MORE people died on the county's roads last year than in 2021, despite Essex Police's ongoing bid to drive fatalities down.

The Essex force is aiming towards 'Vision Zero' which would see no deaths on the county's roads by 2040.

But Department of Transport figures show there were 43 deaths last year - up almost 20 per cent from 36 in 2021 when there were coronavirus lockdowns.

Figures show 3,141 casualties were reported on Essex roads in 2022 – up from 3,016 the year before.

But the number was down from the 3,201 road casualties reported in 2019, before the pandemic.

Across Great Britain, 1,711 people were killed on roads in 2022.

That marked a 10 per cent jump from 2021 but was down slightly from 1,752 in 2019.

Overall, there were 135,480 casualties last year – up six per cent on 2021, but down 12 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.

Those figures include 28,031 people who suffered serious injuries on Britain’s roads, with 702 in Essex.

The RAC Foundation said the increase in casualties across Britain is a reminder more work needs to be done to improve road safety.

Road safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: "Confirmation that last year saw a rise in the number of casualties on our roads is a chilling reminder that there remains so much work to do be done to improve road safety in the UK, even if statistically we have some of the safest roads in Europe.

"It’s time the Government turned the dial up on tackling these issues which, while complex, result in hundreds of people losing their lives every year."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We welcome the continued decrease in road casualties compared with pre-Covid levels, with our roads being some of the safest in the world.

"Nevertheless, we continue to work tirelessly to improve road safety through our world-renowned Think! Road safety campaigns and £47.5million safer roads fund, so local authorities can also work to keep road users safe."

Police launched a crackdown on speeding in rural locations in mid Essex at the end of September as part of the Drive to Vision Zero.

The operation netted more than 20 drivers for speeding, resulting in fixed penalty notices.

Speaking then, Acting Insp Kevin Mayle said: “The vast majority of motorists are law-abiding and respect the speed limits on our rural roads.

“Speed limits are there to keep people safe and reduce the likelihood of road traffic collisions.

"Speeding is one of the 'Fatal Four' offences we need to eliminate in order to achieve Vision Zero.”