Hundreds of people were injured on the roads in Oldham last year, with the number of people seriously injured increasing from the year before, figures have shown.

Figures released by the Department for Transport show that in 2023, there were 269 road casualties in Oldham, down from 270 the year before.

A road casualty is an injury sustained on the roads, either minor or serious.

The figure is the lowest number of road casualties in Oldham over the last decade, with the highest amount coming in 2014 with 547.

There were four deaths on Oldham roads last year, also down by one from the year before.

However, the number of people killed or seriously injured went up from 61 in 2022 to 68 last year, meaning there were eight more people left seriously injured due to incidents on the road last year.

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An Oldham Council spokesman said: “The safety of all road users is a priority for the council.

“We monitor all accidents which take place on roads across the borough to help understand why they have happened, and what can be done to ensure they don’t happen again. 

“Our Traffic Team regularly assess any suggestions and proposals for road safety improvements from our residents and communities, and we will continue to work with Greater Manchester Police, in a bid to cut accidents across our highways network

“We continue to urge all road users to adhere to the speed limit and drive responsibly to keep roads safe for our communities.”

So far this year in Oldham, there have already been a handful of deaths on the roads, including those of Tim Scratcherd, Ethan Allen, and Atif Zaheer.

Labour candidate for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton, Jim McMahon said: “We have all witnessed careless and dangerous driving, with the most vulnerable, such as children, often being most at risk. It now feels as though a week doesn't pass by without news of another serious incident.

"In my time as MP, I have raised the issue of high levels of dangerous driving in Oldham with the Ministry of Justice, the Home Secretary, and in meetings with the GMP. My primary concerns have been deterrence, justice for grieving families, ramping up of visible enforcement, and raising awareness of the consequences of dangerous driving.

"Cuts to the police service over the last 14 years have hindered officers’ ability to deal with traffic enforcement, which is why Labour has pledged 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs on the beat.”

Nick Buckley, Independent candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: "In general, our roads are safer today than ever before. But we have a small percentage of drivers who do not care about other road users and are a menace. This needs to be where we concentrate our efforts, not penalising all drivers.

"More high visibility traffic police are required, better detection of menace drivers is needed, and stiffer court penalties for poor driving. We constantly see people using mobile phones while driving, jumping red lights, and excessively speeding -  tackling this will make our roads even safer. "

Sam Al-Hamdani, Liberal Democrats candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: "Time and again, far too many road safety measures are reactive, not proactive. Dangerous sites such as the A672 through Denshaw are ignored until it is too late. 

"While any one year should not be looked at in isolation, every death is a tragedy and cannot be ignored.

"The Government has sat on out of date advice on speed cameras for more than three years after it was due to be updated. This isn’t a matter of political ideology; just a lack of basic competence. And the results are sadly being seen on our roads every day."

Jacob Barden, Reform UK candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: "The figures released show a concerning upward trend in the Oldham area that needs curtailing immediately.

"We urgently need more police presence on our roads to tackle drink drivers and dangerous drivers as a whole. Our resident’s safety depends on it."

Paul Boots Errock, another Independent candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said the main reasons behind injuries and deaths on the roads included over-development and the roads not being fit for purpose.

He said: "Over-development is a major contributory factor, which has been pointed out by many local pressure groups such as Save our Valleys, Save Royton Greenbelt, Save Chadderton Greenbelt.

"Our roads are simply not fit for purpose to accommodate the volume of traffic these housing quota’s cause."

Other candidates for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton and Oldham East and Saddleworth have been approached for comment.

Greater Manchester Police said it has done work to tackle injuries and deaths on the roads through campaigns including Operation Considerate.