ACPO lead for roads policing, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, said: "It is certainly encouraging to see that while traffic levels rose slightly, there has been a reduction of seven per cent in fatalities and 10 per cent in child casualties compared to the same time in 2011. This is combined with a three per cent fall in both casualties and accidents.
"There has also been a 38 per cent reduction in the number of those killed, including a 17 per cent reduction in the number of those killed or seriously injured compared with the average from 2005 to 2009.

"However, we acknowledge the increase in pedestrians, pedal and motor cyclists killed or seriously injured and we want to reassure the public that the police will continue working hard to make significant progress in all areas of road safety.

"Re-educating drivers and improving road standards takes time but we are making progress. This is evident when we compare there were more than 18,000 car users killed or seriously injured for the same time in 2003, compared with just over 9,000 in 2012.
"Forces across the country take the issue of road safety extremely seriously and as well as policing the roads, we will continue to run effective campaigns to raise awareness and educate drivers."