Almost 10,000 people have died on rural roads in the past decade, with NFU Mutual demanding new training measures to tackle what it calls an ongoing and preventable danger in the countryside.
Analysis by the rural insurer shows 9,887 fatalities on rural roads between 2015 and 2024, vastly outstripping deaths on urban routes. In 2024 alone, 956 people lost their lives on countryside roads — 72% more than on urban roads — despite rural areas carrying far lower traffic volumes. In all but one region of Britain, rural fatalities far exceeded urban ones.
For farmers, whose work requires regular use of narrow lanes, blind bends, and roads shared with heavy machinery and livestock, the risk is acute. NFU Mutual’s figures show that rural roads had 6.3 deaths per billion miles travelled, compared with 4.7 on urban roads and just 1.3 on motorways, underlining the disproportionate danger on routes central to agricultural life.
With progress on reducing rural fatalities stalled for more than a decade, NFU Mutual is calling for learner drivers to receive proper experience on rural roads before passing their test, and for a dedicated Rural Road Safety Awareness Course for offenders.
Many new drivers have little or no experience of the mixed traffic farmers navigate daily — from tractors and telehandlers to horse riders, walkers and cyclists. A survey of 2,000 motorists commissioned by the insurer found 31% rarely or never drove on rural roads while learning, and 11% never did so at all.
More than a quarter (26%) said they felt unprepared to tackle rural roads after passing their test. More than 80% of respondents supported more rural-specific training, and 71% backed the proposed awareness course.
Nick Turner, chief executive of NFU Mutual, said: “In the 10 years to the end of 2024, 10,000 lives were lost on Britain’s rural roads… These figures shock and worry me, as they should anybody who lives, works in, or visits our countryside.”
He urged the government to ensure that its forthcoming national road safety strategy focuses on “this avoidable loss of life in our countryside”, adding that “more must be done to prevent this needless loss of life”.
While the government has promised a new road safety strategy, NFU Mutual’s analysis highlights the scale of the challenge. Only the North West recorded fewer rural deaths than urban, with every other region and nation suffering higher rural fatalities.
Vulnerable road users remain especially exposed. Last year, 115 pedestrians and 42 cyclists were killed on rural roads — many in areas used heavily by farmers, dog walkers and riders. Motorcyclists were also disproportionately affected, with 253 fatalities recorded despite covering a fraction of the mileage driven by motorists.
NFU Mutual says the issue reaches far beyond headline statistics. Rural fatal collisions often involve tractors, large machinery, livestock, or farm traffic moving between fields, and can have devastating impacts on small communities where victims and responders are often known to one another.
The insurer has been campaigning on rural road safety since 2020 and developed the first Code for Countryside Roads to help all road users understand their responsibilities.
