Road accidents and casualties (where, when and who?): 2018

Main points

Summary of road casualties

• There was a 7.0% fall in reported casualties on Welsh roads in 2018.
• There were 5,768 road casualties reported by police forces in Wales.
• 1,137 of the casualties were killed or seriously injured (KSI), an increase of 7.4% compared with 2017.
• 4,631 had slight injuries, 9.8% lower than the figure for 2017.
• 69% of KSI casualties in 2018 were male.

Motorcycle and pedal cycle casualties

• When adjusting for distance travelled, motorcyclists and pedal cyclists are much more likely than car users to be casualties.
• 2018 saw the lowest number of motorcycle casualties since comparable records began, with 562 casualties.
• There were 417 pedal cyclist casualties in 2018, representing a 6.5% reduction on 2017.

Pedestrian casualties

• In 2018 12.4% of all casualties were pedestrians.
• There were 716 pedestrian casualties, a fall of 2.5% compared with 2017.

Child and young person casualties

• Child and young person casualties have fallen in 2018.
• There was a 2% decrease in child casualties (under 16 years old) and a 11% fall in young people casualties (aged 16-24), compared with 2017.
• Young people (aged 16-24) are disproportionately likely to be casualties in road accidents. They make up 11% of the population but 21% of all casualties.