DfT data highlights role for driver education under new strategy

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published its final reported road casualty statistics for Great Britain for 2025.
The figures show a 3% reduction in road fatalities (1,556 deaths compared to 1,602 in 2024).

However, the total number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) increased by 4% to 29,911, demonstrating the ongoing challenge facing road safety partners nationwide.

These figures represent the first full baseline against the UK Government’s new Road Safety Strategy, launched in January 2026, which sets a national target to reduce KSIs by 65% by 2035.

A rise in the total number of KSIs is also matched by an increase in a number of reported child KSI casualties (under 16). The 2025 figure of 2,432 represents an increase of 3% compared with the 2022 to 2024 baseline average of 2,353.

The strategy also adopts a Safe System approach, recognising that while human error cannot be eliminated, the transport system should be designed so that mistakes do not result in death or life-changing injury.

Against that backdrop, the 2025 figures provide an early indication of the scale of the task ahead. While fewer people lost their lives on Britain’s roads last year, almost 30,000 people were killed or seriously injured, demonstrating that substantial and sustained action will be required if the 2035 targets are to be achieved.

The DfT figures reveal differing trends across road user groups.

Among the headline findings:

• Motorcyclist fatalities increased by 13% to 384, marking the second consecutive annual rise.
• Pedestrian fatalities fell by 9% to 372.
• Car occupant fatalities fell by 8% to 638.
• Pedal cycle casualties increased by 10% to 16,027, the largest percentage increase in total casualties among the main road user groups.
• Cyclist KSIs also increased by 14%, while cyclist fatalities remained broadly unchanged.

The statistics also show that:

• 77% of people killed on Britain’s roads in 2025 were male.
• 61% of all casualties were male.
• Men continue to account for a disproportionate number of fatalities across almost every road user group.

The department notes that annual casualty numbers can fluctuate and should be interpreted alongside longer-term trends. Nevertheless, the increase in serious casualties among vulnerable road users will be a concern for road safety professionals.