The government has published a report on road casualties in 2019, which show that 1748 people lost their lives on UK roads that year, down 2%. Overall the level of road casualties was down 5% compared to 2018, which is good news. However, older drivers, bus travellers and pedestrians seem to be involved in more serious road incidents, with a 6% rise in fatal accidents for the over 60s age group.
To be fair, there was a 22% rise in fatalties in the lorry and goods van category, and pedestrians overall saw a 1% increase. But bus and coach fatalities rose by 13% in 2019, and often it is a disproportionately older group of people using buses and coaches, outside of commuting hours. Overall in 2019 the over 60s age group accounted for 2% more of the population as the post-war baby boomers of the 50s reach that landmark birthday, so the UK will have to cope with older drivers on th roads, and using public transport, as many continue to work up to the age of 67 or 68, before being able to claim a meagre state pension.
As regards bus and coach fatalities, a Google search for deaths in 2019 revealed that the majority of fatalities in serious bus crashes – where the bus impacted with another vehicle or solid object – were the drivers. The cab area needs lots of glass for visibility of course, plus a ticket/pass scanning machine located there too, but why multi-airbag systems are NOT required by law inside the bus cab is a mystery.
The number of motor injury cases dealt with by the CRU – Compensatory Recovery Unit – rose slightly to 660,608 in 2019, which suggests that more drivers, riders and pedestrians made claims for benefits following a road accident.
IE Comment:
Insurers would do well to note that older people are being required to work in many cases and this will inevitably lead to more car use, and perhaps some cycling to work. Those in the publoc sector who are lucky enough to retire on generous pensions at 60, or earlier, also have the leisure time to use the roads more. Many will choose to buy a campervan or caravan to ensure they have a socially distant holiday this year and in 2021.
There is a great opportunity to sell cover to the over 60s and in general the risk is low, given slower speeds, more driving experience, NCD rates etc. But the effect of a fall from a bike, or a car crash can be much greater in terms of long lasting, or life-changing injuries and this cost needs to be factored in. Especially as the NHS seems to be switching to more remote, online service.
Fact is, many older people will need more hands-on aftercare, and specialised rehab, following an accident. If the NHS isn’t interested, then offering private healthcare treatment plans may be a better optional extra on some car policies than hard-selling protected NCD.
OLDER POPULATION MEANS MORE OLDER CASUALTIES
The same pattern can be seen in the Netherlands, where road accident stats have recently been published by the government.
Over the past two decades, the number of road fatalities among motorists and cyclists decreased in almost all age categories, except for cyclists over the age of 70. In this age group, the number of fatal accidents increased by a massive 68 percent between 1999 and 2019, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday.
Various factors played a role in the major increase in fatal accidents among elderly cyclists, according to the stats office. The composition of the Netherlands population changed between 1999 and 2019, with the population aging significantly. The number of people over the age of 70 increased from nearly 1.5 million in early 1999 to over 2.3 million in early 2019, an increase of 56 percent.
Older Dutch people have also become more active and mobile. Over the past two decades, both the average number of car kilometers and bicycle kilometers covered by this age group increased.
RAC COMMENT ON UK STATS
Responding to the Department for Transport’s publication of the provisional road casualty data for 2019, RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: ““While these latest road safety statistics show some progress was made in 2019, they also highlight that over a 10-year period safety on our roads has sadly improved very little. Of particular concern is the steady rise in fatalities of those aged 60 and over.
“We urge the Government to look closely at re-introducing road safety targets and study the correlation between the decline in full-time road traffic police officers and the impact this may have on driver behaviour. We also hope that changes announced this week to protect vulnerable road users will prove beneficial in the future.”
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