Road Traffic Accident Statistics UK: 2025 Data (2026)

Deaths fell while serious casualties increased

The fatality total fell from 1,602 in 2024 to 1,538 in 2025. The adjusted killed-or-seriously-injured total increased from 28,876 to 29,918, while all-severity casualties fell slightly from 128,272 to 127,883.

The 2025 figures equate to annual averages of about 4.2 deaths and 77.8 serious injuries per day, calculated by dividing the annual totals by 365. The comparison uses the revised 2024 injury figures in the latest release.

Road deaths by road-user type

These road-user categories sum to 1,538 deaths. Vehicle-occupant figures count people travelling in that vehicle, while pedestrians and cyclists involved in the same collision appear in their own categories.

Rural roads and motorways

Rural roads accounted for 60% of fatalities and 45% of motor traffic in 2025. Motorways accounted for 6% of fatalities and 21% of traffic.

These shares show the different distribution of deaths and travel across the road network. A rate per mile provides a distance-adjusted comparison; the share of deaths alone reflects how much travel occurs as well as the road conditions.

What counts in road casualty statistics?

DfT's STATS19 series covers personal-injury collisions on public highways, including footways, reported to police within 30 days and involving at least a motor vehicle, pedal cyclist or horse rider. The Great Britain totals exclude Northern Ireland, damage-only incidents and standalone pedestrian trips and falls.

A casualty is a person; a collision is an event that may injure several people. KSI combines people killed and seriously injured. The 28,380 serious injuries in 2025 are calculated by subtracting 1,538 deaths from 29,918 KSI casualties.

Police records underreport some injuries, particularly minor and cycling injuries. Severity adjustments improve classification comparability between reporting systems rather than estimating unreported incidents. Historical adjusted counts can be revised.

Work-related road collisions

DfT estimates that at least a quarter of collisions in 2025 involved someone driving or riding for work. Recorded journey purpose was known for 53% of vehicles, so the estimate combines that information with assumptions about missing records.

Frequently asked questions

How many people died on British roads in 2025?

1,538 people died in reported road collisions in Great Britain, 4% fewer than in 2024.

How many people were seriously injured in road collisions?

There were 28,380 serious injuries in Great Britain in 2025, calculated from the severity-adjusted KSI total minus fatalities.

Which road users had the largest fatality totals?

Car occupants accounted for 629 deaths in 2025, followed by motorcyclists with 386 and pedestrians with 364.