A Gwent county has seen the sharpest increase in casualties on the road in the whole of Wales, a new report has found.

Research conducted by SNAP, a digital solutions company for haulage and mobility, found that seven out of the 22 local authority areas in Wales had seen increased levels of casualties as a result of collisions on roads within their areas.

Monmouthshire topped the list, with a 27 per cent increase in road casualties in 2024 when compared to the previous year. Roughly, that equates to a further 34 casualties per billion miles travelling on the county’s road network.

“While it is good news to see a reduction in casualties for most of Wales, our research shows that common everyday stressors can lead to unexpected driving behaviour and accidents,” said Matthew Bellamy, Managing Director at SNAP.

“The same improvements that we'd like to see in supporting the wellbeing of driving fleets also applies more generally to private motorists: planning and transport measures that improve traffic flow, greater maintenance of road conditions, and a reduction in conflict between different road users to create more predictable driving environments.”

“This can all help lower pressure behind the wheel and support safer journeys for everyone.”

The figures take the number of road casualties in Monmouthshire up to 162 per billion miles of travel from 128. Crucially, almost three quarters of recorded accidents involved motorcyclists and car drivers.

Casualty rates on the county’s roads are also the highest they have been since 2021.

Bordering Welsh authorities, including Blaenau Gwent (17 per cent) and Newport (10 per cent) also saw increases.

Only seven local authorities in Wales saw increases in casualty rates during this time period, while Denbighshire, in North Wales, saw the biggest decrease in casualties with 38 per cent.