Deaths on Nottinghamshire roads have reached a five-year high, according to official crash statistics. Figures released by the Department for Transport show 24 people died after collisions on the county's roads in 2021, the highest since 28 died in 2017.
Nottinghamshire Police said officers regularly carry out operations to try and reduce the number of fatal collisions. Despite the increase in deaths, which rose from 18 in 2020, the total number of crashes and casualties remained below pre-pandemic levels.
There were 1,206 collisions last year, resulting in 1,555 casualties. This is above above the 1,411 casualties reported in 2020 but considerably lower than the 2,049 in 2019.
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In Nottingham city, three people died in collisions, the same as in 2020. Sergeant Mark Baker, of Nottinghamshire Police’s serious collision investigation unit, said telling someone their loved one has died in a road traffic collision was one of the worst jobs a police officer.
“It is heart-breaking to have to knock on someone’s door and give them the awful news face-to-face that their loved one will not be coming home," he said. “Officers from across the county regularly carry out operations in a bid to reduce the number of serious and fatal incidents on our roads.
“We will continue to push these kinds of operations and make it perfectly clear if you are found to be breaking the law and placing people’s lives at risk you will be arrested and dealt with. I would like to remind every driver to drive carefully and safely, which will protect themselves and others.
“By listening to this advice, adhering to the law and simply just using basic safety advice it could be the difference between life and death – so please take note and help us keep road users safe.” Elsewhere in the East Midlands, 25 people died on Derbyshire roads in 2021. Twenty died in Leicestershire.
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