Concerns as collision deaths increase
The number of people dying after road accidents across Gloucestershire has surged by more than 50 per cent in the last three years, according to official figures.
There were 26 fatalities linked to collisions in the county which were reported to the police last year, up from 21 two years ago and 17 in 2023.
Last year, there were also 280 serious injuries compared with 291 in 2024 and 365 in 2023. And a total of 838 slight injuries were caused by road accidents in 2025, with 1055 and 1085 in 2024 and 2023, respectively.
These figures were presented to councillors who scrutinised Gloucestershire’s road safety partnership.
Councillors expressed frustration during the environment scrutiny committee at Gloucestershire County Council’s over the lack of a focus on improving outcomes.
And Cllr Chris McFarling (G, Sedbury) said there was no plan in place to reduce the numbers and the success of safety measures are not being monitored.
He said infrastructure design in Sweden has helped reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents.
“Instead of expecting perfect human behaviour, Swedish road infrastructure is designed to be forgiving. Meaning when errors occur they don’t result in death or serious injury,” he said.
He went on to say “as that saying goes, a strategy is not a plan. We haven’t got a plan yet.
“A plan is not an action, we are still waiting for the action and an action is not an outcome.”
He said most importantly there needs to be monitoring of measures before and after measures are implemented and cited a case near Woolaston Primary School in the Forest of Dean.
A few thousand pounds was spent on road signs, chevrons and dragons teeth he said which were intended to slow motorists down, however, they were not effecive.
“When I then surveyed the speeds, nothing had changed,” he said.
“If you don’t monitor, then you don’t know. At the moment we are putting enforcement programmes in, which is great, because you think that is the best thing to do
“But you don’t know if it’s actually having a change.”
Strategic highways chief Roger Whyborn (LD, Benhall and Up Hatherley) said he agreed with much of what Cllr McFarling said.
And explained that the Government is changing the targets and the council believes their aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the road are realistic despite their resource constraints.
“Nobody in this room is going to promise to do everything that can be done,” he said. “But can we do enough to actually meet those targets?”
He went on to say that the introduction of the 20mph community safety schemes would help as speed is a contributing factor.
Deputy police and crime commissioner Nick Evans, who chairs the partnership, said they have a duty to do whatever they can to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the road to zero.
He said: “I can absolutely guarantee you, if we had 25 people die in any other way in the county, then, the police would be setting up gold groups, we’d be criticised in the media, rightly so, and there would be an expectation that something was done about it.
“But that sort of feel that, oh well, accidents happen… they don’t have to happen. Us as a system and road users as well have a duty to do whatever we can to get that number to zero.
“Yes, it’s tricky. It’s an ambition but there is no guarantee that that number of people have to die on our roads.
“I really want to make sure that I’m holding everybody in the road safety partnership to account for their efforts of driving those figures down.”
Jason Humm, transport and highways director, said the council is investing a significant amount of money in the community 20mph and safer roads scheme.
“The focus at the moment is we will continue to invest that significant capital We’ll see how that brings down the casualties.”
He also said to increase education and awareness around road safety they would need revenue funding.