Road fatalities in Devon and Cornwall hit ‘lowest ever’ recorded level in 2025
New Department for Transport figures show fatal and serious collisions across Devon and Cornwall dropped to their lowest recorded level in 2025, with campaigners crediting long-term safety work and partnership schemes
Fatal and serious road collisions in Devon and Cornwall fell to their ‘lowest ever’ recorded level in 2025, according to provisional Department for Transport figures.
A total of 49 people were killed and 495 seriously injured across the two counties last year.
That is almost 20 per cent lower than in 2024 and the lowest since current recording systems began.
Department for Transport data also shows collisions involving people killed or seriously injured have decreased each year since 2022.
New figures were recently released as the Vision Zero South West road safety partnership marked its fifth anniversary.
The partnership brings together 17 organisations, including local authorities, emergency services, NHS trusts, National Highways and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Vision Zero South West’s stated aim is to ‘reduce fatal and serious collisions by 50 per cent by 2030’.
Over the past five years, projects funded through the partnership have included:
- A motorcycle simulator for young riders,
- AI camera trials to detect seatbelt and mobile phone offences,
- Primary school pedestrian training,
- Post-collision research work, and
- Community-led safety schemes.
Councillor Dan Thomas, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, welcomed the fall in numbers but said further action was still needed.
“These figures are positive news and it’s encouraging to see the results of the work being carried out by Vision Zero South West,” he said.
“But we have to remember that we still had 49 people killed and 495 seriously injured on Devon and Cornwall’s roads last year. That is still far too many so there is still more to do.”
Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and chair of Vision Zero South West, said progress was being made but warned against complacency.
She said: “While we are obviously delighted to see a significant decrease in the number of people being killed or seriously injured, there is still a lot of work to do.”
Adrian Leisk, Head of Road Safety at Devon & Cornwall Police, said the results highlighted the importance of partnership working.
“This very welcome news demonstrates the effectiveness of the partnership approach to reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads,” he said.
One of the funded initiatives is the Walkability programme, run by Active Devon, which provides road safety training for children aged seven to 11.
It has reached more than 6,000 pupils at 77 schools across Devon, teaching road crossing skills, signage awareness and the Green Cross Code.
The Department for Transport said the 2025 figures remain provisional and may change as collision investigations continue.