The rate in 2025 saw a five per cent jump from 2024 as collisions resulting in deaths or seriously injured victims are still higher than pre-pandemic levels.
A father whose 18-year-old son, Noah, died in a road traffic collision, however, has said the tragedies are more than just statistics.
He said: “Very often we see these numbers published every year and for a lot of people it is just a number, but behind every single one of those numbers is a brother, a son, a mother, a relative, a friend, a work colleague, and behind every single one of those numbers there was a life lived and was loved, but sadly someone who didn’t get to live their life to the full.”
Noah was killed in a single vehicle crash back in 2024 in Claudy, Co Londonderry.