RoSPA

Accident Statistics - Brief Overview January 2007

Road
In 2005, in Great Britain, there were a total of 271,017 road accident casualties.
Of these, 3,201 were fatalities and 28,954 were serious injuries.
Source: Road Casualties Great Britain: 2005, Annual Report DfT.

Railway
In Great Britain during 2005 there was a total of 5,172 casualties from train
accidents, accidents through the movement of railway vehicles and accidents on
railway premises.

Fatalities

4,807
Fatalities - Trespassers & suicides

Serious Injury

Minor Injury
332 280 127
33 Injuries - Trespassers & suicides

Source: Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006 Edition

Air
During 2005 there were a total of 105 casualties caused by aviation accidents in
UK airspace. Of these there were 27 fatalities. Seventy casualties were caused
by UK registered aircraft in UK airspace, of which 25 were fatalities. 35
casualties were caused by foreign aircraft in UK airspace, of which there were 2
fatalities.
Source: Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006 Edition
 Occupational
During 2005/2006 injuries reported to HSE under RIDDOR (provisional figures
for GB) were as follows:

EMPLOYEES SELF-EMPLOYED TOTAL WORKERS

Fatal 160 52 212
Non-fatal major injuries 28,605 1,251 29,856
Over-3-day injuries 117,471 1,174 118,645
Total 146,236 2,477 148,713

There were also 384 fatalities and 15,374 non-fatal injuries to members of the
public (these provisional figures also include casualties caused on the railways
and in educational establishments).
Source: Health & Safety Statistics 2005/06, Health & Safety Commission

Schools & Children

Accidents in schools are reported to HSE under RIDDOR. Pupils/students are
classed as members of the public, which includes all age groups. There were a
total 4 fatalities and 8,367 non-fatal injuries recorded during 2005/2006. As a
comparison, injuries to non-employed children under the age of 16 in all
industries were a total of 20 fatalities and 5,440 non-fatal injuries.

Members of the public at 20

6,000 school 18
5,000 16
14
4,000 Non-employed children
12
under 16 years old in all
3,000 10
industries
8
2,000 Employees in schools 6
4
1,000 2
0 0
Fatal
Non-fatal

Source: Health & Safety Statistics 2005/06, Health & Safety Commission
Home and Leisure
In England and Wales in 2004, the figure for accidental deaths in and around the
home was 3,892.
Source: Mortality Statistics: Injury and Poisoning: Series DH4 No. 29. England and Wales 2004. ONS

The 2002 UK national estimates for home and leisure accidents by activity are as
follows:

HASS LASS TOTAL

Household activity 216,234 4,941 221,175
DIY/Maintenance 218,510 15,785 234,295
Shopping 1,968 65,395 67,363
Education/training 595 167,403 167,998
Sport (excluding education) 16,790 693,228 710,018
Play/hobby/leisure 569,470 638,944 1,208,414
Basic needs 758,008 206,845 964,853
Traveling/touring 44,465 436,199 480,664
Other/unspecified activity 875,309 647,575 1,522,884
TOTAL 2,701,347 2,876,314 5,577,661
Source: Home Accident Surveillance System including Leisure Activities Final Report 2002 Data. Due to the
withdrawal of Government funding the latest statistics available are for 2002.

Water
The 2002* national estimate for accidents (non-fatal) in water sports is 21,935
and in 2003 there were 381** drownings recorded.
* Source: Home Accident Surveillance System including Leisure Activities Final Report. 2002 Data latest
available data;
** Source: RoSPA drowning Statistics. These figures are still subject to revision.

Fire
In 2004 fire brigades attended nearly 900,000 fires or false alarms in the UK. The
total number of actual fires was 442,700. There were 508 fire-related deaths and
14,600 nonfatal casualties. Fires in dwellings totalled 59,700 of which 47,800
were classed as accidental. The main causes were: misuse of
equipment/appliances, 17,200; and chip pan fires, 7,400.
Source: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Fire Statistics United Kingdom 2004.