Fatalities on the road down by 18%

Date: 2/11/2012

The number of deaths on British roads has fallen considerably, according to new figures released by the Government.

There was an 18 per cent drop in people killed in traffic accidents between April and June this year, compared with the same period in 2011, reports The Telegraph.

It is good news after the figures rose last year for the first time in five years, sparking fears that cutbacks in road safety spending were having a detrimental effect.

The figures also showed that overall for the spring there was a six per cent drop in serious injuries and deaths.

Further to this, the number of children being killed or seriously hurt dropped by 14 per cent.

One of the reasons that the Department for Transport believes the statistics have improved is that due to the wet weather fewer people drove over the summer.

It is believed that cyclists in particular have been using the roads less and the average speed of drivers also reduced over the three months.

Andrew Howard, Head of Road Safety at the AA, said: "It is always a good thing to see a fall in road deaths, but we have to be careful that this does not stem only from improvements in car and road design protecting those in cars.

"The rises among those not in vehicles need to be stemmed and, although design can help, we still need action against irresponsible road use."

When looking at the broader picture, the year on year figures for the last 12 months show that deaths and serious injuries in vulnerable road users have increased by five per cent. It is mainly pedestrians that have been the worst affected, but also motorcyclists and cyclists too.

Robert Gifford, Executive Director of the Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Transport Safety, said: "These figures show there is no room for complacency, even though the resumption of the downward trend in road deaths is to be welcomed."

Posted by Sarah Bailey

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