NEW figures have revealed the North-East has the lowest regional rates of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents in 2011.

The results from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) show that in the North East, 329 people per million of the population were involved in fatal or serious road accidents; making it the lowest casualty rate of all the regions in England.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, 448 people per million of the population were killed or seriously injured on the roads in 2011.

These figures closely resemble the accident statistics from the previous year for both regions, and while London and the East of England saw reductions in their casualty rates, all other regions saw increases.

The most significant of these was in the South East which saw a 10 per cent rise in serious or fatal road accidents, with 493 people per million of the population being involved in such incidents in 2011.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: "The government must bring back targets for road safety.

“While our real aim should be for no deaths or injuries - as is the case on the railways - simply meeting the European target of reducing deaths by 50 per cent by 2020 would in itself save a thousand lives.”