How much do road crashes cost where you live? British EuroRAP Results 2015 1 Contents Forewords 3 Key findings 4 Most improved roads 6 Persistently higher risk roads 8 Regional analysis 9 Highest risk road in each of Scotland, Wales and English regions 15 Risk Rating of Britain’s Motorways and A roads 16 Risk Rating of England’s Strategic Road Network 20 How safe is the English Strategic Road Network? 24 Further information 28 2 Forewords Lord Whitty of Camberwell, Chairman, Road Safety Foundation In 2014, the nation returned to economic growth and the number Junctions remain the largest source of serious injury as vehicle of people dying on Britain’s roads increased. It is a reminder that side impact protection is at its most limited. We can expect in a normally growing economy there is more travel and more improvements in vehicle collision detection systems at junctions, exposure to risk on the roads. Reducing road casualties means but the laws of physics will not be re-written. The road first overcoming this headwind. infrastructure and new vehicle systems need to be developed This year’s annual report maps and tracks the changing risks on hand in hand if we want to see a real increase in road safety. the 10% of roads where the majority of British road deaths take The UK government estimates around 2% of total GDP is lost in place – the motorway and ‘A’ road network outside urban cores. road crashes. For the first time, we have analysed separately the This year we report that travel on single carriageway ‘A’ roads estimated economic costs of serious road crashes for each has become 8 times more risky than on motorways. The ‘most non-metropolitan road authority. improved’ roads show just how effective small infrastructure For the first time this year we also map risk rates separately for safety improvements can be. But the pace of improvement is the English Strategic Road Network. In 2015, Highways England far too slow – just 2% of the network shows material reduction came into being with responsibility for national roads in England. in risk. We warmly welcome the course which the new company has set Much of the genuine progress in reducing casualties this last to raise safety on its network. It has put in place a clear long decade has come from safer vehicles. Our results suggest that term goal to bring the number of people killed or injured on the advances in safe vehicle design may be working better on more network to as close to zero as possible by 2040. It has pledged predictable purpose built motorways than on the more variable that, by the end of 2020, 90% of travel on its roads will be on higher speed single carriageways. roads with a 3-star safety rating or better. This new transparent approach can put Britain alongside other leading countries. On many ‘A’ roads, the margin for human error is often small. It offers a model on the nation’s largest network for other The largest single cause of death is running off the road, where authorities to follow. poor roadside protection can see brutal impacts take place. Andy Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Ageas UK Last year I was proud to be able to announce that Ageas With local authority budgets tight and local health and social would be supporting the preparation of the important annual care budgets increasingly stretched a joined-up approach using EuroRAP report by the Road Safety Foundation for at least new ways of thinking is needed to make sure local budgets are another three years. used in the most effective way. As Britain’s third largest motor insurer, we support customers It is possible to make road safety pay. As this report shows, who have been involved in road crashes every day and we local authorities can invest small amounts wisely and remove or have a deep understanding of the distress and suffering they reduce some of the known high risks on our roads. Intervention experience. We are committed to contributing to the development at this stage can prevent the need for larger spending further of new evidence-based approaches that will help improve road down the line – for example, on care costs for an accident victim safety and reduce the severity and frequency of road crashes. who suffers a serious brain or spine injury. It is an approach that This year’s report includes for the first time an analysis of the makes economic sense even before the human cost of crashes cost of serious road crashes in Britain’s non-metropolitan is considered. authorities. It is an innovative approach foreshadowed in the This latest annual report is rich in data and mapping which local award winning report published in 2014, Making Road Safety Pay, authorities and government agencies can use to reduce road which Ageas commissioned from the Foundation. crashes in their areas. I hope it will also help stimulate a wider The new analysis reveals that, in the three year period studied, debate on the challenges that major changes to national roads the economic cost of serious road crashes exceeded half-a-billion and local authority finance bring and the new opportunities it pounds in counties including Kent, Hampshire and Lancashire. gives us to reduce death on the roads. 