Pandemic reduces traffic but lives still lost on Derbyshire roads

More than a dozen people died and more than 300 were seriously injured in road traffic accidents last year, figures for Derbyshire Constabulary show.
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With reduced road usage during the coronavirus pandemic, fatal and serious road traffic accidents dropped by more than a fifth across the country but 18 people still lost their lives due to collisions around Derbyshire in 2020.

However, less traffic contributed to a 27% decline in the number of people killed or seriously hurt locally and an overall drop of 13% in the total number of casualties, from 2,191 in 2019 to 1,910.

Department for Transport figures show at least 363 suffered serious, potentially life-changing injuries.

More than a dozen people died and more than 300 were seriously injured in road traffic accidents last year, figures for Derbyshire Constabulary show.More than a dozen people died and more than 300 were seriously injured in road traffic accidents last year, figures for Derbyshire Constabulary show.
More than a dozen people died and more than 300 were seriously injured in road traffic accidents last year, figures for Derbyshire Constabulary show.

And the number of people left with slight injuries is likely to be higher than the 1,529 recorded as not all crashes or collisions are reported.

The AA say the Government must do more to eradicate road deaths completely by the end of the decade while road safety charity Brake say it is unacceptable to see lives lost or changed forever as a result of preventable crashes.

Road traffic across Britain dropped by over a fifth in 2020 compared to the previous year with the overall number of casualties plunging by a quarter in that time.

But cyclist deaths rose, from 100 in 2019 to 140 last year.

A spokesman for Brake said the national decrease in deaths and serious injuries represented a step in the right direction and demonstrated the possibility of reducing casualties.

He called for better investment in vehicle safety and infrastructure, more segregated spaces for cyclists and pedestrians and appropriate speed limits, adding: "Every death on our roads is a tragedy for the victims’ loved ones, while injuries can have devastating consequences on an individual’s life.

"We need a concerted focus on reducing road deaths and catastrophic injuries. This requires ambitious targets to end the carnage on our roads."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “While we have some of the safest roads in the world, this Government will continue to work tirelessly to ensure they are made even safer.

“Our targeted THINK! Campaign continues to educate road-users, and as part of our 2019 Road Safety Statement we committed to a two-year action plan to help promote safer driving on our roads.”