Road Safety Week 2024: ‘Every road victim deserves the very highest standard of support’ 

According to the road safety charity Brake, 1,695 people died on UK roads in 2023, and 28,967 were seriously injured. Road deaths and serious injuries show no significant signs of reduction. 

The charity said that every road victim deserves the very highest standard of support, as it reveals that its National Road Victim Service supported more than 1,500 families last year. 

Brake also calls on the government to support a new road victims’ charter, which demands essential action for road victims. 

79% of people surveyed think families bereaved or seriously injured from a road crash should be able to access the same level of support as families of homicide victims. 

More than 3,500 educators, employers and emergency services have signed up to take part in Road Safety Week 2024, which takes place between 17th and 23rd November. Together they represent more than four million people.

Road victims’ charter 

To mark the start of Road Safety Week, the charity’s biggest annual road safety campaign, Brake is launching a new road victims’ charter, demanding essential actions to ensure all those affected by road crashes receive the respect, support, and justice they deserve.  

The charter includes a call for the government to establish national standards in post-crash response, and commit to extending the rights set out in the victims’ code to those impacted by road harm, regardless of where they live or whether a crime has occurred. 

The road victims’ charter has been written in collaboration with bereaved families, trauma consultants, support staff and professionals from across the criminal justice and medical sectors.  

It has been launched at a drop-in event for MPs in Westminster on Monday 18th November at 3 pm.  

No significant reduction in number of road deaths 

Road deaths and serious injuries show no significant signs of reduction for more than five years, the charity confirmed. 

The latest government road casualty statistics show that in 2023, 1,695 people died on UK roads (1,624 in Britain and 71 in Northern Ireland). A further 28,967 were seriously injured (28,087 in Britain, 880 in NI). 

Brake has now revealed that over the same period in 2023, the charity’s National Road Victim Service provided specialist emotional and practical support to more than 1,500 families across the UK, helping them cope with their grief and navigate the complex procedures that often follow a road crash, with numbers already set to be even higher in 2024. 

Ross Moorlock, chief executive at Brake, said: “Road casualties are not just statistics. Behind every number is a grief-stricken family whose lives have been changed forever in an instant. 

“The demand on our service continues to grow as road deaths and injuries show no sign of reducing. Every year, more families suffer the devastating impact of a road crash. Every year, more and more families come to us in their darkest and most difficult times. 

“By comparison, at a government level, funding for support for road victims is inadequate – so we and other charities that care for bereaved and seriously injured families rely on the generosity of other supporters to fund our vital work. We know that the right support at the right time can change the course of someone’s life. 

“Road victims have been the forgotten and neglected victims for far too long and that has to change.” 

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