Road deaths and serious injuries increased by 17% in Great Britain in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year.

Department for Transport estimates show there were 5500 deaths and serious injuries on the roads between January and March 2014, up from 4712 in early 2013.

In all there were 380 people killed on the roads in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 13% on the same period last year when traffic levels were 5% lower.

In the 12 months to March 2014 the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads increased by 2% to 24,160 compared to the previous 12 months. Fatalities increased by 4% to 1750 over the same period.

CIHT's director of policy & technical affairs Andrew Hugill said: “While there is no clear reason for the recent increase it is a reminder that road safety considerations should underpin all policy, planning, design and network management decisions.”

Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety executive director David Davies said: “We don’t want to make snap judgements on figures for one quarter, but it is disappointing they have gone up.

"I would like to see Government set targets, publish a Green Paper on young driver safety and improve resources for roads policing to address the problem,” he added.

The figures also show that the number of pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists killed or seriously injured increased by 16%, 27% and 20% respectively between the first quarters of 2013 and 2014.

Sustainable transport charity Sustrans said the statistics revealed "an alarming trend of unnecessary deaths and serious injuries among vulnerable roads users".

Policy adviser Rachel Bromley added: “It is time to bite the bullet and make dedicated funding available to transform local walking and cycling routes and introduce lower traffic speeds."

Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said: “Road deaths are down nearly 40% on the average for 2005 to 2009. However one road death is one too many, which is why we continue to work to tackle dangerous driving and make our roads safer for everyone.”

(Photo: Tim Ellis)

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