New government data has revealed significant disparities in child road casualties across England based on deprivation levels. Analysis by the Department for Transport found that more than 20% of child pedestrians killed or injured lived in the most deprived 10% of postcodes, while only 4% came from the least deprived areas. This disparity has widened over the past decade, raising concerns among road safety advocates.
The broader figures for Great Britain showed that 29,918 people were killed or seriously injured on roads in 2025, with 2,432 casualties under age 16. This represented a 3% increase compared to the 2022-24 average, though fatalities declined 4% to 1,538 overall. The data highlighted strong correlations between deprivation and casualties for pedestrians and bus users, though the relationship was less pronounced for car occupants.
Analysts noted that car occupants in wealthier areas have higher mileage exposure, which suggests that residents of deprived areas actually face elevated risk even accounting for lower vehicle use. Motorcycle-related fatalities showed a notable 14% increase, rising from 325 deaths in 2024 to 372 in 2025, prompting calls for targeted safety improvements. Additionally, speeding was identified as a factor in 52% of recorded deaths, and more than three-quarters of those killed were male.
Road safety campaigners emphasized that reducing inequalities must be central to any effective strategy. The Department for Transport stated its road safety strategy aims to address elevated risks in deprived communities and pledged to monitor the approach’s impact across different income groups to ensure fairness.
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