Road Traffic Collisions and Casualties 2024 Review

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 2024 there were 163 people killed or seriously injured on the county’s roads; 14 killed and 149 seriously injured.  This is a 0.6% increase on 2023 (162 in 2022).

During 2024, 14 people died whilst using roads in the Dorset Council area; this compares to 9 in 2023. The 2010/19 baseline average is 16.

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 is nine. This was recorded in 2010 and 2023.   

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 2024 was 882.  This is a 1.25% increase on 2023 (871 in 2023).

The total number of casualties in 2024 is below the 2010/19 average baseline of 1,243 by 29%.

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 2024 against the 2023 figure but is lower than the baseline (2010-2019 ten year average) figure. This year the KSI figures were no fatalities and 20 serious injuries. This compares to 1 fatality and 11 serious injuries in 2023. This trend is also reflected nationally. It is likely that there will be a higher level of under reporting of single vehicle pedal cyclist collisions.

No cyclists were killed during 2024.  There were 20 cyclist KSI casualties, of which one was a child.

2024 saw a increase in the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured from the number in 2023 (from 49 to 61).

6 Motorcyclists were killed on Dorset’s roads in 2024.

This group accounted for 37.4% of the total number of KSIs in 2024. This group, therefore, remains a priority.

During 2024, the majority of motorcyclists seriously injured were male users on larger cc machines.

The gender split is significant for motorcyclists. In 2024 of the 61 KSI casualties, 57 were male and 4 were female.  

Please find below motorcycle KSI casualties by age and gender

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

Please see below examples 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 2024 and 2023.

Dorset Council Car User KSI casualties comparison charts by age

There has been a decrease in the numbers of older car users that have been killed or seriously injured between 2024 and 2023.

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 when compared to the baseline figure (40). It is still high and one of the factors for this may be driver inexperience. 

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 were 5 pedestrians seriously injured at formal crossings.

Children (0-15 years) killed or seriously injured on Dorset’s Roads is relatively speaking low, 8 during 2024, although they are often perceived to be one of the most vulnerable and at risk groups.

One child was killed on the roads in Dorset during 2024.

Contributory factors are recorded to offer a more detailed assessment of what influenced a collision occurring.  The graph below shows the top 10 factors recorded for all collisions and for KSI collisions 2024.

The tables below shows the top 10 factors recorded for all collisions and for KSI collisions 2024 as a percentage of all contributory factors (1288).

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 1 = 0.1% of total

Serious 12 = 0.9%

Slight 31 = 2.4%

Impaired by drugs (illicit or medicinal)

Fatal 1 = 0.1%

Serious 4 = 0.3%

Slight 8 = 0.6%

With the updating of the Stats19 information, Contributory Factors are being replaced by Road Safety Factors. Some of the old contributory factor categories are being merged. This will reduce the number of factors e.g

B – Behaviour or inexperience

B1 - Driver / rider illegal turn / direction of travel or failed to comply with traffic sign / signal 

This will replace CFs 301 (disobeyed automatic traffic signal), 302 (Disobeyed Give Way or Stop signs or markings) and 305 (illegal turn or direction of travel)

R – Roads

R4 – Drivers/riders viewed obscured by vegetation, buildings, layout or road signs.

This will replace CFs 702 (Vegetation), 703 (Road layout (e.g. bend, winding road, hill crest), 704 (Buildings, road signs, street furniture), 108 (Road layout (e.g. bend, hill, narrow carriageway), also maybe 106 (Traffic calming e.g. speed cushions, road humps, chicanes) and 107 (temporary road layout e.g. contraflow).

There were 14 Fatalities in 2024.  13 of these were male and 1 was female.

There was one child fatality in 2024.

The chart below shows the gender split between all user groups for both fatal and serious accidents for 2024.

The gender split is much more significant for cyclists and motorcyclists; for 2024 there was close to an 90 / 10% split between male and female cyclist KSI casualties and the split was close to 94 / 6% for motorcyclist serious casualties.

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

Between January 1998 and December 2024, a total of 604 people lost their lives whilst using Dorset’s roads, 19 were children, 96 were pedestrians, 31 were pedal cyclists, 135 were motorcyclists and 308 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 14 people killed on Dorset’s roads in 2025. There were 4 car user fatalities, 3 pedestrians, 6 motorcyclists and 1 child. This compares with 9 in 2023 and 17 for the 2010/19 baseline average.  No pedal cyclists were killed on Dorset’s roads in 2024.

All six of the motorcycle fatalities were men.. Five were aged between 25-64. The other fatality was aged between 17- 24.

When the contributory factor information for 2024 fatal collisions is looked at, the major factors recorded are as follows. Nine people failed to look properly, eight were exceeding the speed limit and five were careless, reckless or in a hurry.

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 engineering works or other mitigations might be required to help reduce the number of collisions and casualties on Dorset’s roads. This assessment is done by both Cluster Site and Rural Route Analysis.

The 2024 Cluster Site and Rural Route analysis is currently in progress.

For Rural Route Analysis, the updated data is ranked by the number of Killed or Seriously (KSI) collisions per mile followed by all collisions per mile to determine the highest risk routes. Additionally, we review any routes where the proportion of KSI collisions exceeds 50% of total collisions per mile. If a route consistently appears across multiple years, we may prioritise other identified routes to ensure a balanced approach. This is because the impact of implemented measures often takes time to materialise.

The plan below illustrates the locations of 76 cluster sites visited based on the 2023 data

The date range for this analysis is injury collisions that occurred within the Dorset Council boundary between 1st January 2021 and 31st December 2023.

Our Road Safety Technical Officers assess these locations through site visits to identify patterns and consider simple preventative measures. Where more complex solutions are required, they liaise with other Teams such as Asset Management and the Highways Improvement Team to develop appropriate interventions.

A desktop study began in July 2024 of the 126 sites. Of these, 76 cluster sites were visited. And a range of improvement measures were identified. These included line marking works (both new installation and the remarking of worn lines), signage enhancements, drainage improvements and actions to improve visibility, such as vegetation clearance.

In some cases, there may be no clear engineering solution available. To address this, we have invested in warning signs for deployment on these routes, alerting drivers to cluster sites and advising them to take extra care and reduce speed. These have been produced in partnership with Dorset Roadsafe.

These signs have been erected at three locations across the county – Clatcombe Lane near Sherborne, A354 at Thornicombe and the A354 at Thickthorn Cross. It is envisaged that these signs will stay in-situ for two years and will then be moved to other locations.

One site where engineering solutions have been looked at is improvements at Luscombe Crossroads on the A30 at Over Compton.

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 2024 accounted for 11% (18) of all KSI casualties and 14% (125) of the total number of casualties in the Dorset Council area.

Generally, there is a relatively even split between the A35 and the A31; during 2024 55% of trunk road KSI casualties were on the A35; 11 of 18 KSI casualties. There were 3 fatal casualties on the trunk roads in 2024.

Fatalities on the trunk road network during the last five years have accounted for just 8% 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 collisions and  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. 

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.

Source Mid-Year Estimates, Office for National Statistics

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.  This reduction may be due in part to less traffic being on the roads during Covid and people going into lock down and having to self isolate

The chart below shows the changes in the amount of traffic using Dorset’s roads between 1983 and 2024.

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 2024. 

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 non-injury collision / near miss” 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. All personal injury collisions that occur must be reported to Dorset Police.

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

Further details regarding 2024 collision data can be found here.

For further details on the information in this document or for general road safety queries please contact the Road Safety Team on [email protected]