Shropshire death crash figure down by 30pc

There has been a major drop in the number of fatal car crashes on Shropshire’s roads in the past five years, new figures have revealed.

The number of deaths from such incidents in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin was down by 30 per cent last year from 2006-07. But despite the overall trend, last year did see an increase in the number of major accidents compared to the previous 12 months across the wider West Mercia area.

According to statistics from the Safer Roads Partnership, fatal accidents on county roads have dropped from 27 to 19 over the past five years.

There has also been a 13.5 per cent reduction in serious injuries in the same period, dropping from 179 to 155 by 2011/12. And the number of slight injuries caused to drivers and passengers in road accidents has also fallen by 16.5 per cent – going from 1,493 to 1,248.

The figures are part of a wider trend across the West Mercia Police area, where the number of deaths from crashes fell from 72 to 49 across the five-year period – a 32 per cent drop.

A report to the West Mercia Police Authority said: “During 2011/12 there were 422 fatal and serious road traffic casualties in the West Mercia region.

“This is an increase of 10 per cent compared to 2010/11, but is significantly lower than the number of casualties recorded in previous years. Analysis to understand this is still ongoing.”

A number of different road safety campaigns have been running across the county in the past year, including one focused on young drivers aged between 17 and 24 and another raising awareness of the dangers of getting behind the wheel after taking drinks or drugs.