Logistics UK welcomed the latest Department for Transport road casualty evidence following the Transport Select Committee’s evidence session on the government’s new Road Safety Strategy on 3 June.
The business group said the figures showed a drop in the number of people killed or seriously injured in collisions involving HGVs. It also cited a 32% reduction in people killed or seriously injured in HGV collisions since 2015.
Ben Fletcher, Chief Executive of Logistics UK, said the evidence showed the sector was “going in the right direction”, but added that “there is still much more work to do”.
“Fatalities on UK roads must be avoided at all costs, and our members have made significant investments into technologies and driver training to continually improve safety standards, even amid challenging economic conditions,” Fletcher said.
He also pointed to operator investment linked to Transport for London’s Direct Vision Standard, saying fatalities involving goods vehicles had reduced each year under the scheme.
Safety technology, training and London rules
Logistics UK linked the fall in HGV collision casualties to a combination of safety investment, driver training and compliance with schemes such as the Direct Vision Standard.
The DVS applies to HGVs over 12 tonnes entering or operating in most of Greater London. It is based on how much a driver can see directly from the cab, rather than only through mirrors or cameras.
The London scheme has been tightened in stages. Since October 2024, lower-rated HGVs have had to meet Progressive Safe System requirements to obtain a safety permit.
However, the national DfT figures do not attribute the reduction in HGV collision casualties to one specific cause. They show the trend, while Logistics UK is arguing that operator investment and regulatory changes have contributed to it.
That distinction is important because road casualty figures can be affected by several factors, including traffic levels, reporting changes, vehicle technology, enforcement, road design and changes in travel behaviour.
Wider road safety picture remains mixed
The wider provisional DfT data for 2025 is less straightforward.
According to the department, there were an estimated 1,556 fatalities in reported road collisions in Great Britain in 2025, down 3% compared with 2024. However, the number of killed or seriously injured casualties rose by 4% to 29,911.
Casualties of all severities were broadly unchanged at 127,870.
The DfT also said road casualty counts are affected by traffic levels, which have increased in recent years. On a rate basis, there were 4.5 fatalities per billion vehicle miles in 2025, down 5% year on year, while KSI casualties rose 2% to 86.4 per billion vehicle miles.
The figures are provisional and are based on police data supplied up to 11 May 2026. Final annual figures are due to be published in July.
The department also notes that road casualty statistics do not capture every incident. There is no obligation to report all personal injury collisions to the police, and non-fatal casualties are known to be under-reported.
Motorcyclist deaths rise again
The DfT figures also show different trends across road user groups.
Motorcycle user fatalities rose by 13% to 384 in 2025, marking the second consecutive annual increase. The DfT said it was too early to determine whether this represented a sustained upward trend or a short-term fluctuation.
Pedestrian fatalities fell by 9% to 372, while car occupant fatalities declined by 8% to 638. Pedal cyclist fatalities were down 1% to 81, although pedal cycle casualties of all severities rose by 10% to 16,027.
Goods vehicle occupant fatalities stood at 44 in 2025, down 10% on 2024 and 32% below the 2015 level, according to the DfT’s provisional road user figures.
The government’s Road Safety Strategy, published in January, sets a target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in reported road collisions by 65% by 2035, using a 2022–2024 baseline. It also aims to reduce child KSIs by 70% by 2030.
