Twice as many people killed on Sheffield roads

Figures released by South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership yesterday show that fatalities in Sheffield increased 87.5 per cent last year, from eight to 15.

Sheffield mirrored the picture for South Yorkshire, which saw fatalities soar from 26 to 49 in 2015 – 88.5 per cent – despite a decrease in the overall number of casualties.

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings said he was disappointed by the figures. He said: “The increase in the number of fatal casualties is disappointing, especially as the number of casualties overall has reduced. We are puzzled about the increase. It could just be statistics, but we will be examining the figures.”

Joanne Wehrle, of the Safer Roads Partnership, said the main causes of fatal road accidents are speed, not driving to the road conditions, driver behaviour such as using a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

She said: “Although fewer people were injured last year compared to 2014, we were very disappointed to see that the number of people who were killed actually rose. A total of 49 people of all ages lost their lives as the result of road traffic collisions across the county – 23 more than in 2014.

“This is extremely sad because any fatality is one too many and they leave a trail of devastation for family and friends left behind.”

Last year saw a total of 4,401 casualties arising from 3,066 collisions on the roads in South Yorkshire – a drop of 3.4 percent.

Car occupants accounted for 34 per cent of all casualties, pedestrians were 29 per cent, motorcyclists were 24 per cent and cyclists were 11 per cent. The number of pedestrian casualties dropped by 7.5 per cent to 570. However, the number of pedestrians getting killed increased by two to 11.

There was a decrease in the number of children and young people killed or seriously injured in South Yorkshire in 2015. A total of 74 were seriously injured and four were killed.