Delivery of the vision

The Framework has delivered its vision for “a steady reduction in the numbers of those killed and those seriously injured”.

Reported Road Casualty Scotland 2020 shows that there were 141 people killed and 1,547 people seriously injured in 2020 compared to 292 and 4,865 respectively over the 2004-08 baseline period. As depicted in the graphs in the section about Delivery of the 2020 Targets the rates of reduction has been pretty steady.

Figure 1 shows that there were a total of 5,040 casualties (of all severities) reported in 2020: 2,705 (35%) fewer than in 2019 and the lowest number since annual records began in 1950. Between circa 1970 and 1990, the figures fluctuated around a general downward trend, with numbers falling from the short-term peak in 1989 & 1990 (of over 27,000). Since 1998, there has been a consistent reduction, with numbers falling below 12,000 in 2013, which was half the level of the early 1990s.

Figure 1: Number of reported road casualties broke down by severity, 1950 to 2020

Note: Due to changes in the way casualty severity is recorded, serious and slight figures in 2019 and 2020 are not comparable with previous years.

This reduction must be seen in the context of the level of road traffic in Scotland. As depicted in Figure 2, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, traffic had been rising steadily since 2010. In 2019 the volume of traffic on Scottish roads was 12% higher than in 2010. In 2020 the volume of traffic was 13% lower than in 2010 and the level of accidents was 62% lower than in 2010.

Figure 2: all roads traffic level vs accidents level – Index 2010=100