Number of serious accidents on Rotherham's roads falls

South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership has published its annual crash statistics, which showed the overall number of collisions was slightly down across the county but those where people were hurt had seen a “significant” increase.

There were 126 accidents in Rotherham in 2017 involving serious injury or death — down by one from last year — while the he total number of collisions fell almost ten per cent to 728.

Chief Insp Russell Hughes, who heads up South Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing Group, said: “When serious collisions occur my team are always on scene, and there are certain contributing factors, often illegal behaviours, that we see time and time again.

“We continue to see people using their mobile phones while driving and my officers have also been using their roadside testing kits on drivers they suspect are under the influence of drugs.

“We cannot stress enough how dangerous these driving behaviours are. 

“Being involved in a crash because you are distracted, or in an unfit state to drive, will have lasting, maybe even fatal, consequences for you, your family and the others involved.”

People in cars and pedestrians were most likely to be injured, followed by motor-cyclists and pedal cyclists.

The number of casualties reported across South Yorkshire — including minor injuries has dropped below 4,000 for the first time.

SYSRP said a drop in injuries among younger people could be put down to people taking their driving test at a higher age.

The overall increase in injuries has been linked to a recently-adopted recording system used by South Yorkshire Police called CRASH, which standardised the way in which serious injuries are categorised.

Supt Simon Wanless, chair of SYSRP, said: “It is possible that casualty statistics have been artificially low in previous years, as before now it was at the discretion of the officer attending a collision to assess the level of injury,” he said.

“While we are concerned about the increase in these numbers, we are confident that the figures are more reflective of the reality in South Yorkshire, and give us better information to help target and improve the effectiveness of our education and enforcement activities.”

Joanne Wehrle, safer roads manager at SYSRP, which offers training and education on road safety, said: “The data and anecdotal feedback from the police and the community makes it clear that we still have a great deal of work to do.

“Road users can do a lot to help and protect themselves by abiding by some key rules — drive to the conditions of the road and don’t speed, never use a phone while at the wheel, don’t drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs and always ensure you and your passengers wear a seatbelt.”