THE number of people seriously injured in road accidents in Wales rose by 12 per cent last year, the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue (MAWWFRS) has said.

The increase brought saw an end to a steady reduction in such incidents in recent years, which has seen casualty figures fall by almost a third during the past decade.

The statistics were revealed as the Welsh Fire and Rescue Service announced its Road Safety Strategy in response to the launch of the Welsh Government’s Road Safety Framework for Wales.

The strategy seeks to provide a framework for the three Welsh fire and rescue services to implement road safety commitments on a national and local level.

MAWWFRS’ Chief Fire Officer for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service Chris Davies said: “Road safety has improved considerably in recent years.

“In 2014 there were 8,208 reported casualties as a result of road traffic collisions in Wales, this is a 30 per cent reduction on the number of casualties seen on our roads 10 years ago.”

Mr Davies said the leading cause of the increase over the past 12 months was poor driving and observation.

“Clearly, while much has been achieved through collaborative working with our road safety partners, more needs to be done,” Mr Davies said.

A disproportionate number young people - 16 to 24 year olds - and motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured.

Despite making up 11 per cent of driving licence holders, young people represent 23 per cent of casualties in road traffic collisions in Wales.

Motorcyclists, meanwhile, accounted for 37 per cent of those killed or seriously injured despite making up just one per cent of the road traffic in Wales.

Mr Davies said that in many cases motorcyclists were not at fault for collisions as their vulnerability meant they were far more likely to be killed or seriously injured. A disproportionate number of motorcycle casualties are men, riding on rural roads in the drier months.

In addition, Wales has, and is projected to continue to have, the most aged population in the UK with around one in 20 drivers involved in collisions in Wales are aged 70 or older.

A coordinated effort in the education of road users, targeting specifically those identified as in the most vulnerable groups, with a range of activities, interventions and publicity that result in behavioural change form the core of the new safety strategy.