Road Traffic Collisions and Casualties 2022 Review

This detailed review of the headline figures aims to provide a greater appreciation of the priority groups and aims to set the wider context against which collision and casualty figures should be considered.

It is possible for two years to have the same number of collisions but very different numbers of casualties.  One collision can result in multiple casualties.

Collisions are the events that result in casualties.

During 2022 there were 202 people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads; 10 killed and 192 seriously injured. 

This is a 16.76% increase on 2021 (173 in 2021) but is below the 2010 /19 baseline average.

During 2022, 10 people died whilst using roads in the Dorset Council area; this compares to 18 in 2021. The 2010/10 baseline average is 17.

Records are available from 1 January 1998.  In 2002 40 people died whilst using Dorset’s roads. This is the highest recorded figure. The lowest figure recorded was in 2010, which was nine.   

Figures for 2022 show that two road user groups had fewer KSI casualties than in 2021. These were motorcycle users, younger car drivers (aged 17- 24 years) and other vehicle users.

There are a wide variety of factors that influence the number of casualties on our roads. Many of these are outside the direct control of Dorset Council.

In addition to data on collisions resulting in fatal or serious injuries, Dorset Council also receives details for collisions resulting in slight injury.

All collisions and casualties are an important consideration as they can be a better indicator of general trends due to the larger amount of data.

The total number of casualties (all severities) recorded in 2022 was 961.  This is a 18% increase on 2021 (812 in 2021).

The total number of casualties in 2022 is below the 2010/19 average baseline of 1,243 by 23%.

The long term trend for total casualties remain relatively level, although there has been a decrease over the last couple of years.

All collisions show a similar trend but with less notable changes.  This is perhaps to be expected as one collision can potentially result in any number of casualties.

The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured rose in 2022 against the 2021 figure and remains higher than the baseline (2010-2019 five year average) figure. This year the KSI figure was no fatalities and 27 serious injuries. This compares to 2 fatalities and 19 serious injuries in 2021. This trend is also reflected nationally.

A reason for the increase in cyclists being seriously injured may be the pandemic and more people cycling for exercise, whilst all non-essential travel was banned during national lockdowns. Analysis of cycle count data suggest that cycle use in Dorset rose 86% in the decade following 2008 and has continued to rise in many parts of Dorset since.

Cyclists are the only road user group to have consistently exceeded the 2005/9 baseline average.

All the cyclists killed or seriously injured during 2022 were adults.  There were no child cyclist KSI casualties.

Cyclists were identified as a priority group by the Dorset Road Safe Partnership. This group was subjected to a detailed review by the partnership which has influenced current campaigns and interventions.

2022 saw a decrease in the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured from the number in 2021 (from 55 to 52). The number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured has remained below the 2010/19 baseline figure.

This group accounted for 25.7% of the total number of KSIs in 2022. This group, therefore, remains a priority.

During 2022, the majority of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured were male users on larger cc machines.

The gender split is significant for motorcyclists. In 2022 of the 52 KSI casualties, 48 were male and four were female.

Below are gender breakdown comparison charts for motorcycle, cyclist and other KSI casualties for 2022; figures are typically similar for most years.

Motorcyclists have been identified as a priority group by the Dorset Road Safe Partnership. There have been a number of focussed motorcycle campaigns and interventions.

Please see below an example of the Bike Signs road safety campaign that takes place with Dorset Council support.

Car users account for the largest proportion of all people killed or seriously injured whilst using Dorset’s roads. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that cars account for the vast majority of all vehicles using the roads in Dorset.

There has been a slight decreasing trend in car users killed or seriously injured in recent years.

Below are charts showing the age breakdown by group for car drivers and car passengers who were killed or seriously injured in 2022, 2021 and the 2005/9 baseline:

                           Dorset Council Car User KSI casualties

                               comparison charts by age

There has been a slight increase in the numbers of older car users that have been killed or seriously injured between 2021 and 2022. This may be due to the lifting of Covid restrictions and more older residents not needing to self-isolate.

The most notable observation from the above charts is that young (17-24 year old) car users accounted for a much lower proportion of all car users killed or seriously injured in recent years. 

The exact reasons for this are not possible to evidence with the available data.

One suggestion is that the costs of driving have influenced the number of young car drivers learning to drive and the total miles travelled.

An additional reason could be that a greater proportion of young car drivers are now using vehicles which have more up-to-date safety features, but again this is not possible to establish with the available data.

People killed or seriously injured when using Dorset’s roads as a pedestrian have remained relatively level for many years.

