Lincolnshire road traffic casualties up 16% but deaths and serious injuries at seven-year low

The number of road traffic casualties on Lincolnshire’s roads has risen by 16% in a two-year period.

However, safety campaigners say the numbers of people killed or seriously injured in the county has dropped.

Latest available figures show that there were 2,179 road traffic casualties in Lincolnshire in 2022, up from 2,004 in 2021 and 1,883 in 2020.

This 15.6% increase is slightly lower than the 17% rise across the East Midlands over the two-year period.

Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership believe this rise is due to people returning to the roads in greater volume after lockdown restrictions, also stating that the number of people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads is at a seven-year low.

In 2022, 439 people were killed or seriously injured, down from 455 in 2021.

You have to go back to 215 to find a lower number, which was 319.

While road traffic casualties have risen over the two-year period, 2022’s number of 2,179 remains lower than the seven years leading up to 202’s pandemic, the highest being 3,190 in 2013.

“(Year) 2022 saw the lowest number of people killed or seriously injured on Lincolnshire’s roads since 2015; lower even, than throughout the pandemic and the various travel restrictions that were put in place to protect the public,” explained LRSP senior manager Steve Batchelor.

“Despite a moderate increase in slight injury casualties on the two pandemic years, 2022 also saw lower overall casualties than every other year in the last decade.

“Whilst we are pleased to see this continuing reduction, there is still much work to do.

“Far too many people are killed and injured on the UK’s roads, and we remain committed to making Lincolnshire’s safer for all.”

Figures showing the 15.6% two-year increase were released by law firm Lime Solicitors to mark Road Safety Week.

Stats sadly spelled out that there have been 9,948 people injured or killed in road traffic accidents in the East Midlands, a 17% increase compared to 2020.

This follows the national trend, with the UK also seeing a 17% rise since 2020.

Out of 143,326 people injured or killed in road traffic accidents in the UK, the East Midlands only accounts for 7% of the total.

Out of 12 regions in the UK, the East Midlands has the eight lowest number of road traffic casualties, followed by Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the North East, respectively.

The region fares slightly better than West Midlands, which recorded 10,677 casualties in the same timeframe.

However, bucking the trend are neighbouring Rutland and Nottinghamshire, which have both seen a downturn in road traffic casualties.

Notts had 1,500 recorded cases in 2022, down from 1,555 in 2021 but higher than 1,411 in 2021.

It was the same story in Rutland where 44 road traffic casualties in 2020 rose to 56 in 2021 but dipped to 34 last year.

Killed or seriously injured in Lincolnshire: 2013 – 415; 2014 – 398; 2015 – 319; 2016 – 441; 2017 – 565; 2018 – 512; 2019 – 534; 2020 – 445; 2021 – 455; 2022 – 439.

All collisions in Lincolnshire: 2013 – 3,190; 2014 – 3,115; 2015 – 3,006; 2016 – 2,738; 2017 – 2,577; 2018 – 2,533; 2019 – 2,556; 2020 – 1,883; 2021 – 2,004; 2022 – 2,179.