To view the enhanced content on this page you need to have Javascript enabled and Flash Player version 9 or higher.
Follow this link to download the latest version of Flash player
Fatalaties by sex
Three times as many males die as females. This is partly a question of greater exposure but other research shows that, even per mile travelled, males are twice as likely to be involved in crashes as females.
Commentary: Professor Murray Mackay, Professor Emeritus of transport safety, at Birmingham University
Hour of the day | Male | Female | Unknown |
1 | 86 | 20 | 0 |
2 | 59 | 20 | 0 |
3 | 52 | 10 | 0 |
4 | 56 | 8 | 0 |
5 | 38 | 9 | 0 |
6 | 35 | 6 | 0 |
7 | 59 | 14 | 0 |
8 | 75 | 19 | 0 |
9 | 51 | 32 | 0 |
10 | 53 | 26 | 0 |
11 | 61 | 31 | 0 |
12 | 66 | 35 | 0 |
13 | 76 | 36 | 0 |
14 | 70 | 41 | 0 |
15 | 87 | 43 | 0 |
16 | 114 | 41 | 0 |
17 | 98 | 39 | 0 |
18 | 121 | 52 | 0 |
19 | 103 | 17 | 0 |
20 | 103 | 29 | 0 |
21 | 99 | 26 | 0 |
22 | 83 | 26 | 0 |
23 | 100 | 24 | 0 |
24 | 80 | 17 | 0 |
Fatalaties by age
New drivers aged between 17 and 25 stand out. Passing a driving test does not provide the necessary experience and judgments needed for today's busy roads. The hourly distribution has high numbers between 10pm and 2am, implying partying, drinking and lower levels of seat belt use.
Those aged 75 years and older comprise a surprisingly large segment - likely reflecting the greater vulnerability of the human frame as we age. The hourly distribution of the 75+ group is almost the opposite of the 17? to 25-year-old group - almost all in daylight hours.
Commentary: Professor Murray Mackay, Professor Emeritus of transport safety, at Birmingham University
Hour of the day | Under 17years old | 17-25 years old | 26-35 years old | 36-45 years old | 46-55 years old | 56-65 years old | 66-75 years old | 75 and older |
1 | 3 | 56 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
2 | 1 | 42 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
3 | 4 | 29 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
4 | 1 | 26 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
5 | 2 | 27 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
6 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
7 | 2 | 13 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
8 | 3 | 23 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 5 |
9 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
10 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 17 |
11 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 31 |
12 | 4 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 24 |
13 | 8 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 16 |
14 | 6 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 24 |
15 | 2 | 22 | 19 | 24 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 26 |
16 | 15 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 22 | 34 |
17 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 20 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 28 |
18 | 12 | 23 | 21 | 39 | 19 | 13 | 18 | 28 |
19 | 11 | 30 | 15 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 15 |
20 | 15 | 37 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 11 |
21 | 11 | 40 | 25 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 6 |
22 | 12 | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 5 |
23 | 4 | 49 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
24 | 4 | 48 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Fatalaties by weather
With 12% of deaths in the rain and 83% of deaths in fine weather that suggests that weather is not as big a factor as many think. Rain combined with darkness does show higher numbers of deaths.
Commentary: Professor Murray Mackay, Professor Emeritus of transport safety, at Birmingham University
Hour of the day | Fine | Rain | Snow | Fog | Other |
1 | 77 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
2 | 58 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
3 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
4 | 52 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
5 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
6 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
7 | 55 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
8 | 84 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
9 | 64 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
10 | 65 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
11 | 78 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
12 | 87 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
13 | 89 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
14 | 90 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
15 | 117 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
16 | 123 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
17 | 114 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
18 | 143 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
19 | 93 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
20 | 105 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
21 | 97 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
22 | 78 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
23 | 99 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
24 | 72 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Fatalaties by vehicle
One half are car occupants, mainly distributed between 3 pm and 1am. Contrast that with motorcycle riders where most fatalities are in daylight hours or the early evening. There are three times as many car occupant deaths as motorcycle riders but there are 20 times more cars than motorcycles. Riding a motorcycle is one of the most risky activities in modern life.
Pedestrian deaths are only 14% more than motorcyclist deaths. So, think of the differences in exposure. A surprising number of pedestrians are killed between 11 pm and 7 am. How many people are walking around in the middle of the night? And how many are sober?
