THE number of road crash casualties in Glasgow has dropped by more than a third in the past decade.

Compared with 2002, there were 1040 fewer people hurt on the city's roads last year.

Figures from Transport Scotland also show a steady downward trend in the number of accidents of all severities in the city.

In Glasgow the number of people injured has dropped from 2676, 10 years ago, to 1636 last year. The number of people killed has also fallen, from 15 in 2008 to seven last year.

Motoring expert Neil Greig, from the Institute of Advanced Motoring, said Glasgow had never been safer for drivers.

He said: "It is a combination of the car design, the roads design, more 20mph zones, more pedestrian areas and work by the police.

"Glasgow's roads have never been safer because of everyone working together to bring the figures down."

Last year Glasgow City Council invested £600,000 in a road safety education service which sees road safety officers visit schools to support teachers.

A spokesman said: "We analyse all casualties on a regular city-wide basis and target those areas with the most casualties - regardless of age - with enforcement and education and publicity.

"The city council invests heavily in road safety education and last year we invested £600,000 in our road safety education service alone.

"Road safety officers visit schools across the city on a daily basis supporting teachers in delivering road safety education.

"Officers are made aware of any child casualties en route to school and can go into that school immediately with an education programme for all classes."

Scotland-wide, the number of reported casualties last year was the lowest since records began.

It showed a 1% drop from 2011, from 12,777 to 12,676, and more than a third since 2002.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "There is much that is good news in these figures but in some respects we still have a long way to go.

"Our focus continues to be on driving the numbers down even further. We have achieved a lot but there is still work to do, particularly in respect of safety for cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists."

Superintendent Iain Murray, Head of Road Policing at Police Scotland said the figures were encouraging. He added: "It is heartening to see such significant reductions in statistics, but it is important to recognise the tragedy that still lies behind the numbers.

"There is still a lot of work to be done."

matty.sutton@eveningtimes.co.uk