A Tragic Easter on the Roads

As the Easter period came to a close, the grim reality of the traffic operation is that 33 people lost their lives on the road, just 4 fewer than last year. However, there has been a significant increase in the number of motorcyclists killed this year, with 12 of all deaths attributed to bikes, 5 more than last year.

In total, the DGT recorded 13.8 million long-haul journeys on the roads, an increase of 7.28% over last year and so the overall decrease in deaths when adjusted against the number of journeys is the lowest overall since 1960.

Of the vehicles involved in fatal road incidents, the average age was 14 for passenger cars, 11 years old in the case of motorbikes and 15 years old in the case of vans. This data is intended to emphasise how modern cars are fitted with better safety features than their older counterparts, hence the government scheme to offer subsidy for trading in older vehicles for new.

Of the 33 deaths recorded, 25 of them were on conventional roads, the focus of the major campaigns against speed and irregular driving practices as they are considered the most dangerous.

In terms of the type of fatal incident, 17 of the fatalities were from vehicles that had left the carriageway, and 4 people were killed in head-on collisions, a significant decrease in this type of incident after 12 people were killed this way last year.

A total of 12 motorcyclists have been killed, considerably more than the 7 of last Easter, whereas there were 10 passenger car occupants, compared to 19 last year, 4 pedestrians and 3 van occupants. In contrast, there were no recorded fatalities involving bicycles, mopeds, buses or heavy goods vehicles, although one HGV driver was stopped after his vehicle was seen “weaving” along a main road, a subsequent alcohol test revealing him to be 4 times over the limit.

Of those people who were killed in passenger cars, 3 of them were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and could well still be alive today had they considered belting up.

The majority of fatal incidents occurred during the day, when 24 people were killed, and in terms of age, the highest group of fatalities were from the 25 to 44 year age group. The average age overall of those who were killed is around 45.