THERE are three times more deaths on rural roads in the south west in 2023 than urban roads, Department for Transport (DfT) figures show. 

NFU Mutual's analysis of the new DfT figures show 969 people died on rural roads in Britain last year. 

According to the figures, there were 107 fatalities on rural roads in the south west in 2023. NFU Mutual has said the disparity in the south west is higher than that of all other British regions, except Wales. 

NFU Mutual found that last year, an average of one in every 32 collisions (969 of 31,183) on rural highways resulted in a death, compared to one in every 122 (571 of 69,706) on urban roads.

Figures showing the number of deaths on rural roads compared to urban ones.Figures showing the number of deaths on rural roads compared to urban ones. (Image: NFU Mutual) To help guide and advise everyone on how to use rural roads safely, NFU Mutual has partnered with the four UK farming unions, Farm Safety Foundation, British Horse Society and Older Drivers Forum to create a Code for Countryside Roads.

Nick Turner, chief executive, said: “Rural roads are the arteries of our countryside, vital to the rural economy and serving to connect us all to the benefits of the great outdoors.

“Every road death is an avoidable tragedy, and every road user has a responsibility to protect themselves and others, but the disparity in safety between urban and rural roads and the higher risk shouldered by vulnerable road users suggests that more can be done.

“That is why NFU Mutual has been campaigning for several years to improve rural road safety by raising awareness of the risks inherent to countryside roads, and why we are proud to publish a Code for Countryside Roads to provide a clear guide on how people should use rural roads.

“The Code has been developed in consultation with our campaign partners and based on feedback from over 700 members of the public. It is available to everyone, free of charge, on the NFU Mutual website and we hope it will help steer a course towards safer rural roads for all.”

READ MORE: NFU Mutual reveals there are 72% more deaths on rural roads

A survey conducted in November by NFU Mutual found that 13% of people had been in a collision on a rural road, rising to almost one in five (19%) for those that live in the countryside. Surprisingly, one in ten people living in urban areas had been involved in a collision on a rural road.

More than one fifth of respondents (21%) admitted to being uncomfortable travelling on rural roads, with a third of people without a car saying they’re uncomfortable on countryside roads.

More than half of respondents said one of their biggest concerns when it comes to rural road safety was blind corners (56%) and narrow roads (51%), while road quality (48%), driver impatience (45%) and people breaking the speed limit (42%) were also high on the list. Around a third (32%) were worried about navigating vulnerable road users and a quarter (24%) were concerned about dealing with agricultural traffic.