There is a fairly even spread of casualties across all age groups. There have been no pedestrian casualties in the 22-33 and 55-64 year age groups. However, this should be read with caution as the number is relatively speaking low, therefore it is not clear whether this is a meaningful trend. There has been an increase in the pedestrian KSI casualties in the 65-76 and 77 - 87 year old age groups. This may be due to older people no longer needing to isolate due to the pandemic.

There were three pedestrians killed or seriously injured at formal crossings.

Children (0-15 years) killed or seriously injured on Dorset’s Roads is relatively speaking low, ten during 2022, although they are often perceived to be one of the most vulnerable and at risk groups.

No children were killed on the roads in Dorset during 2022.

Contributory factors are recorded to offer a more detailed assessment of what influenced a collision occurring.  The table below shows the top 10 factors recorded for all collisions and for KSI collisions 2022.

The contributory factor analysis shows that the vast majority of the most frequently recorded contributory factors are linked to human behaviour or error.

Please see below the figures for where impaired by alcohol or drugs (illicit or medicinal) have been identified as a contributory factor).

Casualties

Impaired by Alcohol

Fatal 2 = 20% of total

Serious 14 = 7%

Slight 27 = 3.5%

Impaired by drugs (illicit or medicinal)

Fatal 1 = 10%

Serious 5 = 2.6%

Slight 3 = 0.8%

There were 10 Fatalities in 2022.  5 of these were male and 5 were female.

There were no child fatalities in 2022.

The chart below shows the gender split between all user groups for both fatal and serious accidents for 2022

The gender split is much more significant for cyclists and motorcyclists; for 2022 there was close to an 89 /11% split between male and female cyclist serious casualties and the split was close to 92 /8% split for motorcyclist serious casualties.

Below are gender breakdown comparisons for 2022; figures are typically similar for most years.

The earliest date that detailed road traffic collision data is available for Dorset is January 1998.

Between January 1998 and December 2022, a total of 539 people lost their lives whilst using Dorset’s roads, 17 were children, 82 were pedestrians, 26 were pedal cyclists, 123 were motorcyclists and 284 were car users.

The average number of fatalities per year between 1998 and 2007 (10 years) was 29. Between 2011 and 2020 (10 years) the average had decreased to 17.

There were 10 people killed on Dorset’s roads in 2022. There were four car user fatalities, two pedestrians, three motorcyclists and one other vehicle user. This compares with 18 in 2021 and 28 for the 2005/09 baseline average. 

Of the four car user fatalities, one was a man and three were women. Three of the casualties were car drivers and one was a passenger. Three of the car user fatalities were aged between 25-64, two were the car driver.

When the contributory factor information for 2022 fatal collisions is looked at, the major factors recorded are as follows. Four people failed to look properly, three people were exceeding the speed limit and three people did a poor turn or manoeuvre.

One person killed or injured on Dorset’s roads is one too many.

The majority of all collisions that occurred in the Dorset council area occurred within 30 and 60 mph limits.

It is a similar picture for KSI collisions but with a lesser percentage occurring in 30mph limits than for all collisions.

Each year we use the collision and casualty data received to help identify any areas where works might be required to help reduce the number of collisions and casualties on Dorset’s roads. This is done by both Cluster Site and Route Analysis.

The locations of the top 10 cluster sites identified from the 2022 data are as follows:

2022 Top Ten Cluster Sites

1. B3068 double mini roundabout with B3067 Dorchester Road, Upton
2. Parley Crossroads
3. A350 Poole Road junction with A35
4. A31/C6 intersection, Bere Regis
5. A354 Weymouth, approx. 950m north of the Jurassic roundabout
6. Canford Bottom roundabout north
7. A354 Rodwell Road junction with A354 Westwey Road
8. A35 Crown roundabout with B3157 Burton Road, Bridport
9. Top O’ Town roundabout, Dorchester
10. C50 Colehill Lane junction with uc Smugglers Lane

A cluster site is determined by sites that have 4 collisions within 30 metres of each other. The analysis is run using the latest five full calendar years of collision data. For this year that will be January 2018 – December 2022.

Our Collision Reduction Technical Officers will assess these locations in partnership with Dorset Police which may include a site visit to establish any patterns and consider simple preventative mitigations and if necessary, liaise with other Teams such as Asset and the Highways Improvement Team to develop solutions for more complex locations.

Of the 43 cluster sites reviewed with the 2021 data various measures were identified to make improvements at various sites. These measures included lining works, both new and remarking of worn lines, signage and vegetation cut back.

There may be no obvious engineering solutions that can be put in place.

We are investing in some warning signs that can be used on these routes to warn drivers of cluster sites and advising them to take care and slow down. These are being produced with our partners at Dorset Roadsafe.

