Pedestrian safety concerns at traffic light signals and crossings

Following news that Britain ranked only 11 out of 24 OECD countries for pedestrian deaths per head of population, new research from esure car insurance highlights road safety concerns amongst pedestrians:

42 per cent of pedestrians say they have nearly been hit by a car as a result of a driver disobeying traffic lights signals

77 per cent of pedestrians say they have seen drivers speeding up to traffic lights when they are on amber

7 per cent of drivers admit to beeping their horn to encourage pedestrians to hurry up while crossing at a set of traffic lights

Research also showed that nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of motorists surveyed said that they had driven through a red light at least once - even if just by accident, with four per cent admitting that they had done so several times.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure car insurance, said: "Although there has been good progress made in reducing road casualties over the last ten years, nearly 3,000 people still die on the roads each year. With the UK falling behind many other countries regarding the proportion of pedestrian deaths, it is clear that the safety of pedestrians and cyclists is an area that needs to be addressed further.

"esure supports the call for separate Government targets for those killed and seriously injured on Britain's roads, split by different road users, to help reduce future motoring incidents involving pedestrians - particularly at traffic light signals and crossings where rules are being flouted by some motorists."