The latest STATS19 road collision data reveals a stubbornly high toll of deaths and injuries among pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists involved in crashes with vehicles typically used in construction.
While there has been an 11% drop in total casualties over five years, serious injuries and fatalities remain alarmingly high. In 2023 alone:
- 4,908 vulnerable road users (VRUs) were killed or injured in collisions with construction-type goods vehicles.
- 1,612 suffered serious injuries, and 169 lost their lives.
Over the past five years, 900 people have died—that’s one life lost nearly every day.
Despite HGVs making up just 1.3% of UK traffic, they are involved in 9.4% of all VRU fatalities. When combined with LGVs, that number jumps to over 20% of all VRU deaths—a disproportionate risk that cannot be ignored.
Back in 2018, the number killed or injured was over 5,500 so there has been progress, just not enough.