- People are more likely to die due to an accident in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK – the rate of accidental death is up 57% over the last decade
- Fatalities on Scottish roads are 46% higher than the UK
- Accidents cost the UK £12 billion every year – £6 billion in NHS medical care and £5.9 billion in lost working days
- The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has launched ‘Safer Lives, Stronger Nation’, which reveals new data into rising accident numbers and calls on the Government to implement a National Accident Prevention Strategy to save lives, boost the economy and free up capacity in the NHS
Scotland is home to the highest rate of accidental death in the UK – currently 56% higher than the UK’s overall rate of accidental death and 67% higher than the rate in England, meaning people are far more likely to die in an accident in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK according to a new report* launched by RoSPA, ‘Safer Lives, Stronger Nation’.
As well as the tragic human loss, preventable accidents cost the UK a massive £12 billion every year due to lost working days and medical care. RoSPA is calling on the Government to implement a National Accident Prevention Strategy to save lives, boost the economy and free up capacity in the NHS.
RoSPA’s new report reveals that the rate of accidental death in Scotland has risen by 57% in the last decade and accidents now take over 2,500 lives each year.
This increase in the number of accidental deaths in Scotland can be seen across almost every type of accident.
Despite positive steps such as the successes of Water Safety Scotland and the Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance, the recent abolition of Home Safety Scotland shows that the Government is still not taking a sufficiently robust approach to the nation’s alarming rise in accident rates.
| Number of accidental deaths in 2022 | % rise in accidental death rates, 2013 to 2022 | Rate of accidental deaths per 100,000 people | |
| UK-wide | 21,336 |  42% increase | 32 deaths |
| England | 16,765 |  40% increase | 29 deaths |
| Scotland | 2,677 |  57% increase | 49 deaths |
| Wales | 1,206 |  41% increase | 39 deaths |
| Northern Ireland | 688 |  56% increase | 36 deaths |
Highest likelihood of fatality on Scottish roads
People are almost twice as likely (46%) to have a fatal transport-related accident in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK. This substantially higher fatality rate in Scotland exists across car users, pedestrians and motorcyclists – with people in cars 166% more likely to be killed in an accident driving in Scotland than they are elsewhere in the UK. Pedestrians are 96% more likely to be killed in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK and motorcyclists are 51% more likely to be killed in an accident on Scottish roads than in the rest of the country.
Other types of accidental deaths highest in Scotland
Tragically, Scotland isn’t just home to the highest rates of fatal road accidents – its non-transport fatal accident rate is also more than twice (57%) as high as the rest of the UK. Death from accidental poisoning is 139% higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK. There has been a sharp spike in drug-related deaths in Scotland since the early 2010s, which has one of the highest rates of drug deaths in the developed world, although this has begun to fall in recent years.
Death from accidental drowning is 59% higher in Scotland than the rest of the UK. This is partly due to ease of access to inland water, which creates more opportunities for drowning but is also compounded by lower water temperatures, making the risk of cold-water shock higher.
Death from exposure to smoke, fire or flames is 42% higher than the rest of the UK. This rate reflects the higher rate of dwelling fires in Scotland, which has been falling for several years but remains much higher than England and Wales.
Death from accidental fall accounts for 42% of all accidental deaths in Scotland, so the fact that they are almost twice (45%) as likely in Scotland than the rest of the UK is significant. The reasons for this aren’t recorded, but it could be due to rugged terrain and wetter conditions, and potentially higher proportions of people living in flats or apartments.
| Cause of accidental death | Rate in Scotland compared to the UK as a whole | Rate in Wales compared to the UK as a whole | Rate in Northern Ireland compared to the UK as a whole |
| All types of accidental deaths | 56% higher | 22% higher | 14% higher |
| Transport-related | 46% higher | 18% higher | 34% higher |
| Transport accident – car occupants | 166% higher | 5% higher | 88% higher |
| Transport accident – pedestrians | 96% higher | 35% lower | 142% higher |
| Transport accident – motorcyclists | 51% higher | 78% higher | 20% higher |
| Non-transport related | 57% higher | 22% higher | 13% higher |
| Poisoning | 139% higher | 6% higher | 10% lower |
| Drowning | 59% higher | 10% lower | 71% higher |
| Exposure to smoke, fire or flames | 42% higher | 34% higher | 18% higher |
| Falls | 45% higher | 24% higher | 37% higher |
Falls are the most common cause of accidental death in Scotland
RoSPA’s data reveals that like the UK as a whole, falls are the most common cause of accidental death in Scotland (42%), followed by poisonings (40%).
| Most common cause of accidental death in 2022 (UK wide) | Most common cause of accidental death in 2022 (Scotland) |
| 1.Falls – 46% | Falls – 42% |
| 2.Poisonings – 26% | Poisonings – 40% |
| 3.Other – 13% | Road traffic / transport – 7% |
| 4.Road traffic / transport – 7% | Other – 5% |
| 5.Threats to breathing e.g. choking and suffocating – 3% | Threats to breathing e.g. choking and suffocating – 2% |
| 6. Drowning – 1% | Drowning – 1% |
Accidents cost the UK almost £12 billion every year
As well as personal pain and injury, accidents put a huge strain on the NHS, costing at least £6 billion annually in NHS medical care – not including ambulance callouts, surgery or long-term treatment.
