Ten year high for fatal car crashes on Peterborough roads in 2021

The number of fatal car crashes on Peterborough roads hit a 10 year high last year.

Government figures for the past decade showed that there were 10 fatal crashes in 2021, sadly resulting in 10 deaths.

The previous record for fatal crashes in Peterborough was seven in 2013, 2017 and 2019. In 2019, tragically, 12 people lost their lives in those collisions.

Now road safety charity Brake have called for action to ‘end the carnage’ on roads across the country.

Mary Williams OBE, chief executive of Brake, said: “The carnage on roads, that takes lives indiscriminately, devastates families, and causes appalling injuries, must end. No death or serious injury on roads is acceptable.

“We urge everyone to sign up to take part in Road Safety Week in November to raise awareness of the cause, shout out for safety on our streets, and get fundraising for Brake and our vital help for road crash victims’ families.”

The figures show that there are nine fatal or serious crashes on Peterborough roads per billion miles travelled – the highest rate in the East of England and one of the highest rates in the country. Cambridgeshire had a rate of seven fatal or serious crashes per billion miles travelled.

They also show that of the 10 people who died in 2021, seven were ‘car occupants,’ two were pedestrians and one was described as being an occupant in ‘another vehicle’ (no pedal cyclists, motorcyclists, heavy goods or light goods vehicle occupants or bus or coach passengers were killed according to the figures).

However, 18 pedestrians, 14 cyclists, 13 motorcyclists, 47 car occupants, one light vehicle occupant, two heavy goods vehicle occupants and six ‘other vehicle’ occupants were described as being killed or seriously injured in the statistics.

This year there have been a number of fatal crashes in and around Peterborough – including eight year-old Milan Radocz, who died with his mum Vivien when their car left the road and ended in a pond near Wittering, and brothers Luke (17) and Lewis (13) Smith, who died in a crash at Crowland Road.