More Data, More Often
June 16, 2011
Mapping with MAST
August 16, 2011
A Unified Call for Action
Road Safety Analysis have added their signature to an important [letter in The Times] today (Monday 11th July), alongside former ministers and leading charities calling the Government to set ambitious goals for reducing road death and injury even further.
At the end of June official figures confirmed that 2010 had been the lowest year on record for road deaths in Britain with 1,857 reported nationwide. Whilst this is remarkable progress, it is just a decade since the figure was over 3,400 deaths per year, there are many who are concerned that we will not continue to make headway unless aiming for a reduction that far exceeds the new government forecast.
Published in May, the Strategic Framework for Road Safety sets out the intentions of Government for reducing road casualties over the next 20 years. This includes a forecast for 2020 when the Department for Transport hopes that we might have further reduced the death toll to 1,770 per annum; representing only a further 4.7% saving against last year’s record low.
The concern among leading voices in the profession and among politicians who have previously been responsible for road safety is that aiming for 0.5% reduction each year for the next ten years is out of step with the efforts being made across Europe and the globe. On the same day as the framework was unveiled, the UN drew back the curtain on a Decade of Action for Road Safety, meanwhile the European Commission set a target in December for reducing road deaths across the EU by 50%.
Dan Campsall, a Director of Road Safety Analysis and one of the signatories to the letter said: “At a time when the rest of the world is rolling their sleeves up to go further and faster in reducing the intolerable effect of road death and injury on our communities, we are holding back. The societal and economic costs of road traffic collisions are enormous, we cannot afford to place them on one side and hope that in 10 years’ time that we might just have made some progress. We have to take up the challenge of making the roads a safer place for all; regardless of age or social advantage.”
To see the full letter and list of signatories, please [click here.]
Published in May, the Strategic Framework for Road Safety sets out the intentions of Government for reducing road casualties over the next 20 years. This includes a forecast for 2020 when the Department for Transport hopes that we might have further reduced the death toll to 1,770 per annum; representing only a further 4.7% saving against last year’s record low.
The concern among leading voices in the profession and among politicians who have previously been responsible for road safety is that aiming for 0.5% reduction each year for the next ten years is out of step with the efforts being made across Europe and the globe. On the same day as the framework was unveiled, the UN drew back the curtain on a Decade of Action for Road Safety, meanwhile the European Commission set a target in December for reducing road deaths across the EU by 50%.
Dan Campsall, a Director of Road Safety Analysis and one of the signatories to the letter said: “At a time when the rest of the world is rolling their sleeves up to go further and faster in reducing the intolerable effect of road death and injury on our communities, we are holding back. The societal and economic costs of road traffic collisions are enormous, we cannot afford to place them on one side and hope that in 10 years’ time that we might just have made some progress. We have to take up the challenge of making the roads a safer place for all; regardless of age or social advantage.”
To see the full letter and list of signatories, please [click here.]
