THE number of people killed on our roads has crashdropped by over half in the last five years, new statistics show.

Figures released by the Central Statistics and Research Branch (CSRB) of the Department for Regional Development show the number of road deaths occurring as a result of reported road traffic collisions has decreased by 19% from 59 in 2011 to 48 in 2012.

Road deaths occurring as a result of reported road traffic collisions have decreased by 55% since 2008 (107 deaths).

The figures also show there were 1,060,328 vehicles licensed in Northern Ireland at 31 December last year, an increase of one per cent for the same period in 2011 and an increase of 4% from 2011) and an increase of 4% from 2008.

Meanwhile, the pass rate for car “learner” driving tests here has risen from 52% in 2011-12 to 56% in 2012-13 and continues a steady upward trend in recent years.

There has been an increase of 10% points in the car “L” driving test pass rate since 2008-09 (46%).

The pass rate for touch screen theory tests for private car drivers has dropped slightly from 61% in 2011-12 to 59% in 2012-13 continuing the recent downward trend in pass rates.

There has been a decrease of 7% points in car touch screen theory test pass rates since 2008-09 (66%).