Transport Scotland has released provisional figures for road casualties reported to the police in Scotland in 2016.

The number of people killed on the roads in reported incidents was 190; 23 more than in 2015. The number of casualties fell by one per cent between 2015 and 2016 from 10,974 to 10,881, to the lowest number since records began. The number of people seriously injured increased by six per cent to 1,693.

The figures also show that in 2016 there were 1,011 child casualties in reported road incidents, an increase of 4 per cent since 2015. This included twelve fatalities; 8 more than 2015 and 167 children who were seriously injured, up from 139 in 2015.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: “It’s disappointing that there has been an increase in the number of fatalities and the number of people seriously injured on our roads in 2016. The Scottish Government and our road safety partners will redouble our efforts in order to reach our ambitious and challenging casualty reduction targets set out in Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020. At the same time we all need to take responsibility for protecting ourselves and other road users when using the road network.

“The longer term downward trends are positive and show that we are making good progress towards meeting our targets and the annual decline in the total number of casualties, to the lowest level since records began, is encouraging. However, I am resolute in my determination to save lives and to meet the ultimate vision set out in the Framework, where no-one is killed on Scotland’s roads.”