\n<\/p>\n
Bereaved families or seriously injured victims of road crime feel \u201cforgotten by the system\u201d with offences not treated with the seriousness they deserve, an official review has found.<\/p>\n
The victims\u2019 commissioner for England and Wales found that many of the thousands afflicted each year by criminal driving felt that \u201cthe harm they had suffered mattered less\u201d than that from other serious crimes.<\/p>\n
Almost 30,000 people were killed or seriously injured on roads in England and Wales in the year to June 2025, including 1,579 fatalities \u2013 more than three times the number of people killed in homicides.<\/p>\n
An estimated 25-30% of collisions involve criminal driving, such as drink or drug use or speeding.<\/p>\n
The report, based on interviews with injured victims and bereaved families, found many faced long waits without support while police determined whether a collision would be treated as a crime.<\/p>\n
They faced \u201clengthy police investigations, poor communication, court delays and difficulties accessing support\u201d after life-changing criminal collisions, it said.<\/p>\n
Some victims told researchers they had waited more than two months for witness statements to be taken. Many were left dissatisfied with eventual sentences, particularly when offenders were not jailed after a road death.<\/p>\n
The victims\u2019 commissioner, Claire Waxman, said: \u201cBehind every road death or serious injury is a victim, a grieving family and lives changed for ever. Yet too many victims told me they felt road crime was not treated with the seriousness it deserved and that the harm they had suffered mattered less than other serious crimes.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany spoke of lengthy investigations, poor communication, repeated delays and a lack of support at the very time they needed it most. Some were forced to fight for basic information, answers and recognition while trying to cope with unimaginable loss and trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n
In her report, she said victims had repeatedly said that \u201cthey feel forgotten by the system that is meant to support them\u201d. She said that where victims had received informed support from dedicated officials and specialist charities, \u201cthe difference was profound\u201d.<\/p>\n
Waxman urged the government to ensure stronger national standards, oversight and accountability for road traffic collision investigations, and more consistent training for police in dealing with trauma, among other recommendations to improve investigations and strengthen support for victims.<\/p>\n
The road safety charity Brake said it hoped the report could be a catalyst for change. Ross Moorlock, the chief executive, said: \u201cWe bear witness every day to the devastation victims experience in the aftermath of a crash, when too often the criminal justice process adds further trauma.<\/p>\n
skip past newsletter promotionFree newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n
Sign up to First Edition<\/span><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cThis report highlights what we have known for a long time \u2013 that road crime is not treated with the gravity it demands, and that road victims are swept aside by systemic failings of a process that is meant to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) said it welcomed the report and it urged the government to ensure that all victims get the support they needed, regardless of criminal charges, citing the difficulty in getting evidence after most serious collisions.<\/p>\n Jamie Hassall, the executive director of PACTS, said the testimony in the report showed \u201cthe devastating impact of uncertainty, lengthy investigations, poor communication and inconsistent access to support, often at a time of profound grief and trauma\u201d.<\/p>\n He said it made \u201ca compelling case for a more victim-centred approach, with timely and thorough investigations, stronger national standards, trauma-informed practice across all victim-facing agencies, and sustainable funding for specialist support services\u201d.<\/p>\n The government was approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bereaved families or seriously injured victims of road crime feel \u201cforgotten by the system\u201d with offences not treated with the seriousness they deserve, an official review has found. The victims\u2019 commissioner for England and Wales found that many of the thousands afflicted each year by criminal driving felt that \u201cthe harm they had suffered mattered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[2173,4516,335,189,1006,2282,5323,1085,1377,392,2933],"class_list":{"0":"post-51751","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-crime","9":"tag-criminal","10":"tag-feel","11":"tag-finds","12":"tag-forgotten","13":"tag-justice","14":"tag-official","15":"tag-review","16":"tag-road","17":"tag-system","18":"tag-victims"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}