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Road traffic collisions

Road traffic collisions recorded by neighbourhood deprivation decile in London (2023)

Last update: October 2024
Next estimated update: October 2025

What’s this?

This indicator shows the number of road traffic collisions in London in 2023, split by neighbourhood deprivation. We can use it to see if there is a link between how deprived a neighbourhood is, and how many road traffic collisions there are.

What does it tell us?

Almost 23,000 road collisions were recorded in London in 2023. The vast majority of these resulted in only slight injuries such as whiplash and bruising, but around 3,500 resulted in serious injuries such as fractures and burns. Sadly, 101 road collisions in London in 2023 led to the death of one or more drivers, passengers, riders, cyclists or pedestrians.

There are more road traffic collisions recorded in the most deprived neighbourhoods in London than the least deprived. The 10% of areas with the highest deprivation saw just over 2,600 collisions in 2023. This is more than double the 1,182 collisions in the 10% of areas with the lowest deprivation. 

A similar pattern is also seen on 'local streets' - or streets with a speed limit below 30mph. This implies that collisions affect residents in deprived areas more, rather than just taking place on main roads passing through them.

Road traffic collisions on local streets recorded by neighbourhood deprivation decile in London (2023)

This trend is even more extreme when looking only at collisions involving pedestrians; these are nearly two and a half times as common in the most deprived neighbourhoods compared to the least.

Road traffic collisions involving pedestrians recorded by neighbourhood deprivation decile in London (2023)

The relationship between road collisions and deprivation can be seen most clearly in collisions involving slight injuries. This is probably because these are the most common types of accident. With relatively few serious and fatal accidents it is more difficult to find a clear pattern.