Commentary: Professor Murray Mackay, Professor Emeritus of transport safety, at Birmingham University
Hour of the day | Bicycle | Motorbike | Car | Bus | Goods | Other | Pedestrian |
1 | 5 | 4 | 85 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
2 | 0 | 7 | 60 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
3 | 0 | 5 | 44 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
4 | 1 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 14 |
5 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
6 | 0 | 5 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
7 | 5 | 11 | 43 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 19 | 52 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 19 |
9 | 5 | 25 | 40 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 16 |
10 | 8 | 12 | 40 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 19 |
11 | 5 | 23 | 49 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 27 |
12 | 10 | 19 | 48 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 26 |
13 | 5 | 26 | 53 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 25 |
14 | 2 | 34 | 54 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 25 |
15 | 8 | 41 | 59 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 18 |
16 | 5 | 42 | 89 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 37 |
17 | 9 | 33 | 79 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 35 |
18 | 9 | 52 | 84 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 44 |
19 | 9 | 25 | 68 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 33 |
20 | 4 | 28 | 80 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 39 |
21 | 3 | 27 | 77 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 |
22 | 5 | 16 | 68 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 31 |
23 | 4 | 19 | 86 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 21 |
24 | 2 | 7 | 72 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
Fatalaties by day of the week
The hourly distribution for all groups shows the afternoon and evening commute as high frequency times, reflecting the high volumes of traffic.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday cover 50% of all deaths.
Saturday and Sunday show evening peaks related to the periods following likely pub drinking and parties. On Sunday there are peaks following likely lunchtime drinking.
Commentary: Professor Murray Mackay, Professor Emeritus of transport safety, at Birmingham University
Hour of the day | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
1 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 27 |
2 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 20 |
3 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 20 |
4 | 27 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
5 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 13 |
6 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 |
7 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 9 |
8 | 10 | 16 | 23 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 10 |
9 | 5 | 18 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 7 |
10 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 9 |
11 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 12 | 13 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 21 | 17 |
13 | 18 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 14 | 17 |
14 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 10 | 21 | 17 |
15 | 25 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 24 |
16 | 23 | 17 | 10 | 25 | 23 | 27 | 22 |
17 | 17 | 12 | 18 | 27 | 17 | 31 | 13 |
18 | 27 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 39 | 24 |
19 | 16 | 16 | 22 | 16 | 11 | 22 | 11 |
20 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 23 | 20 | 23 |
21 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 23 |
22 | 9 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
23 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 20 |
24 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 21 |
Fatalaties by road type
The low number of fatalities on motorways stands out. 30% on unclassified roads relates largely to urban streets which have not been classified.
The evening commuting hours stand out particularly on unclassified, C and B roads.
Commentary: Professor Murray Mackay, Professor Emeritus of transport safety, at Birmingham University
Hour of the day | Motorway | A road | B road | C road | Unclassified |
1 | 5 | 47 | 23 | 10 | 41 |
2 | 6 | 39 | 11 | 10 | 29 |
3 | 7 | 37 | 3 | 7 | 14 |
4 | 6 | 46 | 14 | 5 | 18 |
5 | 5 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 14 |
6 | 8 | 28 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
7 | 5 | 39 | 12 | 12 | 27 |
8 | 9 | 61 | 11 | 15 | 33 |
9 | 5 | 44 | 15 | 19 | 36 |
10 | 3 | 51 | 12 | 9 | 32 |
11 | 4 | 48 | 14 | 9 | 49 |
12 | 0 | 65 | 15 | 10 | 48 |
13 | 8 | 62 | 17 | 12 | 52 |
14 | 7 | 66 | 19 | 11 | 42 |
15 | 10 | 84 | 22 | 12 | 43 |
16 | 4 | 83 | 29 | 19 | 76 |
17 | 6 | 72 | 27 | 15 | 66 |
18 | 8 | 105 | 38 | 20 | 74 |
19 | 5 | 66 | 16 | 19 | 44 |
20 | 12 | 69 | 23 | 15 | 51 |
21 | 8 | 79 | 16 | 6 | 41 |
22 | 8 | 48 | 16 | 7 | 47 |
23 | 5 | 72 | 22 | 13 | 49 |
24 | 4 | 47 | 16 | 13 | 35 |
Did you find this interactive graphic useful? How could it be improved? Tell us
here.
Bookmark with:
What are these?