Hundreds of motorists have been involved in collisions and four people have been killed on Rochdale’s roads in the last year as the UK has come through the pandemic.
During 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic, there were 277 collisions in Greater Manchester, including seven fatal accidents.
During 2020 – when the roads were much quieter than normal due to the impact of Covid restrictions, the number of collisions fell to 179 but there were still five fatal accidents.
In 2021, as lockdown restrictions eased and normal traffic levels began to return to the roads, there were 230 collisions with four fatal accidents.
In Greater Manchester there were 3,008 collisions – 25% more than the previous year, but a drop of 17% from before the pandemic.
Last year’s figures include 68 fatal collisions – which means that for every 1,000 road traffic collisions in Greater Manchester last year, 23 involved a fatality, a lower rate than in 2020, but higher than before the pandemic.
Across the UK as a whole, there were 101,087 collisions last year, including 1,474 that resulted in at least one death.
RAC road safety spokesperson Simon Williams said: “While the overall number of road deaths is down on pre-pandemic levels, the fatality rate per billion miles driven has increased suggesting little progress is being made in making our roads safer.
We urge the government to publish its updated road safety plan which focuses on both improving car safety – including mandating technology such as intelligent speed assist in new cars – as well as measures to tackle poor driving standards and illegal behavior behind the wheel.”
Analysis by the Department for Transport shows that fatalities among pedal cyclists increased from 2019 to 2020 – probably due to more people taking to their bikes during lockdown – but then fell in 2021.
Among car drivers and their passengers, pedestrians, and motorcyclists, the opposite was true – with more fatalities last year than in 2020, but fewer than before the pandemic.
Last year 1,216 fatal accidents involved cars, 322 motorcycles involved, 207 HGVs, 194 LGVs, 117 pedal cycles and 34 involved a bus or a coach.
More than three times as many men (1,211) were killed in road accidents in 2021 than women (347).
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “The number of road deaths has decreased by 11% compared with pre-pandemic levels, however, we are not complacent, and continue working tirelessly to improve road safety.
“Every death or serious injury on our roads is a tragedy and we recently announced we will create a Road Safety Investigation Branch to look closely at what needs to change to save lives.”
