Abstract
This article reviews the incidence of injuries and fatalities in road traffic accidents in the UK. Pedestrian injuries could be reduced by better car body design. Road safety education for children is seen as only partly successful. Protection for car passengers is improved by the use of seat belts and air bags although children are less well served by these means. Inappropriate speed, alcohol and mobile phone use are contributory factors in accidents. Finally, emergency management could be improved to reduce the number of accident-related deaths occurring in the hour immediately after the accident.