Defective and poorly-maintained vehicles were linked to 1,759 road casualties recorded in 2021. Issues such as defective lights, worn tyres and ineffective brakes caused a 7% rise on the previous year. The number of road casualties caused by defective / faulty vehicles in 2021 continued to be impacted by the UK restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic, including a period of lockdown in the first quarter of the year. There was a rise in casualty numbers compared to 2020, which was also affected by the pandemic, but 2021 statistics remained lower than the pre-pandemic (2019) levels. Overall, casualties caused by defective / faulty vehicles have generally followed trends in traff..