Road casualties in the UK from accidents during 2008 have dropped compared to the previous year according to statistics published by the UK Department for Transport (UKDOT).

The report shows that the number of people killed on UK roads has fallen by 14% from 2,946 in 2007 to 2,538 in 2008 with 231,000 road casualties in Great Britain in 2008 – 7% less than in 2007.

The report also says that the people killed or seriously injured was 40% below the 1994-98 average and the child causalities were 59% lower while the slight casualty rate was 36% below the 1994-98 average.

Motorist’s causalities where reduced by 12% over the previous year and child casualties fell by 8% while the number of children killed or seriously injured in 2008 was 2,807.

Of the total causalities, 1,784 were pedestrians, 6% down on 2007 and 124 children died on the roads, which is 2% higher than in the previous year.

The road safety strategy and targets for reducing casualties by 2010 set in 2000 involves 40% reduction in the number of road causalities compared with the average for 1994-98, 50% cut in child deaths or injuries and 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate.

In addition, the government proposed a new post-2010 road safety strategy entitled A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain’s Roads the Safest in The World.