Significant reduction in serious injuries and deaths related to road traffic collisions in Knowsley

The number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions in Knowsley has reduced significantly across the last five years, down 28 percent, and a 37 percent decrease on 2024/2025.

The decrease, the largest in any area of Merseyside, follows a long-term harm reduction trend, with fewer people being killed or seriously injured on Knowsley’s roads since 2021. 

Knowsley Temporary Inspector, David Hassett, said the decrease was the result of years of hard work tackling the issue.

David Hassett also said:

“We’re now beginning to see the benefits of work that started several years ago. We’ve been working hard to not only get more staff trained, but also to establish a mindset of shared accountability when it comes to road safety.

“We speak a lot to the public about sharing the roads, sharing the responsibility – and we really are practicing that ourselves within force. Neighbourhood officers are taking responsibility for road safety in their area – it’s not something to be left to the Roads Policing specialists. Everyone is sharing the responsibility.

“We work with our partners to do joint hotspot visits so we can look at high-risk areas from different perspectives and problem-solve together. There’s a long way to go, but with an approach of collective responsibility we’re far more likely to succeed.”

Merseyside Police is urging the public to be particularly mindful of road safety during the World Cup, and has stood-up Operation Limit – the force’s dedicated drink and drug driving campaign – in order to prevent any related increase in collisions.

Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said:

“It is really pleasing that over a five-year period there has been a significant reduction in casualties on the borough’s roads.

“We know that one casualty is too many and as a Council we will continue to work closely with our partners including Merseyside Police to ensure we are doing everything we can to reduce casualties. As part of the Vision Zero road safety strategy we will continue to take measures to protect our residents and eliminate casualties and serious injuries from our roads.

“Over the next few weeks there will be a lot of people enjoying drinks while watching this summer’s World Cup. For everyone’s safety it is vital you do not drive the morning after consuming alcohol. The ‘morning after calculator’ helps you to work out how many units you’ve consumed the night before and gives you a rough calculation of when you may be safe to drive. You can find the calculator here.”

To report any concerns about road safety, visit here. 

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