Grieving families of people killed in road crashes say they feel ‘forgotten’ in a justice system that is failing to treat deadly driving as a real crime.

A damning report by the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales found that loved ones felt ‘the harm they suffered had mattered less’ than from other serious crimes.

That is despite 1,579 people dying on our roads in the year to June 2025 – more than three times the number killed in homicides in the same period.

More than 25,000 others were seriously injured.

Student Liam O’Connor, 20, was killed after being hit by a taxi at a pedestrian crossing in June 2023.

His parents Joan and Mike O’Connor said: ‘After losing our child in such a devastating and traumatic manner you’d think nothing else can be as bad.

‘But our experience of the criminal justice system heaped layer after layer of injustice upon us and re-traumatised us at every stage.’

They waited 15 months for the police investigation and collision report to be completed and two years for an inquest to be held.

But prosecutors ultimately decided there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the driver.

The couple said ‘nearly every professional we encountered’ did not take Liam’s death seriously by either downplaying what happened or victim-blaming in some way.

‘If our fit, healthy 20-year-old son had died in any other circumstance, such as a drunken punch while still inside the pub that night, we believe the response of the CPS would have been completely different,’ they said.

‘Instead, victims of road collisions are treated like second-class victims.

‘It feels like the system is so focused on protecting suspects that it throws up endless barriers for families like ours.’

John Liddle died after being knocked off his bicycle by a minibus weeks earlier, in May 2023.

The driver who killed him was also never charged with a crime.

John’s wife Louise said the police ‘were on my side throughout and were genuinely fighting for my case’, twice appealing the decision not to prosecute the driver.

But she said ‘red tape’ meant they could not interview the driver for nine weeks and were powerless to suspend his licence during the investigation.

‘So, he returned to work straight away, driving minibuses past my house every day. That was incredibly traumatic and I had to move away from the area as a result,’ she added.

‘After John died, I was waiting a fortnight for the coroner’s office to release his body.

‘We eventually had the funeral, but we still had no information about how John died, so we had to say our goodbyes without knowing what really happened and why.’

Victims’ commissioner Claire Waxman OBE’s report found many families ‘were left in limbo’ facing ‘lengthy police investigations, poor communication, court delays and difficulties accessing support’ following life-changing and fatal criminal collisions.

They also described feeling ‘excluded from court proceedings because of poor courtroom facilities and practical barriers’ and many were left deeply disappointed with the sentence passed on the driver at the end of the case.

The report notes that in the year to September 2025, it took an average of 372 days for police to conclude an investigation into a case of death by dangerous driving.

It also cites figures from the Ministry of Justice showing that 15% of all trials for ‘causing death and serious injury while driving’ completed last year were delayed.

One bereaved victim said he did not know for months whether his wife was killed by a dangerous driver or had taken her own life.

‘I didn’t know if she’d actually committed suicide by going to the wrong side of the road,’ the widower said.

‘I was eventually told the collision was “avoidable” and I thought that was a terrible comment to make – “it was avoidable”.

‘I said, “avoidable, by whom?” I didn’t know who was at fault. And then they said, “avoidable by the perpetrator, by the accused”, not my wife.

‘So that’s the first time I actually found out, months later.’

Further figures show that more than a third of defendants convicted of causing death by either careless or dangerous driving walked free from court last year.

The report says ‘many bereaved relatives struggled to reconcile the profound loss they had experienced with the sentences imposed by the courts’.

One said the eight-year sentence imposed on a driver who killed a 20-year-old woman ‘makes it feel like her life has no value at all’.

Ms Waxman is urging the government to ensure stronger national standards, oversight and accountability for road traffic collision investigations.

It also calls for more consistent training for police in dealing with trauma, among other recommendations to improve investigations and strengthen support for victims.

She said: ‘Behind every road death or serious injury is a victim, a grieving family and lives changed forever.

‘Yet too many victims told me they felt road crime was not treated with the seriousness it deserved and that the harm they had suffered mattered less than other serious crimes.

‘Many spoke of lengthy investigations, poor communication, repeated delays and a lack of support at the very time they needed it most.

‘Some were forced to fight for basic information, answers and recognition while trying to cope with unimaginable loss and trauma.’

Ross Moorlock, CEO of road safety charity Brake, said: ‘The report makes a compelling case for a more victim-centred approach, with timely and thorough investigations, stronger national standards, trauma-informed practice across all victim-facing agencies, and sustainable funding for specialist support services.’

A Government spokesperson said: ‘Our thoughts are with everyone who has been injured or bereaved in a road tragedy.

‘We are committed to supporting victims and witnesses of crime, including those committed on our roads which is why we are investing £550 million in support services over the next three years – our biggest investment to date.

‘We are also taking decisive action to make our roads safer and committed to reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 65% by 2035.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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