Road accidents and casualties (where, when and who?): 2017

Main points

• There was a 9.6% fall in reported casualties on Welsh roads in 2017.
• There were 6,194 road casualties reported by Police forces in Wales.
• 1,060 of the casualties were killed or seriously injured, a fall of 4.3% compared with 2016.
• 5,134 had ‘slight’ injuries’, 10.6% lower than the figure for 2016.
• 57% of the casualties in 2017 were male.
• When adjusting for distance travelled, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists are significantly more likely than car users to be casualties.
• 2017 saw the lowest number of motorcycle casualties since comparable records began, with 595 casualties.
• There were 446 pedal cyclist casualties in 2017, the same as in 2016.
• There has been a longstanding downward trend in pedestrian casualties. In 2017 11.9% of all casualties were pedestrians.
• There were 734 pedestrian casualties, a fall of 7% compared with 2016.
• Child and young person casualties have fallen.
• There was a 15% decrease in child casualties (aged under 16) and a 16% fall in young person casualties (aged 16-24), compared with 2016.
• Young people are disproportionally likely to be casualties in road accidents. They make up 11% of the population but 22% of all casualties.