Record road deaths low – but more can still be done

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents welcomed the news that the number of deaths on Britain’s roads had fallen below 3,000 for the first time since records began more than 80 years ago.

The seven per cent fall in roads deaths in 2007 to 2,943 was wonderful news Kevin Clinton, Head of Road Safety at RoSPA ,said. But he warned there was no room for complacency.

Road deaths peaked in 1941 when 9,169 people were killed and began to rise again in the 1960s with 7,985 people dying in 1966. When data was first published in 1926 there were 4,886 people killed.

“The progress we have made since then is a tribute to road safety professionals working in local authorities and the police forces, and shows the value of having long-term, government-led road safety strategies. Technological advances in the motor industry have also played a very significant role,” Kevin Clinton said.

“It is encouraging to see that child casualties are down seven per cent and child deaths down by 28 per cent to 121.

“The number of pedal cyclists and motorcyclists killed also fell. But it is worrying to see increases in deaths among adult cyclists and in serious injuries among child cyclists. This shows the need for the new investment of £140million announced earlier this year to make the roads safer for cyclists and for cyclist training.

“Although motorcyclist deaths fell slightly, the number seriously injured rose. We still need to see improvements in motorcycle training and riders need to develop skills and experience if they are riding more powerful machines.

“Drivers too can benefit from refresher driver training which can iron out bad habits they may have unwittingly developed over the years. RoSPA offers driving assessments and helps many people to become safer road users through RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders groups.

“We hope the Government’s review of the driver training and testing regime will bring even more improvements to address the high risk group of young and inexperienced drivers.

“Measures such as reducing the drink-drive limit and changing our clocks to bring us lighter evenings all-year-round would also have a major impact on reducing deaths and injuries.”

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