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Road casualty statistics: user feedback request 2025

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The road safety statistics team regularly reviews the contents of its publications to ensure they remain relevant and meet user needs. We have recently reviewed the reported road casualties  annual report and would welcome feedback from users on proposed changes to some elements of these statistics covering data coverage, methodology and presentation.

Are you providing a response as an individual, or on behalf of an organisation?
This is required

Local authority level figures

Currently, we present figures for local authorities based on the boundaries existing during the year of the collision occurring. This means that where there are boundary changes (for example, Northamptonshire splitting into West and North Northamptonshire), a time series of historic data does not exist. We intend to change to reporting based on the boundaries existing for the latest year of data, as we think that this would provide more meaningful trends over time. Figures for years prior to an authority existing can be coded from the collision location (with a very small amount of missing data).

Using this approach, for example, the data table RAS0403 would, for example, show a full time series for North and West Northamptonshire, and not include the former Northamptonshire area.

Question 1.

Does the proposed approach to report figures for current local authorities (and other areas) based on current boundaries cause any difficulties for your work? If so, please provide brief details
This is required

Adjusted and unadjusted KSI figures

Following the introduction of injury-based reporting by some police forces, we have developed a method of adjusting non-fatal casualties to provide a consistent time series, as if all forces were using the injury-based method. We currently show both adjusted and unadjusted figures within the data tables. However, we intend to no longer show the unadjusted figures, except where figures relate to individual police force or local authority areas. This is to ensure it is clear that the adjusted figures are recommended for most uses at national or regional level. Unadjusted data will still be made available as part of the open data files we provide.

Question 2.

Does the proposed approach to no longer routinely report on unadjusted figures cause you any difficulties for your work? If so, please provide brief details.
This is required

Casualty rates

Where we present casualty rates to compare casualty numbers with traffic, currently these are shown both on the basis of casualties per billion miles, and per billion kilometres. In future, we intend to show only the rates per mile within the statistics, in line with what is already done for our annual reports. Rates per kilometre can be easily calculated by applying conversion factors.

Question 3.

Does the proposed approach to only report rates on a per mile (and not per kilometre) basis difficulties for your work? If so, please provide brief details.
This is required

Road safety factors

As a result of the latest review of the STATS19 road collision data collection system, the previous contributory factors have been replaced with a new system of road safety factors, with details of this change available in our guide to road safety factors. Currently, police forces are recording the data in different ways, and as a result we have reflected this in the presentation of the statistics, including withdrawing some of the data tables (RAS0704 to RAS0706, which showed sub-national breakdowns of the figures).

We intend to reconsider the published data once more forces have adopted the new road safety factors.

Question 4.

Does the proposed change to the presentation of road safety factors cause any problems in your work? If so, please provide brief details, and any suggestions for alternative approaches.

Open data

Alongside the publication of the 2024 statistics, we have made some changes to the location and format of the open data files which provide users with access to the underlying raw data, including:

- addition of new variables associated with the new data specification
- consequently, renaming some variables that reflect the previous specification data
- moving the data from data.gov.uk to the GOV.UK website, which is easier for us to maintain

Question 5.

Do these changes to the format and location create any issues for your work? 
This is required
Question 6.

Any other feedback

We also welcome any other feedback on these statistics. For example: 

  • does the timeliness and frequency of the current publications meet your needs? 
  • are there additional topics or analyses you would like to see included in the annual publication? 
  • are there any additional breakdowns which could be included in the published data tables? 

Do you have any other comments or feedback on the department’s road casualty statistics more generally?
Question 7.

The Road Safety Statistics Team wishes to retain your contact details so that we can send you emails about updates and feedback opportunities. Your information will be kept secure and will not be used for any other purpose without your permission. To find out more about how DfT looks after personal data, your rights, and how to contact our data protection officer, please go to https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/personal-information-charter

If you are happy for the Road Safety Statistics Team at DfT to use your information for the purpose described above, please respond to this question with your preferred email contact address. You can let us know at any time if you do not wish to remain on this distribution list – simply email roadacc.stats@dft.gov.uk and say ‘please remove my name’.