Road safety charity Brake is calling on the Government to take action to prevent the reduction in the numbers of deaths and injuries on our roads stagnating.

The Department for Transport report Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2015 confirms that outside a few minor gains, road casualty reductions have remained largely static.

While Brake welcomes the slight drop in road deaths and serious injuries on our roads, it wants more to be done to speed up the process of road casualty reduction.

The research found vehicle traffic has risen by almost 2% in the past year, matched by a significant population increase of 15% over the past 30 years; meaning as well as the increased danger of crashes, we are seeing increased pollution.

Much of this increase is being attributed to light goods vehicles, many running on diesel.

Lucy Amos, research adviser for Brake, said: “The report released by the Department for Transport reveals the danger of complacency and over-confidence.

"The UK currently has one of the best road safety records in the world, but this cannot be relied upon.

"No road death is acceptable and we must continue to work towards reducing death and injury on the roads without compromise.

The population and vehicle traffic levels have been steadily increasing in recent years.

Brake is calling for action to prevent numbers from overwhelming safety measures.

It wants ambitious casualty reduction targets to be introduced to act as a driving force for the fight against road death and injury at the national level; increased investment in road infrastructure to develop a safe and sustainable road network; and more resources assigned to road traffic police to ensure that legislation can be effectively enforced.”