By Johnny Sharp

On the face of it, the figures are concerning enough: every year, around 1,700 people die on the UK’s roads. Nearly 30,000 suffered serious injuries in 2023.

But there are other victims of collisions on the roads, and these are referred to as: ‘The forgotten victims’. Affected by road tragedies in some form or another, the impact on them is also seismic and their suffering continues long after the event.

“Road casualties are not just statistics. Behind every number is a family in turmoil. A grief-stricken family trying to navigate its way through the complex procedures that often follow a road [collision]. Behind every number is a family whose lives have been changed forever in an instant,” says Ross Moorlock of the road safety charity Brake. “[Yet] they are treated very differently to other victim groups.” 

He explains: “If we look at, for instance, a family who have suffered a murder or manslaughter and lost a loved one in those circumstances, the response and support available to them can be very different.

“Support for murder and manslaughter victims is annually funded into the millions of pounds by the [UK] government, and rightly so. Road victim support provision currently has no national government funding whatsoever across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

Image: Ross Moorlock, Chief Executive Officer, Brake; credit: Brake.

An important focus for Brake

This ongoing neglect is one reason why this year’s Road Safety Week theme is ‘After the crash, every road victim counts’. While previous editions of the annual campaign have focused on themes such as ‘Let’s talk about speed’ and ‘Safe roads for all’, this year’s event looks at the wider impact of collisions on our roads, with the need to help the people affected by them.

“Brake has been running Road Safety Week for many years,” says Moorlock, “This is the first time we’ve really put road victims front and centre. 

“Five people die on the UK’s roads every day, and then [around] 15 times that number suffer serious and life-changing injuries. If we were seeing those sort of deaths and injuries in the air or rail network, the planes would be grounded, the trains would be stopped, and they wouldn’t start again until we had measures in place to ensure these [collisions] weren’t going to happen again. It’s simply unacceptable to me that road death and injury has become almost normalised and accepted by large parts of society. This has to change.

“My view is that until we stand up and say, ‘Hang on a second, this isn’t good enough’, then it’s going to be difficult to see the levels of change that are necessary to stop these needless deaths and injuries.”

Fundraising initiatives happening in the week include the Brake 5 Challenge. The idea is for individuals to walk, run, or wheel their way to completing 5km a day for seven days during the week (17-23 November). The goal for each participant is to raise £105 towards helping save lives on UK’s roads. 

Businesses, workplaces and groups of friends can also get in on the act, aiming for a more ambitious target. Brake is inviting teams to cover 50km collectively, and recommending a fundraising target of £1,683, in recognition of the 1,683 people who die on UK roads every year (on average between 2014 and 2023).

“These events give us the opportunity to raise awareness of road safety and the fundamental issues surrounding it,” concludes Moorlock. “And through our Road Victims’ Charter, we'll be calling on the new government to provide sustainable funding and parity of care for road victims and their families, whoever they are, wherever they live, and whether or not a crime has occurred.”

Get involved by visiting Brake.

Discover how CIHT is working to improve road safety across the highways and transportation sector.

Newsletter image: closed road sign with police car blocking road; credit: Shutterstock.