THERE has been a 20 per cent rise in the number of crashes that left people injured in West Yorkshire since 2019, with serious injuries on the roads rising by a quarter.

A report by West Yorkshire Police shows that despite an expected reduction in crashes during the Covid lockdown, the number of incidents each year has now rocketed past pre-pandemic levels.

And the report also reveals how many people in West Yorkshire have been caught speeding in the past year – with 46,548 motorists caught by cameras in the Bradford district alone.

The report will be discussed by members of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel at a meeting next week, and details what is being done in the area to try to make roads safer.

Members will hear that recent changes to the law to get tougher on drivers using their phones has resulted in a 92.6 per cent increase in the number of offences recorded in West Yorkshire.

Detailing the number of crashes that have led to an injury, no matter how severe, the report says there were 4,371 in West Yorkshire in 2022.

In 2019, the last full year without any Covid restrictions, that figure was 3,618.

The KSI number (killed or seriously injured) in 2022 was 1,264. This compares to 1,004 in 2019.

But the report claims that the increase in serious injuries may be in part due to a new reporting system that has lowered the threshold of what is classed as a “serious” injury.

Members will be told of the work being done to adopt “Vision Zero” in West Yorkshire – a policy where residents and authorities should not just accept that there is likely to be a few dozen road deaths a year, and instead strive for zero.

Possible changes to achieve this could see roads designed to reduce average speeds, making it safer to walk and cycle and to reduce the dominance of cars in so many areas of West Yorkshire.

The report shows that last year 154,059 speed related offences were recorded on cameras on the area’s “urban road network.”

Of these, 46,548 – almost a third – were on Bradford’s roads.

58,543 offences took place in Leeds.

On top of the 154,000 offences on the roads, a further 44,301 offences were detected on the motorway network that passes through West Yorkshire.

A system where people can submit videos of dangerous driving to police was created in 2020, and in 2022, more than 6,600 submissions were made.