Across the UK accidents led to around 5.2 million bed days, costing the NHS an estimated £5.4 billion last year. In addition, accidents resulted in around 7 million Accident & Emergency (A&E) visits across the UK last year, costing a further £613 million, bringing the total cost of accidents to the NHS to at least £6 billion annually.
Accident-related injuries are also a drain on the economy and prevent people from working. The combined cost to UK businesses is £5.9 billion, due to lost output and indirect management costs.
Ten times more working days lost due to accidents than strikes
Across the UK in 2022/23 7.7 million working days were lost by those who were unable to work after an accident as they’d been admitted to hospital, or by their carers who took time off work to be with them. A further 21 million working days were lost by those who had to attend A&E after an accident. In total in 2022/23 accidents led to almost 29 million lost working days across the UK – 10 times more than were lost due to strikes (2.7 million lost working days) in the same year.
RoSPA is calling for the Government to create a National Accident Prevention Strategy to save lives, boost the economy and free up capacity in the NHS.
Read RoSPA’s full report, ‘Safer Lives, Stronger Nation’.
Steve Cole, Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs Director at RoSPA, said: “Scotland is facing an accident crisis. It has the worst rates of accidental death than anywhere else in the UK.
“Scots are substantially more likely to suffer a serious accident today than they were 20 years ago. We must take action now to stop further preventable deaths and serious injuries – accidents are avoidable and do not need to happen.
“Even those who have never been involved in an accident are still suffering, as increasing numbers of accidents are choking the UK economy and engulfing the NHS – taking up bed space, money, time and resources that could be directed to other serious illnesses.
“Our new report revealing the growing numbers and types of fatal and life-changing accidents across the UK unveils a new public health scandal. By implementing a National Accident Prevention Strategy to sit across government departments problems can be tackled at their core, with a joined-up approach to cover all types of accidents – whether they happen at home, on the road, at work or in public.
“For too long we have accepted the economic and social consequences of accidents, and we’re still paying the price. We are calling for a National Accident Prevention Strategy to make Scotland a safer place to live.”
Dan Evans, Chief Executive at Speedy Hire, said: “We take health and safety extremely seriously, and it is a source of immense pride that we have been recognised for our excellence in keeping colleagues and customers safe.
“For us, colleague safety doesn’t begin and end at the workplace door, which is why at Speedy Hire we take a ‘whole person, whole life’ approach. This has never been more important to do so, as RoSPA’s report reveals people are far more likely to suffer a serious accident at home than they are at work.
“Both the cost of accidents to peoples’ personal lives and to businesses is far too high, so we must act now to keep people safe and support economic growth.”
Dr. James Broun, Research Manager at RoSPA and author of ‘Safer Lives, Stronger Nation’, said: “Our major review of all accident data uncovers the full scale and true cost of accidents for the very first time. This data is unique; it looks at all types of accidents across the UK, as well as individually across all four nations.
“Accidents aren’t currently monitored or recorded to the same extent as other health issues, but the findings are alarming. Accident rates across the UK, as well as within England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are rising steeply. We’ve brought together this data to reveal the reality of this crisis and to impress upon the Government that action must be taken to reverse rising accident figures.”
RoSPA are calling for the Government to seize the initiative and create a National Accident Prevention Strategy – a first for the UK. And, because it’s impossible to arrest a crisis like this without a plan, RoSPA propose that the National Accident Prevention Strategy is the specific responsibility of an individual minister without a portfolio. This would enable the minister to treat accident prevention holistically, with the authority to attend the Cabinet and the ability to convene cross-departmental committees.
The National Accident Prevention Strategy must:
- Take a joined-up approach which cuts across departments and provides strategic leadership to guide policy making at national level
- Empower individual departments or agencies to craft and implement more detailed policies
- Propose ambitious and evidence-led but realistic policy interventions to reduce accident rates
- Cover the core sectors directly affecting the UK economy: home, work, product, leisure and transport
- Be forward-facing to address emerging challenges, like the climate crisis, the rise of AI and the UK’s ageing population
- Address inequalities like deprivation, age, ethnicity and region
- Take a four-nations approach to data sharing and collaboration
- Strengthen Government’s data collection and publishing processes relating to accidents
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