Transport written question – answered at on 5 July 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport
(1) how many deaths have occurred on motorways in each year since 1981;
(2) what the causes were of fatal automobile accidents on motorways in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
The number of fatalities as a result of reported personal injury road accidents on motorways in Great Britain since 1981 is shown on Table 1.
The time series on road accident fatalities since 1981 may not be a true like-for-like comparison due to growth in motorway length and associated growth in traffic. The motorway length in Great Britain increased from 2,647 km in 1981 to 3,560 km in 2010.
It is not possible to identify the cause of road accidents from data collected through STATS19. However, the Department for Transport collects statistics on contributory factors in accidents reported by the attending police officer. The reported contributory factors for fatal road accidents on motorways in Great Britain for 2005 to 2009 are shown on Table 2.
Contributory factor data for 2010 will be available at the end of September 2011.
Table 1: Reported fatalities in personal injury accidents on motorways (1) —GB—1981-2010 | |
Number of fatalities | |
1981 | 223 |
1982 | 206 |
1983 | 187 |
1984 | 211 |
1985 | 241 |
1986 | 248 |
1967 | 283 |
1988 | 242 |
1989 | 233 |
1990 | 229 |
1991 | 234 |
1992 | 238 |
2993 | 201 |
1994 | 157 |
1995 | 180 |
1996 | 165 |
1997 | 191 |
1998 | 174 |
1999 | 202 |
2000 | 189 |
2001 | 203 |
2002 | 224 |
2003 | 217 |
2004 | 164 |
2005 | 204 |
2006 | 187 |
2007 | 183 |
2008 | 158 |
2009 | 132 |
2010 | 118 |
Table 2: Contributory factors—Reported fatal road accidents (1) on motorways (2) —GB 2005-09 | ||||||||||
2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | ||||||
Contributory factors reported (3) in fatal accidents on motorways | Number | % (4) | Number | % (4) | Number | % (4) | Number | % (4) | Number | % (4) |
Loss of control | 57 | 37 | 62 | 41 | 42 | 30 | 45 | 36 | 38 | 37 |
Fatigue | 24 | 15 | 24 | 16 | 20 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 18 |
Travelling too fast for conditions | 23 | 15 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 |
Exceeding speed limit | 22 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
Failed to look properly | 21 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
Failed to judge other person's path or speed | 18 | 12 | 19 | 13 | 24 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 10 |
Poor turn or manoeuvre | 18 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
Careless, reckless or in a hurry | 16 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Swerved | 15 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 8 |
Impaired by alcohol | 14 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
Other | 12 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 12 |
Dangerous action in carriageway (eg, playing) by pedestrians | 9 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Following too close | 9 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
Slippery road (due to weather) | 7. | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 |
Illness or disability, mental or physical | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
Total number of accidents | 156 | 100 | 152 | 100 | 140 | 100 | 125 | 100 | 103 | 100 |
(1) Includes only accidents where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported. (2) Includes motorway and A(M) roads. (3) Includes only the ten most frequently reported contributory factors for each year. Factors not shown may also have been reported. (4) Columns may not add up to 100% as accidents can have more than one contributory factor. |
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