3 Key findings British road network 8% 35% 1,775 Fatal and serious crashes on the network The largest single cause of serious injury have reduced by 8% between 2008-10 on ‘A’ roads are crashes at junctions The number of people killed on Britain’s and 2011-13 (35%) roads in 2014 increased to 1,775 from 1,713 in 2013 British EuroRAP Risk Map £2 billion (2011-13) 67 The network suffered fatal and serious injury costs of £0.9bn on motorways, 67 people are killed or seriously injured £2bn on the strategic ‘A’ road network 7% on Britain’s roads every day and £6bn on local authority ‘A’ roads outside urban cores 7% of travel is on higher risk roads (high and medium-high), 17% on medium, 37% on low-medium and 39% on low risk £14.7 billion roads The total cost of reported road accidents 20% in 2013 was estimated to be £14.7 billion Motorways have seen the greatest improvement with a 20% reduction in 18% fatal and serious crashes. Local authority maintained non-primary ‘A’ roads 18% of the network mapped now has 50% improved by just 5% unacceptably high risk (2014 report: 14%) 50% of fatal crashes occur on rural roads 8 times 95% 30% 95% of motorway travel but only 4% of more risk single carriageway ‘A’ roads travel were on 30% of serious crashes occur on rural roads rated low risk; in 2008-10 this was roads Single carriageway ‘A’ roads now have 8 65% and 1% respectively times the risk of motorways and 3 times the risk of dual carriageway ‘A’ roads British EuroRAP network of Key regional findings on the motorways and ‘A’ roads (2011-13) 30% British EuroRAP network (2011-13) 10% The largest single cause of death on all Wales types of roads is crashes where a vehicle The British EuroRAP network accounts for ran off the road (30%) The risk of death and serious injury is 10% of the total road network on which highest in Wales (30 fatal and serious 50% of road deaths occurs crashes for every billion vehicle km travelled); it is lowest in the West Midlands (17) 4 South East West £2.1 billion Risk on single carriageway ‘A’ roads is The largest single crash cost centre in highest in the South East (62) and lowest Midlands Britain is Highways England with serious in the West Midlands (34) crash costs in excess of £2.1bn 62% of non-primary ‘A’ roads are rated low to low-medium risk in the West South East Midlands Powys Risk on motorways is highest in the South The economic cost of serious road crashes East (8) and lowest in the West Midlands South East per capita ranges fivefold across Britain (5) from the lowest at £211 (Caerphilly) to the Only 20% of non-primary ‘A’ roads are highest Powys (£1,023). rated low to low-medium risk in the South East North West North Risk of death and serious injury on local authority ‘A’ roads is highest in the North South East West (58) and lowest in the West Yorkshire The South East saw an increase in risk of Midlands (32) death and serious injury over time of 1% The greatest English loss per capita is between 2008-10 and 2011-13 North Yorkshire (£762). Scotland Risk of death and serious injury on the Scotland Perth & trunk ‘A’ roads is highest in Scotland (30) Scotland saw the greatest improvement in and lowest in the North East (11) risk of death and serious injury over time Kinross with a 20% reduction between 2008-11 The greatest Scottish loss per capita is and 2011-13 Perth & Kinross (£777) followed by North West Aberdeenshire (£727) and Argyll & Bute Cost of road crashes for non- (£713) 41% of non-primary ‘A’ roads have unacceptably high risk in the North West metropolitan authorities (2011-13) £20 million £20.40 West For every kilometre travelled, English The authority suffering the lowest total local authority non-primary A roads lose economic loss from serious road crashes more than the same roads in Scotland Midlands is Torfaen in Wales (£20m) and Wales (£20.40 per thousand vehicle Only 11% of non-primary ‘A’ roads have km) unacceptably high risk in the West Midlands £0.5 billion 4 authorities in England suffered crash losses in excess of £0.5bn: Hampshire, Kent, Lancashire and Essex 5 Most improved roads Improved roads are those where there has been a statistically values, or £150,000 per kilometre, with a net present value worth significant reduction in the number of fatal and serious crashes approximately £0.3bn over 20 years.