Road Safety Does Work

A report of a 12% drop in the number of people killed on British roads show that road safety is working.

The Department for Transport report figures fell from 2,530 in the year 2008 to 2,222 this year. Children cases fell by 35% from 124 to 81.

Cyclists deaths fell by 10% from 115 to 104, but injuries to cyclists increased by 6% from 2,450 to 2,606 - but this could be due to the fact that there are approximately 4% more cyclists on the roads.

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at RoSPA, said:

"Overall, the figures are good news. The reduction in deaths represents another very large fall on top of that achieved in 2008. In two years, we have seen a fall in road deaths of more than 700. It is particularly good that child deaths are now lower than 100, although this is clearly still too many." he added

"All of this shows the value of having a comprehensive road safety strategy. The challenge now is to keep this momentum going and continue the reduction in death and injury on the roads in the current economic climate."

With the Government cutting the transport funding by more than 25% by 2014, major safety organisations are worried for the live-saving measures that are in place. A reduction in costs could mean that road safety measures, such as pedestrian crossings, road safety cameras and even lines outside schools to be cut.

Kevin Clinton commented:

"With public spending reducing dramatically, we need to find ways of ensuring that our investment in road safety is maintained. In addition to the human cost of road accidents, the financial cost to the country runs into the billions of pounds – money that Britain could really do with saving. Preventing accidents is highly cost effective."

Neil Gregg, IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) commented on the cuts and urged the government not to cut spending:

"The impact of casualty reduction targets has been enormous. If we continue at our current rate of investment, annual road deaths in the UK could slip well below 2,000 by 2020 - a further saving of £4bn and 2,500 lives over the next decade. Punitive cuts in road safety budgets will jeopardize these huge financial and social gains."

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24-Jun-2010
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