Increase in fatal road accidents in Swindon

The Department for Transport’s latest provisional figures have revealed that more people were injured or killed on Wiltshire’s roads last year.

The number of deaths in Wiltshire was 23 in 2021, while only 19 people were killed on the county’s roads in 2020.

While 2020-2021 saw a significant drop in road accidents due to COVID-19, as more drivers get back onto the roads the number of crashes has sadly increased with a 7% rise in road deaths.

Between 2019 and 2020, Wiltshire saw the fourth-highest number of road accidents in South West England, with 670 collisions in the county. Of these, 291 occurred in Swindon alone.

Improving road safety in Swindon

Last year, Swindon Borough Council published its updated Road Safety Strategy for 2021-23 to try and reduce the number of road accidents in Swindon and its surrounding areas. The Strategy includes 5 ‘Pillars of Action’:

1. Safe Roads and Roadsides: improving existing road, pedestrian and cycle infrastructure.
2. Safe Road Users: educating and training road users and ensuring the rules are enforced.
3. Safe Speeds: reviewing speed limits to ensure they are suitable for the roads and improving speeding education and law enforcement.
4. Safe Vehicles: promoting safer, newer vehicles (including Council vehicles).
5. Post-Crash Response: making sure accidents can be responded to quickly and working with emergency services to improve the response process.

How Novum Law can help

Anna Cole is a specialist personal injury solicitor with over 25 years of experience in helping people injured in serious road accidents. She is based in our Swindon team and says:

“Swindon is a town famed for its transport connections, from railways to roundabouts, but it’s worrying to see a rise in accidents on our roads.

“Whether we are pedestrians, cyclists, drivers or bus passengers, we are all road users, so road safety is vitally important. As personal injury lawyers, we see every day the devastating impact crashes can have on people’s lives. One severe injury or tragic death is one too many.

“We welcome Swindon’s updated Road Safety Strategy to tackle the issue – particularly when it comes to improving driver education and ensuring the road safety rules are enforced.”

If you or a loved one has been involved in a road accident that wasn’t your fault, you may be able to claim compensation. Novum Law’s team of expert personal injury solicitors can help you on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis. To find out more, simply call us on Freephone on 0800 884 0777, email info@novumlaw.com or complete our online form for a free, no-obligation chat about how we can secure you the support you need to move forwards.