Forgotten victims: Barriers to justice following a road traffic collision

Despite an estimated 29,896 people being killed or seriously injured on roads in England and Wales in the year ending June 2025 – including 1,579 fatalities, which is more than three times the number of homicides over the same period – victims routinely receive less recognition and support from the criminal justice system.

The report sets out six formal recommendations to criminal justice agencies:

1. National Investigation Standards: Strengthen oversight and accountability.
2. Trauma Training: Mandatory, trauma-informed training for all police handling road crime.
3. Sustainable Funding: National funding streams for dedicated road victim support.
4. Direct Police Referrals: Automatic support access for affected families.
5. Civil Claims Guidance: Clear legal and compensation advice for victims.
6. Specialist Roads Policing: Formal status under the Police Reform Bill.

Under powers from the Victims and Prisoners Act, agencies receiving these recommendations must publish a formal response within 56 days.

Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman OBE said:

“Behind every road death or serious injury is a victim, a grieving family and lives changed forever. Yet too many victims told me they felt road crime was not treated with the seriousness it deserved.

These experiences are not inevitable. Where victims received trauma-informed support from dedicated Family Liaison Officers and specialist charities, the difference was profound. These examples show that a better, more compassionate approach is possible.”

Responding to the report’s findings, Ross Moorlock, CEO of Brake, the road safety charity, said:

“The report makes a 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.”