Cars are safer than ever, but pedestrian and motorcyclist road deaths rise

Motorcyclist fatalities surged by eight per cent last year, new figures reveal. Along with a rise in the number of pedestrian deaths, this has raised questions surrounding the safety – or seeming lack thereof – of vulnerable road users.

In 2024, 1,602 people lost their lives on the road in Great Britain, representing a relatively minor (but nonetheless tragic) one per cent rise year-on-year. However, look at the bigger picture over time and you’ll see there have been shifts in the types of fatalities that occur.

For example, while pedestrian fatalities are down by nine per cent since 2014, last year saw a one per cent uplift with 409 people losing their lives. Motorcycle deaths haven't shifted at all since 2014, either, with 340 riders being killed in accidents last year.

These trends happen to coincide with a five per cent annual reduction in the number of car occupant deaths. A total of 692 car occupants passed away in accidents in 2024, which represents a 13 per cent drop compared with a decade ago.

Such a change suggests that while cars themselves are getting safer – the increasing roll-out of the pre-tensioning seatbelts and curtain airbags fitted to newer models may have played a big part in this – the risk to those positioned outside of a car during an accident remains.

In 2024, vulnerable road users accounted for almost half (43 per cent) of all road fatalities and 55 per cent of casualties, with IAM RoadSmart’s director of policy and standards, Nicholas Lyes, saying how the data “shows the need for more protection”.

Yet, while total road fatalities may be down 10 per cent since 2014 and serious injuries have been reduced by 15 per cent, the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents’ (RoSPA) senior policy manager, Rebecca Guy, said the stats are “a stark reminder that progress on road safety has stalled, and lives are [still] being lost unnecessarily”.

With the UK Government set to unveil its new road safety strategy this autumn, RoSPA has called for the expansion of 20mph zones near schools and residential areas – something that has appeared to reduce fatalities in the short term in Wales – and adopt what’s known as a Safe System approach to road safety. 

This essentially means basing much of our approach to road safety around our own ability to make mistakes; lower speed limits with greater enforcement, road user segregation (cycle, car and bus lanes), the simplification and consistency of road design and the implementation of the latest crash-prevention tech in new vehicles are all elements of this philosophy.

It’s been confirmed by the government that as part of the new Road Safety Strategy, stricter drink-drive laws that match those in Scotland are set to be introduced. However, the RAC believes road deaths can be reduced even further by “introducing alcohol interlocks to stop drink-drivers from reoffending”.

Those aged over 70 will also be required to take compulsory eye tests every three years when they renew their licence, but aside from that, most of the proposed changes lie under wraps for now.

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