Collision and casualty figures are collated annually for each south west authority in order to understand the wider context.

Charts below show the comparisons between the authorities within the south  west for fatal, serious and slight collisions for 2022.

The average casualty figures across the South West region for 2022 are 10 Fatal, 126 Serious and 501 Slight. We are average for fatal casualties (10). We are above average for serious (167) and slight (535) casualty figures.

The trunk road network in the Dorset Council area is:

• A31, entire length from Bere Regis to Hampshire border
• A35, from Bere Regis to Devon border
• A303, approx. two miles at Bourton, North Dorset.

The trunk road network is managed by National Highways.

The trunk road network accounts for approximately 2.4% of the total road network in the county.

Collisions on the trunk road in 2022 accounted for just 9.9% (20) of all KSI casualties and 14.4% (138) of the total number of casualties in the Dorset Council area.

The A35 trunk road accounted for the greatest proportion of all trunk road casualties during 2022.

 Generally, there is a relatively even split between the A35 and the A31; during 2022 the majority of trunk road KSI casualties were on the A35; 54.4%, 11 of 20 KSI casualties. There was one fatal casualty on the trunk roads in 2022.

Fatalities on the trunk road network during the last five years have accounted for just 9% of all road traffic fatalities in the Dorset Council area.

The Department for Transport cites weather as an important factor in influencing the number of casualties, particularly with regards to more vulnerable road users. 

Analysis suggests that years with higher than average ‘poor’ weather often have a lower number of casualties than years with better weather.  The main reason for this is likely due to there being less journeys being made on foot, bicycle or motorcycle resulting in lower levels of exposure to risk.  An additional reason is that, generally speaking, drivers adjust their behaviour more notably during poor weather than when it is fine and dry, but it is difficult to evidence this. 

It is important to consider that these findings are based on national data so local impacts may be less apparent.

An increasing population will almost inevitably bring with it more traffic.  Each person is a user of the highway network, directly and indirectly.

The chart below shows the mid-year population figures for the Dorset council area including future projections. Figures are not yet available for 2022.

More people living in Dorset and the potential increase in traffic is likely to impact on the number of collisions and casualties due to the greater exposure to risk.

Whilst the number of collisions/casualties may increase the rate per number of vehicles may decrease. 

As mentioned earlier traffic flows are an important indicator of demand placed on the highway network. 

There is evidence of economic performance correlating with road traffic casualties.  Periods of strong economic performance and growth generally correlate to increases in road traffic casualties and vice versa.  One of the reasons is economic growth leads to a greater number of journeys being made for work and also for leisure; in short, more journeys increase the exposure to risk.

In recent years a reduction in traffic flows has correlated with a reduction in collisions/casualties and vice versa.

The chart below shows the changes in the amount of traffic using Dorset’s roads between 1983 and 2022.

Since 1993, the valuation of both fatal and non-fatal casualties has been based on a consistent willingness to pay (WTP) approach. This approach encompasses all aspects of the valuation of casualties, including the human costs, which reflect pain, grief and suffering; the direct economic costs of lost output and the medical costs associated with road accident injuries.

In addition to casualty related costs for each accident there are also costs related specifically to accidents, comprising of damage to property, police costs, and the costs of insurance administration.

The value of each of these cost elements is determined separately and then combined to produce overall values of costs per casualty for different levels of severity. This note provides an overview of how these costs are estimated.

The table below shows the costs of collisions and casualties in the Dorset Council area for 2022. 

Source of data: Department for Transport (DfT)

There are no substantial monetary savings that Dorset Council can make directly from reducing the number of road traffic collisions. 

However, efforts made to prevent collisions can act as an economic generator.

• Fewer collisions result in fewer delays.

• Fewer collisions result in fewer working days lost.

• Fewer deaths on Dorset’s roads result in people continuing to contribute to the economy.

For information on what Dorset Council does to improve road safety, please read the Road Safety Plan  

Dorset Council supports a number of driver and rider training courses for both car drivers and motorcyclists, details can be found on our Dorset Council web pages

We run cycle training for children through our Bikeability courses.

Adult Cycle Training is also available.

Dorset Council has a “Report a Collision” online form on the Dorset Council website.

This enables members of the public to report non-injury collisions and near misses that we may not otherwise be aware of. This gives us a fuller picture of what is happening in Dorset.

Details of personal injury collisions, reported to Dorset police, can also be found on line, on our Road Traffic Collision  map 

For further details on the information in this document or for general road safety queries please contact the Road Safety Team on roadsafety@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk