Revealed: Lincolnshire is deadliest county for drivers in East Midlands

Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire had a total of 5,531 casualties and 129 fatalities in 2018 - Lincolnshire reporting the most fatalities with 56.

The East Midlands has experienced 163,666 casualties and 2,072 fatalities reported over the past decade, new research shows.

Police attendance to fatal road accidents has dropped by 8% since 2017.

Analysis by car specialist AMT of newly-released government data reveals the safest and most dangerous areas in England for casualties and deaths on the roads.

It shows that Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are the worst areas for traffic incidents in the East Midlands, with 6,120 casualties and 120 fatalities reported between them over the past year.

Despite this, the East Midlands was the second safest region for drivers overall last year, having reported 11,370 casualties and 196 fatalities in 2018.

Car casualties in the region are predicted to decrease in 2020 by 8.49%, dropping from 11,370 in 2018 to 10,404 in 2020. Fatalities are also expected to drop from 196 to 190.

Kent, Surrey and Lancashire are the worst counties in England overall, with 13,296 casualties and 120 fatalities reported in 2018.

Using brand new data from the Department for Transport, the analysis reveals that, despite car occupants accounting for the most road deaths (44%) in 2018, motorbikes remain the riskiest transport, with 16,818 casualties and 354 fatalities reported - a slight increase from 349 last year.

Meanwhile, 777 car occupants and 456 pedestrians were killed in 2018. Cyclist deaths saw a slight decrease compared to 2017 with 99 fatalities. Rural roads are the deadliest in England, having accounted for 58% of all fatalities in 2018.

Child pedestrians aged 15 and below are the most vulnerable in traffic collisions, with the number of fatalities reported over the last year showing a 27% increase compared to 2017. There were 1,276 serious injuries caused to child pedestrians reported in 2018 - equating to more than three per day.

Despite Road Traffic Forecasts predicting an increase of between 11% and 43% in traffic in all areas across the county before 2050, overall police attendance to road accidents has seen a steady decline of 8% over the past five years.

London has seen the most significant increase (0.97%) in road casualties over the past decade, while the North East has seen the most substantial reduction with 5.58%. The North East also reported the lowest number of casualties (82,111) and fatalities (696) over the last ten years.

Based on the average percentage change in the number of road incidents over the past ten years, there are set to be 2,891 fatalities and 138,092 casualties reported in England in 2020. This represents a 5.7% reduction in casualties and a 4.8% drop in fatalities compared to current figures.

This regional-level analysis is critical, as there are still more than 5,500 miles of road - 2% of Britain’s road network - with a total lack of mobile phone signal coverage, making it impossible to call for help.

For more information on reported car casualties and fatalities in England, please visit :here.