Reported road casualties Great Britain: fatal 4 - speed factsheet, 2023
Updated 28 November 2024
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1. About this release
This factsheet gives an overview and key statistics on collisions related to the speed component of the fatal 4 in Great Britain as reported by or to the police from 2014 onwards. Details on the fatal 4 can be found in the overall fatal 4 factsheet.
The results presented in this factsheet are based on analysis of road safety factors recorded by police officers attending a collision. As road safety factors have only been introduced for some police forces during 2023 the bulk of this data is based on mapping of data recorded in the old contributory factors system to road safety factors. Analysis of this change can found in the road safety factors: initial analysis report.
2. Main findings
This factsheet illustrates the numbers and trends in fatal collisions involving at least one speed related factor, based on data to 2023. The figures, based on collisions with at least one contributing factor recorded, show that more than half (56%) of fatal collisions in 2023 had at least one speed related factor assigned.
This analysis show that speed related fatal collisions:
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were more likely to occur on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
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were more likely to occur during evenings and overnight
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mostly involved male drivers and those aged between 17 and 34
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were most common for cars and motorcycles
3. Things you need to know
Information about data sources, strengths and limitations can be found in the overall fatal 4 factsheet.
Contributory factors are based on the opinions of the reporting officer within a short time of the collision, and not the results of detailed investigation.
For this factsheet speed is defined using the following three road safety factors (RSFs):
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driver or rider exceeding speed limit
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driver or rider travelling too fast for conditions (including loss of control or swerving)
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driver or rider being aggressive, dangerous or reckless
The RSF system defines several other factors in the overall speed category, such as “vehicle used in course of crime” and “driver or rider moving too slowly for conditions” these have not been included here as they are not representative of how speed is typically defined in the fatal 4 system.
Speed and speeding are not interchangeable terms. In this factsheet speed refers to the RSFs defined above. While speeding refers specifically to the act of travelling too fast/above the speed limit. Where appropriate, the charts and tables in this factsheet include breakdowns between the different speed factors.
As the number of fatal collisions each year is relatively small, in the following sections we have often grouped the latest 5 years of data to show patterns more clearly.
4. Overall summary
Table 1 shows that more than half of fatal collisions in 2023 were assigned at least one speed related factor (56%). Specifically, 809 of 1,441 fatal collisions with at least one factor assigned[footnote 1] were assigned a speed factor
If different speed factors were assigned to one collision, then the collision is counted in more than one category for the calculation of the overall number of speed collisions in Table 1 – and so the total percent below adds to greater than 56%.
Table 1: Number and percent of reported fatal collisions involving speed related factors, Great Britain: 2023
| Factor | Number of collisions | Percent of collisions (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Driver or rider exceeding speed limit | 304 | 21.1 |
| Driver or rider travelling too fast for conditions (including loss of control or swerving) | 424 | 29.4 |
| Driver or rider being aggressive, dangerous or reckless | 401 | 27.8 |
| At least one speed related factor | 809 | 56.1 |
5. Collision circumstances
In this section, trends for collisions with at least one speed related factor are shown. These are presented both for collisions with at least one speed factor and for each factor individually.
5.1 Trends
Chart 1 shows that the overall number of speed related collisions fell slightly each year from 2014 to 2019 and sharply in 2020 which was associated with the COVID-19 pandemic period. The subsequent increase represents a return to pre-pandemic levels. The overall number of speed related fatal collisions fell only slightly during the COVID-19 pandemic. 2023 represents little change in the overall number of speed related collisions from 2022.
Of the individual factors travelling too fast for conditions has fallen substantially over the last 10 years, from 625 fatal collisions in 2014 to 424 in 2023. Exceeding the speed limit and aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving have both slightly increased over the same period.
Chart 1: Number of fatal collisions with at least one speed related factor by factor and year, Great Britain: 2014 to 2023
5.2 Monthly breakdown
Chart 2 shows that a higher percentage of speed related fatal collisions occurred in the summer months (especially in July) than in other months. This pattern is similar across all of the different speed related factors.
Chart 2: Percentage of fatal collisions in each month: speed related collisions, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
5.3 Day of the week
Chart 3 shows fatal collisions assigned the travelling too fast for conditions and exceeding speed limit factors occurred more frequently on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, whilst fatal collisions assigned the aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving factor occurred more frequently on Fridays and Saturdays.
Chart 3: Percentage of fatal collisions by day of week: speed related collisions, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
5.4 Hour of day
Chart 4 shows that a higher proportion of overall speed related fatal collisions occurred between 11am to midnight with a peak at 4pm. Within this collisions related to the exceeding speed limit factor occurred at a relatively higher rate between 5pm and 5am
Chart 4: Percentage of fatal collisions by hour of day: speed related collisions, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
5.5 Road type
Chart 5 shows that the majority of speed related collisions were recorded on rural roads. Collisions assigned the travelling too fast for conditions factor were proportionally even more likely to occur on rural roads or motorways than other speed related collisions, while a relatively higher proportion of collisions involving the exceeding speed limit factor occurred on urban roads.
Chart 5: Percentage of fatal collisions by type of road: speed related collisions, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
| Factor | Motorways | Rural | Urban | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At least one speed related factor | 4.6% | 62.1% | 33.3% | 100% |
| Exceeding speed limit | 3.8% | 48.7% | 47.5% | 100% |
| Travelling too fast for conditions | 5.3% | 70.3% | 24.4% | 100% |
| Aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving | 4.0% | 58.7% | 37.3% | 100% |
6. Vehicles and drivers involved
In this section, the characteristics of vehicles and drivers involved in fatal collisions are analysed by whether a speed related factor is assigned to the vehicle or driver.
HGV denotes heavy goods vehicles, over 3.5 tonnes. The van category includes light goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes maximum gross weight.
6.1 Vehicle type
Cars and motorcycles accounted for the majority of vehicles with speed factors that were involved in fatal collisions with 65% of all vehicles assigned at least one speed related factor being cars.
Across the different speed factors there is little difference in the proportion assigned by vehicle type. The only exception to this is the exceeding speed limit factor, which was more frequently assigned to motorcycles than the other factors, 30% of vehicles assigned the exceeding speed limit factor were motorcycles compared to 24% and 21% for the travelling too fast for conditions and aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving factors respectively.
Pedal cycles, HGVs were less frequently assigned the exceeding speed limit factor with 1% of vehicles assigned the exceeding the speed limit factor being HGVs and less than 1% being pedal cycles.
Chart 6: Distribution of vehicle types for fatal collisions with different speed related factors, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
Motorcycles in particular are over-represented among vehicles with a speed related factor (more than half of motorcycles involved in fatal collisions had a speed related factor assigned, compared to around a third of other vehicles). HGVs are under-represented with less than 1 in 10 HGVs involved in fatal collisions being assigned a speed related factor.
Chart 7: Percentage of vehicles in fatal collisions with different speed related factors assigned, by vehicle type, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023 (selected vehicle types only)
| Vehicle Type | At least one speed related factor | Exceeding speed limit | Travelling too fast for conditions | Aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 32.6% | 11.0% | 18.0% | 15.6% |
| HGV | 8.2% | 0.8% | 3.3% | 4.9% |
| Motorcycle | 56.0% | 23.0% | 30.9% | 22.8% |
| Pedal Cycle | 20.7% | 0.8% | 14.7% | 7.9% |
| Van | 20.9% | 4.6% | 9.6% | 12.0% |
| All Vehicles | 31.7% | 10.4% | 17.4% | 14.7% |
6.2 Driver age and sex
Chart 8 shows shows the majority of drivers or riders involved in fatal collisions assigned at least one speed related factor were male, with the proportion male drivers being even higher for the exceeding speed limit factor. Male drivers are more common in all fatal collisions, but the proportion of male drivers is even higher for collisions assigned at least one speed related factor.
Chart 8: Percentage of drivers or riders in fatal collisions, with different speed related factors by sex, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
| Factor | Female | Male | Not Traced | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At least one speed related factor | 11.8% | 86.0% | 2.3% | 100% |
| Exceeding speed limit | 5.9% | 90.7% | 3.4% | 100% |
| Travelling too fast for conditions | 13.2% | 85.5% | 1.3% | 100% |
| Aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving | 10.7% | 86.3% | 3.0% | 100% |
Chart 9 shows that the age group accounting for the largest proportion of drivers or riders with a speed factor assigned was 25 to 34 year olds, with 25% of all drivers or riders involved in fatal collisions with at least one speed factor being aged between 25 and 34 years old, closely followed by 17 to 24 year olds.
It should be noted that 17 to 24 is a narrower age band than 25 to 34 year olds and therefore may have less drivers and riders in it. The proportion of drivers or riders with a speed factor assigned decreases as age increases.
Chart 9: Distribution of driver or rider ages for fatal collisions with different speed related factors, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
7. Resulting fatalities
In this section, the figures presented relate to people killed in collisions involving at least one speed related factor. These fatalities may or may not not themselves have a factor associated with them.
