

“While this data may prove to be distressing to many, it is vital that such information is shared and used to raise awareness of the very real dangers we face on our roads, every single day.

“We can see from the data that many local communities are facing devastatingly high fatality figures as a result of road traffic collisions. These figures desperately need addressing through improving dangerous roads and their infrastructure to make them suitable and safe for vulnerable cyclists.”

Click here to see the BBC’s interactive infographic.