Road deaths falls to record low - but more motorcyclists are killed - News

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However the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured rose 4per cent to 6,737, while the total casualty figure of 23,459 was 1per cent up.

Total fatalities in 2007 were 2,943 - 7per cent lower than in 2006, with deaths and serious injuries down in all categories of road user except motorcyclists.

Fatal crash near Cerne Abbas, Dorset: Statistics show deaths from road accidents fell to a record low last year

Child deaths, which were down 28 per cent in 2007, were also at a record low, the Department for Transport statistics showed.

A total of 121 children died on the roads last year. This is the lowest ever recorded figure.

Child casualties fell 7per cent last year. The number of children killed or seriously injured in 2007 was 3,090 - a 6per cent fall.

The government today claimed the figures showed the success of its road safety strategy which was launched in 2000, which aimed to reduce casualty by 2010.

Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: 'These figures are extremely encouraging. They show that for the first time since records began in 1926 the number of people killed on our roads has fallen below 3,000.

'We've cut the number of people killed or seriously injured each year by more than a third since the mid-1990s. That means almost 17,000 fewer deaths or serious injuries on our roads last year.

'But these figures make us determined to do even more. Far too many people are still dying and we will continue to do everything we can to improve road safety and further reduce the numbers of people killed or injured.'

There were also 4per cent fewer road accidents involving personal injury last year.

Of these, 27,036 accidents involved death or serious injury - 3per cent down on the previous year.

In 2007, the number of people killed or seriously injured was 36per cent below the 1994-98 average.

The number of children killed or seriously injured was 55per cent below the 1994-98 average, and provisional estimates show the slight casualty rate was 30per cent below the 1994-98 average.