7.1 Road user type and casualty class
Chart 10 shows the number of road users killed in collisions with a speed related factor. In speed related collisions, the highest proportion of fatalities were car occupants, with 53% of fatalities in collisions with at least one speed related factor assigned being car occupants, followed by motorcyclists (25%) and then pedestrians (13%).
Chart 10: Distribution of road user types for fatalities in collisions with different speed related factors 2019 to 2023
Considering fatalities by road user type, most car occupants, van occupants and motorcyclists were killed in speed related collisions. 67% of all car occupant fatalities occurred in collisions where at least one speed related factor was assigned, the corresponding value for motorcyclists was 68% and 52% for van occupants.
A smaller proportion of pedestrian and HGV occupant fatalities were in collisions assigned a speed related factor, 29% of pedestrian fatalities and 36% of HGV occupant fatalities occurred in collisions were at least one speed related factor was assigned.
Chart 11: Percentage of fatalities in collisions with different speed related factors assigned, by road user type, Great Britain 2019 to 2023 (selected road user types only)
| Vehicle Type | At least one speed related factor | Exceeding speed limit | Travelling too fast for conditions | Aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car Occupant | 67.4% | 21.2% | 43.1% | 30.0% |
| HGV Occupant | 36.0% | 4.0% | 25.3% | 8.0% |
| Motor Cyclist | 68.1% | 26.2% | 35.5% | 32.1% |
| Pedal Cyclist | 42.2% | 8.1% | 22.0% | 22.8% |
| Pedestrian | 29.0% | 13.3% | 8.9% | 15.9% |
| Van Occupant | 52.0% | 11.3% | 35.0% | 20.3% |
| All Vehicles | 55.5% | 18.7% | 31.2% | 26.0% |
Chart 12 shows that the majority of those killed in speed related collisions were drivers or riders with 68.5% of all fatalities in collisions involving at least one speed related factor being drivers or riders.
Chart 12: Percentage of fatalities by casualty class: in collisions with speed related factors assigned, Great Britain 2019 to 2023
| Factor | Driver or rider | Passenger | Pedestrian | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At least one speed related factor | 68.5% | 18.9% | 12.6% | 100% |
| Exceeding speed limit | 62.6% | 20.3% | 17.2% | 100% |
| Travelling too fast for conditions | 73.1% | 20.0% | 6.9% | 100% |
| Aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving | 65.3% | 19.9% | 14.8% | 100% |
7.2 Casualty age and sex
Chart 13 shows that, as with drivers, males accounted for the highest proportion of fatalities in speed related collisions. In many cases, but not always, those killed will be drivers with speed factors assigned.
The proportion of those killed that are female is higher than equivalent proportion of drivers or riders assigned a speed related factor (which is shown in Chart 8). This is because the fatal casualties are not necessarily the drivers or riders in fatal collisions.
Chart 13: Percentage of fatalities by sex: in collisions with speed related factors assigned, Great Britain 2019 to 2023
| Factor | Female | Male | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| At least one speed related factor | 22.1% | 77.9% | 100% |
| Exceeding speed limit | 18.2% | 81.8% | 100% |
| Travelling too fast for conditions | 23.1% | 76.9% | 100% |
| Aggressive, dangerous or reckless driving | 21.8% | 78.2% | 100% |
Chart 14 shows that the age groups accounting for the largest proportion of those killed in speed related collisions are those between 17 to 34 years old, 40% of all fatalities in collisions with at least one speed related factor assigned are in this age range (20% aged between 17 and 24 and 20% aged between 25 and 34). The proportion of fatalities that occur in each age band decreases as age increases.
Chart 14: Distribution of fatality ages for fatalities in collisions with different speed related factors, Great Britain 2019 to 2023
8. Background
8.1 Strengths and limitations
STATS19 data provides a long time series of data, collected by the police using agreed guidance and specification for fatalities.
Contributory factors are based on the opinions of the reporting officer within a short time of the collision, and not the results of detailed investigation. Therefore, factors are vulnerable to cognitive biases of the reporting officer, as they are assigned on the basis of individual judgment. More details on contributory factors are available in our guide to CFs.
This analysis is based on mapping from CFs recorded to RSFs. It may be that if RSFs were recorded directly then different factors would have been assigned. This particularly relates to the speed category, where the definition is wider than has previously been used.
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Statistics on collisions assigned a speed related factor are based on cases where an officer attended the scene and recorded at least one factor. In 2023, there were a total of 1,522 fatal collisions in Great Britain, of which 1,441 were attended by a police officer who recorded at least one contributory or road safety factor. ↩