A new report setting out the scale of road safety challenges in Nottingham has warned that further investment will be needed to reverse a recent rise in serious road injuries and meet new national targets.
The report, due to be considered by Nottingham City Council’s Homes, Economy and Infrastructure Scrutiny Committee on 16 March, outlines how casualty levels in the city have changed over several decades and what measures may be required to reduce them in future.
Nottingham City Council, as the local highway authority, has a statutory duty under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to promote road safety, analyse collision data, and implement measures such as education programmes, training and road improvements to reduce the likelihood of accidents.
The council’s road safety team currently includes five investigators – one post of which is vacant – alongside education officers and a service manager responsible for strategy and oversight. Officers analyse police collision data, investigate serious incidents and oversee safety improvement schemes across the city. The report states that current staffing levels are effectively the minimum required to meet the council’s statutory obligations.
The data used to guide road safety work comes from the national STATS19 collision reporting system, which records injury incidents reported to the police. While this dataset has been collected consistently for around 50 years, the report notes that some injuries, particularly minor ones, are under-reported and cannot be included in the council’s analysis unless they are formally recorded by police.
Historical figures show that the number of casualties on Nottingham’s roads fell significantly between the early 1980s and the 2000s. According to the report, total casualties are now around half the level recorded in the early 1980s and about one third lower than the peak seen in 1990. Much of that reduction followed substantial investment in road safety during the 1990s and early 2000s.
However, the trend has begun to change in recent years. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, investment in road safety measures declined. The report says that as the effects of earlier programmes diminished, casualty reductions levelled out and recent data now indicates an upward trend in serious incidents.
Figures for 2024 show that 762 collisions resulting in injury were reported in Nottingham. Cars were involved in 609 of those incidents, accounting for about 80 per cent of collisions, although occupants of cars represent less than 40 per cent of casualties because of modern vehicle safety features.
More vulnerable road users are more likely to suffer serious injury. Pedestrians were involved in around 24 per cent of collisions and accounted for 33 per cent of fatalities and 28 per cent of serious injuries. Cyclists were involved in 18 per cent of collisions and represented 20 per cent of serious injuries. Motorcyclists were identified as the most vulnerable group, with a disproportionately high rate of fatal and serious injuries relative to the number of incidents they were involved in.
Police analysis suggests that around 24 per cent of people killed or seriously injured in 2024 were involved in incidents linked to speeding or reckless driving, while about 14 per cent involved alcohol or drugs. These factors form part of the so-called “Fatal Five” causes of serious collisions, which also include mobile phone use and not wearing a seatbelt.
The report also highlights emerging challenges linked to changing travel patterns. For example, the national STATS19 reporting system has not historically captured detailed data on vehicles such as e-scooters, although the council believes these may have been involved in around 22 per cent of fatalities. The reporting system is being updated from 2025 to better capture this information.
In January 2026 the Government published a new national road safety strategy which aims to cut the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads by 65 per cent by 2034, compared with the 2022–24 baseline average. The target includes a 70 per cent reduction in child casualties.
Local figures show that Nottingham has seen a 13 per cent increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured compared with pre-Covid levels, meaning the city will need to reverse the recent upward trend before it can begin reducing casualty numbers in line with the national target.
In response, the council has produced a draft Road Safety Strategy which sets out a long-term vision for zero deaths on Nottingham’s roads by 2050. The strategy emphasises a “Safe Systems” approach combining education, enforcement and improved road design, alongside collaboration with organisations such as Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and National Highways.
The council also works through the Nottinghamshire Road Safety Partnership, which meets quarterly to coordinate activities across the county. NHS organisations are also beginning to examine the impact of road injuries on health services, and the East Midlands Combined County Authority has recently established its own road safety group.
Current road safety work in Nottingham includes analysing collision data to identify high-risk locations, delivering improvement schemes on roads with the highest injury rates, and responding to concerns raised by residents about safety near schools and other local areas.
Education programmes have increasingly focused on primary school children, who are considered most receptive to road safety training. These programmes include general road safety awareness and cycle training, intended to help young people develop skills that will support safer travel throughout their lives.
Looking ahead, the report warns that significant funding will be required if Nottingham is to meet national casualty reduction targets. Government analysis suggests that spending up to £396,000 to prevent a single fatal or serious injury collision delivers a net public benefit.
Council officers estimate that reversing the current upward trend and meeting national targets could require between £40 million and £50 million of capital investment over the next eight years for infrastructure improvements, alongside a further £4 million to £5 million in revenue funding for education and equipment maintenance. Additional staffing capacity would also be needed to expand the road safety programme.
Current funding allocations total around £14 million of capital investment over the next five years, which the report suggests may be sufficient to stabilise the situation and achieve a modest reduction in serious injuries. However, the level of investment required to meet the national targets remains uncertain and will depend on future funding decisions.
Councillors will consider the findings as part of the scrutiny committee meeting, where the report will be examined as part of ongoing work to improve road safety across the city.
