Injury collisions
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FIN/25/003296/J
Version Date: 20/06/2025
The Alliance Operations Department has provided the following information.
"These figures show injury collisions reported to the Police within 30 days of the occurrence. It does not include medical episodes, off-road collisions or confirmed suicides". Regarding off-road collisions, does this mean a vehicle was never on the road in the first place, or that it left the road and ended up elsewhere, i.e., field, bush, wall, etc?
If a vehicle was not on the highway at the start of the collision then it is not included; however, if as part of the collision the vehicle left the highway, it would still be included.
Below are excerpts of the specific definitions provided by the Department for Transport relating to off-road collisions available on the Department for Transport website:
- COLLISIONS TO BE REPORTED
2.1 All road collisions involving human death or personal injury occurring on the Highway ('road' in Scotland) and notified to the police within 30 days of occurrence, and in which one or more vehicles are involved, are to be reported. This is a wider definition of road collisions than that used in Road Traffic Act 1991 (RTA).
2.2 Examples of collisions to be reported include:
(a) collisions which commence on the highway but which involve casualties off the highway (e.g. where a vehicle runs out of control while on the highway and causes casualties elsewhere);
(e) collisions within bus stations/interchanges where they form part of the highway;
(f) collisions in Royal Parks (on roads to which the public have motor vehicle access)
2.3 Examples of collisions which should not be reported include:
(b) collisions on private roads (except Royal Parks) or private drives
2.4 The following table gives examples of locations at which accidents should or should not be reported:
|
Location |
Included in STATS19? |
|
Highway |
|
|
Motorway (including A(M) road), ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ road |
Yes |
|
Unclassified road |
Yes |
|
Toll road or bridge where Secretary of State or local authority is the highway authority |
Yes |
|
Highway - limited access road or lane |
|
|
Pedestrianised road with limited access for motor vehicles |
Yes |
|
Bus lane, busway or guided busway |
Yes |
|
Tram or light rail track |
Yes (if part of Highway) |
|
Tram level crossing – whether or not involving tram |
Yes (if crossing is Highway) |
|
Cycle lane, cycleway or shared access footway |
Yes (if part of Highway) |
|
Footway or pavement |
Yes (if part of Highway) |
|
Public right of way with limited access |
|
|
Country track, byway open to all traffic, cycle path or cycle track with lawful access for motor vehicles |
Yes |
|
Footpath or bridleway with no lawful access for motor vehicles |
No |
|
Cycle path/track with no lawful access for motor vehicles |
No |
|
Private roads |
|
|
Unadopted roads |
No |
|
Airports |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Harbours |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Hospital areas |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Private residential estates |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Private retail shopping parks |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Private industrial estates |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Military areas |
No |
|
Municipal or private parks |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Royal parks |
Yes |
|
Service areas |
No |
|
Other areas to which motor vehicles may have access |
|
|
Car parks (municipal and private) and access roads |
No |
|
Bus stations |
No (unless Highway) |
|
Railway stations |
No |
|
Railway level crossings - train not involved in accident |
Yes |
|
Railway level crossings - accident involving train |
No |
|
Petrol stations |
No |
|
Picnic areas |
No |
|
Pedestrian malls |
No |
NOTE:
Highway ("road" in Scotland) is a road with unrestricted right of access for all or some classes of motor vehicles.
Also, could there be other incidents that weren't reported to the police? If this is the case, do you know where I might find these?
No information held.
By law drivers are required to report any injury collision to the police within 30 days of the occurrence. If an injured person is attended to by paramedics, it should also be reported to the police by the ambulance/hospital staff. However, if someone has received a minor injury and refused to contact the police, we would not have a record of that collision.
It is possible that other emergency services or local councils would have a record of such incident which are not reported to the Force. We are unable to advise further.