Every year around 1,700 people are killed on UK roads, with tens of thousands more people seriously injured - and aside from 2020, a year that at times saw roads deserted during the pandemic, that figure has remained static for a decade. That's one person killed or seriously injured every 20 minutes. Worldwide, road collisions remain the biggest killer of young people aged 5-29.

 

Accurate reporting of these deaths and injuries matters. There is growing evidence that poor reporting can confuse or misdirect concern, obscure the solutions, and even engender aggression.

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Good reporting can help us better understand the problems and potential solutions. Transport can both aggravate and address some of society’s pressing challenges; from access to work, education, leisure and social opportunities, to climate change, physical and mental health, and air pollution.

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Through coverage of issues such as road collisions, good journalism shines a light on them, improving accuracy and clarity without sacrificing word counts - and while many journalists already follow good practice, there is always room for improvement.

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Produced in collaboration with media, road safety, legal and policing experts, the Guidelines are an attempt to do just that, supplementing professional codes of conduct to support the highest standards of reporting in broadcast, print and online.

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Following a public consultation in Autumn 2020 the Guidelines will launch on 18 May 2021. In the meantime you can see our blog for some background on the project.